Being non-binary can be challenging at time if you don’t have support in your life. This book has the power to provide hope and make readers feel less alone.

Important subject, but not executed greatly. The tone of writing became quite annoying after a while, but some individuals, non-binary or allies, may find "The Book of Non-Binary Joy" a good beginner's resource.

Love the focus on joy, with a great introduction to the concept of non-binary, the book has a glossary of relevant terms, chapters on make up, how to be a good ally all peppered with quotes from non-binary people. Interesting and a good starting point.

With thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for giving me free access to the advanced digital copy of this book.

As the title says, joyful and a great way to inform those who don’t identify as non-binary. I am a non-binary individual and found a lot that validated my own experiences and journey.

I am not non-binary but I wanted to read this book to understand my friends who are non-binary. And I have to say that this book has helped me understand them more. It had given me insight that is sometimes hard for people to understand. So I'm very glad that i got to read this book.

This was a accessible and to the point read which would be a great book for someone just learning about non binary identities. It's packed full of information. I particularly loved the key takeaways at the end of each chapter, such a great way to sum up each section. This book will be brilliant for so many people to read and engage with and I'm so glad it exists!!

I wasn't the biggest fan of the tone of this book. It felt patronizing even as a cisgender queer woman who is learning more about nonbinary people. They deserve better representation and should be looked at as people. Quite frankly, I would've learned more about nonbinary people through a YouTube video or two plus meet other nonbinary people.

Gender, scientifically, is very much a social construct. The author here explores a label outside the binary where many individuals are still understanding who they are and how they want to identify. Nonbinary isn't a new concept, but having a resource like this one benefits readers both inside and outside the binary.

This book is an exciting way to understand the non-binary identity; that allows for joy without hiding the pain. Part self-help, part sociological study, this book will change the way you understand marginalised identities. I highly recommend this work.

This is a great resource for nonbinary people. There are plenty of topics to explore, and lots of advice to follow. I think this will be particularly useful for younger nonbinary people, and those who have recently come out, but at the same time I think there is something for everyone within these pages. It's a great exploration of how to find joy, while also discussing the reality of being nonbinary. Nothing is sugar-coated, and yet the optimism seeps through. I would definitely recommend this to nonbinary people and allies alike.

A great read! Perfect for non binary readers looking for some extra joy in their life or for those who want to get to know non binary individuals better.

Thank you to Netgalley and Jessica Kingsley Publishers for sending me an e-ARC of Ben Pechey's "The Book of Non-Binary Joy". All opinions are my own.

Have you ever wanted a guide on how to navigate your own gender journey (however long it may be)? Then you may want to pick up a copy of Ben Pechey's "The Book of Non-Binary Joy". This guide to navigating your appearance, pronouns, social life, and more is wonderful to help start you on your journey. However, it is just that - a way to start your journey. Once you have done some fill-in-the-blank amount of research, then anything Pechey says in BoNJ seems hollow and lackluster, simply because we have all heard it before. I will be honest - I started it back in March, put it down for 3 or so months, and then picked it back up in June simply because it was the only title I still had downloaded to my phone and I was bored. It is not a very engaging book once you know the information, which in and of itself is very simplistic - Pechey simply states that gender is what you make it and screw anyone who says otherwise in numerous different ways.
Do I think this is a great book for anyone who is curious about gender theory and wants to learn more from a. non-existent knowledge level? Yes, this is perfect for that reader. However, to anyone who has read more than 3 articles online about being nonbinary, this will be a dry read and quite frankly, a waste of time.

No matter where you are in your gender exploration journey, Ben Pechey aims to guide you through the highs and lows of finding your true, fabulous self. Full of personal insight, thoughts from other LGBTQ+ voices and fun activities, The Book of Non-Binary Joy explores fashion, mental health, ally privilege, understanding yourself and more. Funny and educational with charming illustrations of non-binary people, this wonderfully thoughtful manual offers a thorough exploration of what it means to be non-binary and the many forms that can take as well as excellent resources. Pechey has such a warm, friendly voice and their character shines through the pages!

This book was a nice read. It’s relatively pleasant, very encouraging, and overall optimistic. It gives readers insights into a variety of things regarding non-binary identities and gender questioning, and is overall a good introduction, though the topics can be limited at times.

The conversational style helps make information accessible to readers, which I definitely prefer in terms of non-fiction books, but the constant referral to the reader as “angel” or “darling” didn’t sit with me too well. I am non-binary, and that sort of language —while non-gendered— still feels like it is to me. Personally it helps corner n-b people into the box of ‘androgynous afab or feminine amab’ and nothing deviating, a pseudo binary if you will.

This book would be a great library addition, and I do think that it will suit many people very well. I don’t think I was necessarily the target audience though, despite meeting all of the qualifications.

To be real so did the narrator/author irritate me with all the ‘babe’ and stuff, that is just something that makes me ick or gag, which made it extremely difficult to read the book.
The rest of the book was fine, but on another level that I thought it would be. This book would be fine for a teenager to read when they’re struggling to figure out their identity, but I don’t think it would help a grown up all that much, it didn’t go into depth like I thought it would.
But I am just an ally, so I cannot be certain, that was just my opinion on the book.

Well heck, here’s a book I couldn’t possibly see and not be immediately in need of. Like any marginalisation it comes with it’s own set of issues–and those who also belong to other marginalised groups feel the bite extra.
If you don’t know yet, here it it: I’m non-binary. I’m also disabled, with mental illness. Each of these things makes life harder–and bear in mind I’m still white, and masc, and unless someone knows otherwise they’ll assume I’m a cishet male (because my wife is female).
I’m not a cishet male. I reject that label utterly and completely. But tell the world that. The world obsessed with forcing people into boxes. The world trying right at this very moment to use any means necessary to remove trans people’s existence. The world that translates non-binary as a femme guy, or an androgynous girl–both things I am definitely not.
Seeing myself so incredibly rarely represented, and feeling the trauma and terror of a world that wants me and my trans siblings to either die, or never dare come out at all, means finding a book like this is a Big Deal.
Finding joy in who I am, not despite it, is really important. When other people just want to stamp you out, when dysphoria hits, when you feel alone, you have to find something beyond the pain.
This book, from the opening sentence to the very end, is that something. IT does exactly what it says on the cover–here are various writers, acknowledging the pain, but celebrating the joy of being themselves.
I don’t want to pick any out as better or worse–they all have relevance, and will all resonate differently at different moments, but even when tears came reading this, they weren’t sad or angry or defeated. They were tears of acceptance, of love, of feeling seen and understood.
Non-binary folk, this book is entirely and completely for us.
Cis folk, as Pechey says at the beginning, this book wasn’t written for you. Of course you are welcome to read, but do so quietly, and in order to learn not to comment.

Within these pages is a truth bigger and greater than any law or bigot can possibly understand: being non-binary is its own joy and reward.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the chance to read this book in exchange for an honest review.

As a non-binary person, I'm firstly just glad this book exists. As someone who took a long time to find myself due to lack of exposure to the LGBTQIA+ community and a fear of consequences, having a book like this around when I was in my early teens would have been life-changing.

That said, I echo some of the other reviewers who've stated that the topics are rather surface-level, and seem to skim over things really quickly with little back up. There is some great advice here, though some of it very general that could apply to anyone rather than just the non-binary community, and the summaries at the end are good.

However some of the advice doesn't sit well with me, and doesn't take into account a number of different situations the reader might be in. The tone can also be patronising, though for younger readers this may not be as evident.

I do think that any young person questioning their identity could benefit from reading this book, and there are certainly bits of joy to be gained within the author's advice. However I think there should have been a deeper, more personal focus on the topics.

Strangely it took me a while to finish this one. When I first started I thought it would be a quick, easy read, but somehow it was quite the opposite. I think it was the style of writing for me, it was to a certain extent very conversational, but there was a lot to absorb. This wasn’t a bad thing entirely, all of which was covered in this book I found to be really insightful. For me, a lot of it was reinforcing ways of thinking that I already had (or was trying to embody), but some parts did show me different ways of exploring (and accepting) my own gender identity.

What I liked most about this book was the way it was organised. The book covered topics all to do with gender and understanding who you are. From Understanding Your Past to Self-Expression, as well as Social Media which I think is something really important to cover. Each topic was covered in a really accessible way, and included anecdotes as well as a summary at the end of each chapter. As well as this, there is a really great list of resources in one of the last chapters for those who might want to know more (I want to point out that as this was originally published in the UK, the resources are UK based, but helpful – in some cases – none the less). This book also recommends some further reading on the topic of gender identity which I will definitely have a look at.

I think part of the reason that it took me a while read this is that I found the narrative voice a little grating. While it is conversational, I found it to be a little pushy. Despite this, I think that some people might find this a lot easier to read than other more factual (or even clinical) books on gender identity. I also found that while there were quite a few topics covered, the information seemed to be talked about at a surface level. Again, I think this would be helpful for some, but I was left wanting more from the book.

On the whole this is a really well thought out book, and great for someone who is just starting to question their identity, and needs a place to start. It is a wonderful safe space to explore their gender identity and what it means for them. It is accessible, and, as the title says, is an exploration of the joys your gender identity can bring you.

*For me this was more of a 3.5 stars for me

Thank you to NetGalley, the author, and the publisher for sending me this free eARC (eAdvanced Reader Copy). I am leaving this review voluntarily. This title will be published 19th May 2022.

I think this book was very educational, and will help to support those who would class themselves as non-binary. I feel like it's opened my eyes on this topic, and it was something I wasn't particularly sure of before. I feel I can be more of an ally after reading this book.

However, I wasn't too keen on Pechey's writing style, and the book was sometimes repetitive.

It was interesting, but I am sure there are better books out there.