I really loved this book. It definitely felt quite close to home and I think that's what made it really special for me. But I'm also really excited for other people to read this book and see these wonderful characters in this wonderful story.

I guess the first thing that really stood out to me was the characters. I know that sounds vague, which it is, but Imogen was so real and fleshed out to me. The autistic rep was on point and I feel the author captured lots of parts of the autistic experience really well. There were some parts that were hard to read but that only grounded the characters more.

I really enjoyed Imogen's story being the central one but there were also some amazing side characters! I've read a few books recently where it's felt like there's no space for side characters. There definitely was in this book, which I really appreciated. Imogen's experience was obviously important but the author also made space for other experiences and thoughts around accessibilty. I think saying "we're going to have an inclusive pride" and then actually thinking about as many different elements as possible (in a 400 page book) is what made this book sing. And having side characters who actually felt like characters and had experiences that were important to the story was integral to executing this. So that was really great to me.

The book did have a happy ending, which some people may say is unrealistic, but to me it was a happy ending that was earned. The characters fight through a lot and fall over and over. You see how much it takes to get where they do, so to me it was very satisfying. There are absolute dickhead teachers and there are the teachers who are there as well. This representation didn't feel overdramatic because it's just the reality of school and the teachers there. And young people being able to see these characters thrive despite that is really wonderful.

Another thing I liked was how the book carried the themes. It was really funny throughout. There were a lot of moments where I'd smile to myself and think 'that's my kind of humor'. Imogen wants to be a stand up comedian so there's a lot of conversation about how autistic people supposedly don't understand humour or sarcasm. And Imogen's trying to fight those stereotypes to get where they want to be. So of course she's very funny. I mean they do deflect with humour but I think for me the real joy was seeing Imogen's personality come through. Then you get those moments of her feeling like she's failed or that it's their fault, which she struggles to deal with as well. They're certainly a well-rounded character that helps the book balance many themes.

Most of the characters have a discovery/development arc during the book. Imogen is quite confident in who they are and that definitely shines through. But she also goes on a real journey throughout the book and has to face up to some of the struggles that she's going through and how they actually affect her. They're very determined to fight for what they want. And through that they find a group of friends, but it's not all simple because friendships never are. I should probably touch on Ollie who is also actually a POV character. To me, he kind of felt like a side character but he was definitely an important part of the book and I'm sure his story would speak to a lot of people as well. Secondary school is a time of people discovering who they are, who they want to be what they want to fight for and we definitely see that throughout the book with everyone.

In the end, as much as it can in a school-set contemporary, it really feels like a found family. They have like a lot of trust in each other. They've been through a lot together. And in particular, what was really special to me was that there's a queer-platonic relationship between Ollie and Imogen. They bond really closely and find a form of love together. There's a really amazing moment where they're telling each other that they love them. It made me so happy to see a queer-platonic relationship being centerstage because, even though Imogen does end up in a romantic relationship at the end of the book, it's not, the focus. Knowing that what Imogen and Ollie find together is really deep too and showing that kind of love was really heartwarming. It was definitely well-represented.

I guess the last thing I want to say is that there was a diverse cast and it was definitely very queer, but it didn't feel forced at all. It felt very natural and it didn't feel like box-ticking diversity. It was just a group of people who are who they are and them learning about each other, learning to support each other and making space for everyone to exist. And that felt really great. I think you sometimes read books and there just has to be a character with they/them pronouns for the sake of diversity. But instead this book chose to talk about the challenge of binary bathrooms in public places. And it just made it feel like every character was important.

I feel hopeful knowing that this book will make it into the hands of young people so that they can see people fighting for change and fighting for what they deserve. It is definitely a much-needed book. Obviously it felt very special to me because it spoke to a particular part of my experience but it's also there for other young people. And even the conversations that were put in there, which can feel quite like discoursing at times, were ultimately all important. I think they also feel very integral to the book and the characters, and that's what makes it work. So yeah, I'm really excited for people to read this book!

A debut from Anna Zoe Quirke who touches upon themes of friendship, family, coming of age, gender and sexual identity, disability, human rights, activism and standing up/ fighting for what you believe in, social inequality, gender bias/stereotypes through a dual POV.

Imogen Quinn is a chaotic bisexual with dreams of becoming a stand-up comedian, crushing stereotypes about autistic people. When she decides to put on a pride festival that’s accessible for everyone, she enlists the help of the openly gay captain of the football team, Ollie Armstrong.

Dealing with the fallout from his parents’ divorce, Ollie is initially hesitant. But it doesn’t take long for him to be swept up by Imogen’s passion, and he’s not the only one. Joined by the (infuriatingly perfect) head girl, musicians, an artist and a star baker – a dream team soon assembles to help plan pride and tackle injustices in their school and beyond.

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for my review copy.

I'm starting to get the feeling as I'm reading and writing notes that this review is going to be much less coherent and put together than other reviews. Not because I don't have a lot to say but perhaps because I have too much to say and I'm not totally sure how to put that together in a way that will make sense to other people.
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I've had this book for months. I was approved for an ARC copy through NetGalley in May. I only started reading it at the back end of August, after it had already been published and the ARC copy I had was archived (meaning I bought the book anyway).
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• "I have long been aware that I inhabit a world that was built neither by nor for people like me." - I'm sure this quote will resonate with other neurodivergent people too, but this hit me hard, and it was first damn sentence of the whole book.

• "Jaffa cakes aren't biscuits — they're cakes"
» This is the type of debate I like having with people. I've had this type of friendly debate recently in regard to people's pronunciation of various different words. But the debate over Jaffa cakes and whether they're a biscuit or a cake always tends to get quite heated.

Imogen is really making me laugh. This isn't the first time I've read a book with an autistic main character, nor is it the first time I've related to them. But we definitely have the same sense of humour and sarcasm is almost a second language for her.

• "What... what do you need right now?" - This. This is so damn important. I can't stress that enough. Asking someone how you can help or what it is they need from you can make the absolute world of difference to them. Even if it's as simple as just listening to them, letting them get things off their chest.

• "And I'm sorry I forgot that you always assume people hate you until proven otherwise" - Can this book stop being so bloody relatable?

- I talk about the found family trope often because it really is one of my favourite tropes in media, especially when it also concerns queer people and identities (often where it's also most prevalent). And it's also exemplified in this book too. Imogen and Ollie particularly but their whole activist group too. Finding the people who understand them, and aren't afraid to ask questions to get to the core of things.
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Thank you to NetGalley for sending me an ARC copy of this book.

SOMETHING TO BE PROUD OF is Anna Zoe Quirke‘s debut novel and published TODAY! I really loved this book, it ticks most of my boxes: realistic teens, humour, friendship, angst (but not too much), romance (but not too much), positive disability rep, unashamedly LGBTQIA+ characters, present but imperfect families…and, a personal highlight: a non-US based author as I am often annoyed by the number of American titles published and highlighted in the UK when there is so much home-grown (or anywhere-else-on-the-globe-grown) talent we could be supporting (+ q&a on TeenLibrarian).

I absolutely adored this. From the very first page, I was drawn to Imogen's character. I absolutely adored them. Ollie was real cool too but Imogen was just everything.
I loved their journeys, both together and apart and I literally laughed out loud several times reading this, and cried. I also cried. It was truly such a great friendship story. I also enjoyed the romance that was in there. The other characters were also great and I loved how they all connected. The family stories were so interesting too. I loved that part of the plot as well.
Basically, I loved everything about this, it's an incredible debut and I cannot wait for more books by Anna Zoe Quirke.

This book honestly felt a bit like it was written for me. As a bisexual autistic person myself, there was so much joy to it. Although some parts were a bit too accurate, and it was painful to read, overall, I just felt really represented.

One of the parts that really hit hard were the spirals that Imogen went through. I’ve had those spirals. I’ve had so many times when I’ve sat in my room and cried and thought that it was better not to have friends and that everyone was better off without me around. It was actually very cathartic to read it and see Imogen with all their friends who love them and support them and think about how far I’ve come from when I was a teenager.

I really appreciated how the main relationship in this book was the platonic friendship between Imogen and Ollie. Though there is also a bit of romance in the later parts of the book, the book isn’t centred on that. I felt this was a really nice touch. Platonic relationships really aren’t given enough importance in a lot of fiction so this was a huge amount of progress

I really loved the pride in this book. I loved the idea of an inclusive pride and the way that Imogen and the rest of the club fight for real change. This would be the perfect book to read for pride month.

This sounded like the perfect Pride Month read, so I'm glad I still got around to it this month. This is very much an "it's me, not you" situation though, because it simply didn't work for me as well as I was hoping. I didn't really click with the humour or the writing style, and it felt needlessly long. I'm disappointed because of course I want to love all the super queer, super autistic books, but this one did not live up to my expectations.

It's been a little while since I read a book filled with as much joy and acceptance as this one. A whole cast of diverse characters in a story that focuses on how much acceptance and accessibility matters? Yes please!! 🌈

There are so many laugh-out-loud moments as well as bits that made me want to reach for a highlighter because they resonated so much with my own feelings and identity. So excited to see what Anna Zoe Quirk writes next!

Overall, I just thought this book was phenomenal - it was engaging, emotional and just plain excellent. Would definitely recommend.

Something to be Proud of is an absolute delight. If you wanted Heartstopper in book form this is it. A story of queer joy, Imogen decides to start an activist society at her school by recruiting Ollie the openly-bisexual school football captain. Imogen and Ollie's friendship is beautiful and they are soon joined by a cast of queer friends as they strive to set up their town's first ever pride parade.

This is a really cozy read and while in our society there is still homophobia and bigotry, it was wonderful to step into a world where kids could be kids, and queer kids could be accepted. The world is becoming better (even in times when it feels like it's getting worse) and books like these help us as a society progress.

This positive, hopeful queer novel will give the children and teens who read it the acceptance and appreciation they deserve.

Something to be Proud Of is a beautifully, brilliant read. A refreshing story about friendship, love, family struggles and being who you are when the world wants you to fit in.
Imogen and Ollie are great LGBTQIA+ leads and I liked the dual perspectives, pop culture references and intersectionality of the characters. It reminds me very much of Heartstopper and I hope there’s a sequel. Five stars.

Thank you to the author and publisher for the opportunity to read this ARC, via NetGalley, in exchange for an honest review.

Something to Be Proud Of was an ultimately uplifting, joyful celebration of finding pride within yourself and learning to love every aspect of yourself.

Firstly, Imogen and Ollie are excellent characters that just instantly took a piece of my heart. They were dealing with their own issues but come together to fight for love and inclusion for all. The journey of pride within both of their narratives was wonderful and that kind of representation always brings joy to my heart. To have characters stand happily in their identity, unashamed to be themselves fully and authentically, is incredible and Quirke is bringing so much hope through this. Their dialogue is spot on, often hilarious and the way their dynamic evolves is just brilliant. The supporting cast of their wider friendship group was also well developed and fully realised, leaping off the page and providing different insights into the wider conversations at play as well.

I really loved how this was an intersectional book full of love and hope for building a community for yourself that genuinely supports everyone. I really liked how it talked about accessibility and genuine inclusion as ongoing battles and conversations that are necessary to have. Often it can feel like people point to one space as a fits all catch for the entire LGBTQ+ community which doesn’t account for intersections and different needs for different communities. This pushes back against that with education, but also a sense of weariness that this still has to be a topic needed to be covered. It should be an integrated consideration, not the product of tireless activism. Burn out and fatigue is covered here with necessary support.

It really flags how friendships changes and evolve across time, particuarly for how they can change unexpectedly as you grow older. Quirk also explores how they can be strained and broken by bringing up important topics: for example, Imogen really struggles with this with her old friends when they are simply uncaring about her accessibility needs. It kickstarts a fire within her that will change everything. However, Quirke keeps the book ultimately focused on hope for positive change. It may be a battle to get there, but small steps are being taken.

Something to be Proud Of was a love letter to friendship, genuine support and carving out a space for yourself against all odds. That is a joyous ode that I hope everyone listens to.

For me this book perfectly encapsulated what queerness and inclusivity is all about. Anna Zoe Quirke has created a story and characters who are unapologetically queer, and passionate about fighting for rights not just for themselves but for others. So many queer spaces are constantly looking to be more inclusive and accessible, and this book tapped into that brilliantly.

While the exposition was a little quick and clunky, once the story got going I was completely hooked. Imogen and Ollie are both really compelling narrators, and both their individual journeys as well as their friendship was a joy to read.

I particularly liked how Ollie’s relationship to gender expression was explored. For me and, I’m sure, many others, one of the surprising things about coming out is how liberating it is in terms of how you dress, etc.. I thought it was discussed in a really great way, that felt very true to life and powerfully written.

While many queer spaces are as inclusive and accessible as Imogen’s pride event is, many are not, and this book is a brilliant reminder of how inclusive spaces are not just important, but are also exciting and full of opportunity. It’s a reminder to think creatively about how we can make changes in our lives, big or small, to allow room for everyone to not just exist but to thrive. It couldn’t come at a better time.

I received a free copy for an honest review.

Anna Zoe Quirke is an absolutely genius with a computer and has written an amazing book. The book made me feel so seen and I think that everyone from the queer and disabled communities will love this. It was hilarious and comforting and a masterpiece. Well done.

This book switches between the dual POV of Imogen (autistic, bisexual, aspiring stand-up comedian) and Ollie (gay, captain of the football team), and this allows us to get different viewpoints of all the characters, including each other. This really helped with the character development, and i connected to so many different characters for different reasons. The book is absolutely a love letter to the joys and heartaches of being a queer teen [or, truly, any teen] with equal focus on finding your people and finding yourself. I one hundred percent recommend anyone join the emotional rollercoaster as Imogen, Ollie and the whole beautiful group try to put on the most inclusive and accessible pride event ever, because everybody [and every body] deserves glitter and rainbows if they want them.

Thank you to Netgalley and Little Tiger for letting me have an ARC of this in return for a fair and honest review!

TL;DR: a triumphant love letter to finding yourself full of heart and humour that loses steam in the last 50 pages but thankfully has such a great cast of characters that it manages to see its plot through.

Something To Be Proud Of follows Imogen Quinn, a loud and proud autistic, bisexual with a dream to be a stand-up, who after having a sensory overload at a Pride event, sets out on a mission to create the first accessible pride event in her home town. To do that, she enlists the help of Oliver Armstrong, the out captain of the football team, and sets up and youth activist society. Over the course of this year, we follow the ups and downs of the group as well as Ollie and Imogen's relationship with each other and themselves.

The plot is fine, with great ups and downs, but really secondary to the characters that carry this story. Imogen is vibrant on page, with constant quips and brash confidence that come to life on the page. Her flaws are just as bright and through her friendship with Ollie and the wider activist group, she eventually come to change, growing in confidence and just a better person because of it. Her journey is one hell of adventure that's a privilege to be dragged along with. Ollie too is the perfect foil for her, quieter but no less bold in his own way, especially when he confronts his dad about what it truly means to be a man. This comes with a great supporting cast that are unique and engaging in their own right and with proper dreams and aspirations that make you want to root for them. Truly, they are the stars of this show. What's even more impressive - though cringe inducing at times - is that these teenagers actually sound like gen z teenagers, referencing memes and jokes only gen z would know (and find funny.)

For me, I think the only reason why I didn't rate this book higher is that I think there are moments where I lost steam with it. Some scenes to the latter end overstay their welcome where they could be shortened and that made me lose interest or focus as to what was happening. It's not a major flaw; just made the novel not as a tight a project as it could be.

Overall, though, I had a great time with Something To Be Proud Of. It's a love letter to queer kids both out and proud or firmly in the closet trying to find themselves and a world that's not about to ''compromise'' on their needs for the sake of the status quo. It's great wild adventure that's well worth your time if this is your thing.

I received this book as an ARC from Netgalley, however all opinions are my own

So the reason I wanted to read this book is because I saw it on Netgalley and I LOVE queer storytelling so I applied for it. Friends, I am ecstatic that I got the ARC of this book and will 100% be buying a physical copy when the book comes out. The storytelling in this book is hilarious, heart-warming and incredibly beautiful. I've never seen a book that has autistic, disabled, and queer representation and had such a diverse cast of characters. Anna, like Imogen, definitely wanted representation in their book for everyone and you will definitely find yourself relating to at LEAST one of their characters. As a disabled queer person my heart was filled to see so many characters that I could easily relate to. This book was so easy to just pick up and read, and I found myself picking this up whenever I had a spare moment (which says something considering I've had such a busy week). I found myself giggling so much whilst reading this book and was really rooting for the characters to reach their goals. I loved every moment of reading this book, and would 100% recommend this to anyone who'd love to read a beautiful, queer story.

My Favourite Characters:

Imogen: I loved so much how Imogen was just very much unapologetically herself. Her character growth throughout the book was incredible and I loved seeing her find her people.

Amelia: Amelia was honestly my favourite side character. Her character growth was also incredible and I loved her more and more with each and every chapter.

Auntie Septic: Auntie Septic is actually a very small character within the book, but I adored her and genuinely wish we had more of her

My Least Favourite Characters:

Oliver's dad: I'm not gonna lie friends, I loathed Oliver's dad. I can't say much more.

Ms Greenacre: I despised Ms Greenacre throughout the whole book. 0/10 teacher.

(If you'd like to see more of my reviews please go to my blog:
https://doesden.blogspot.com/)

Absolutely loved this book and I love that it’s coming out during pride month! Such a brilliant story and very empowering and I’m so grateful I got to receive an ARC of it. Looking forward to more from this author

'Something to be Proud Of' is a great YA novel that explores neurodivergence and sexuality. I liked the way that a lot of the accessibility issues were dealt with, showing how neurotypical or able-bodied people don't always notice things that don't affect them, yet it has a massive impact on others' lives.
With dual POV, it was really nice to get a rounded view of Ollie and Imogen as well as a varied image of the other characters, particularly Amelia and Josh. I liked Amelia's character development but wish that things with Ollie and Josh had gone a little differently in the middle of the book.
Sometimes, I found the way that things were worded a bit difficult to get through and the word choice felt a little forced at times which unfortunately pulled me out of the story as someone who works with teenagers, they don't say some of the things the characters do. I also found the mixture of British 'English' and Americanisms pulled me out of the story sometimes, one instance in particular that stood out was Imogen saying something about a 'garbage can.' It made me go back a few pages to see whether 'mum' or 'mom' was used to reset the location of the story in my head. Despite that, I still really enjoyed reading about a small part of Imogen and Ollie's lives and it was a privilege to watch their friendship bloom.
Thank you to NetGalley and Little Tiger Group for allowing me to read an advance copy.

Something to be Proud of was a very easy to get into book and a brilliant read. I am sure that the youth of today are being brought up to be open minded, accepting and aware of diversity than my generation and those older. And there are a lot of older people that need to read this book.
Fiction like this promotes the need for acceptance, understanding and the need for provision and accessibility for all.

In the diverse world we live in there is a place for everyone and this story shares this message.

In a world where you can be anything, the most important thing is to be kind, after all people are fighting battles you know absolutely nothing about.

I will recommend this book for everyone old, young, lgbtqia or not, neuro divergent or neurotypical.