None of the Above by I. W. Gregorio

None of the Above

by I. W. Gregorio

When Kristin Lattimer is voted homecoming queen, it seems like another piece of her ideal life has fallen into place. She's a champion hurdler with a full scholarship to college and she's madly in love with her boyfriend. In fact, she's decided that she's ready to take things to the next level with him. But Kristin's first time isn't the perfect moment she's planned -- something is very wrong. A visit to the doctor reveals the truth: Kristin is intersex, which means that though she outwardly looks like a girl, she has male chromosomes, not to mention boy "parts." Dealing with her body is difficult enough, but when her diagnosis is leaked to the whole school, Kristin's entire identity is thrown into question. As her world unravels, can she come to terms with her new self?--publisher.

Reviewed by Angie on

3 of 5 stars

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None of the Above is a very interesting look into the life of one teenage girl who discovers that she's intersex, and before even processing what that means, has her entire school find out. When Kristin and her boyfriend tried to have sex, there was a lot more pain and discomfort than she thought there would be. After seeing an OB/GYN, she learns that she has no uterus, her vagina is short, and she has testes. Kristin's whole world and sense of identity is thrown for a loop.

I did enjoy None of the Above quite a bit, but for me, it felt more educational than anything else. I simply didn't connect with Kristin, so she basically became this vessel for information on intersexuality. It is obvious that the author wanted to inform us while also making Kristin someone you wanted to cheer for, but that didn't happen for me. I think most of this had to do with how much of a blank slate Kristin was. I get that she's shocked by her diagnosis, but every conversation with her was an explanation because she didn't know anything about anything. I found that hard to believe since she's a runner and knew about Caster Semenya, so she should have had some kind of idea about something.

None of the Above was still a very good read. I came from it feeling like I know a lot more about what it means to be intersex, and about the different forms that it can take. But other than being more informed, it didn't leave me with any emotional impressions. It was awful what happened to Kristin at school, but everything felt so scripted in a way to give us maximum information. Even the minor romance felt forced to push the idea that intersex people can still have relationships.

Read more of my reviews at Pinkindle Reads & Reviews.

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Reading updates

  • Started reading
  • 9 December, 2015: Finished reading
  • 9 December, 2015: Reviewed