An engaging debut novel overall. The writing is strong, even though I’m not sure how to feel about the story.  Kim Fu is the first agender author I’ve read (that I know of, at least), and I look forward to reading more of their work.

I was frustrated at a few points when reading this - there were several moments when I felt transness was reduced to being born in the wrong body.

This dissipated towards the end of the book.

Fu’s writing style was beautiful, ditching linear, western storytelling. As a child of an immigrant parent, the tensions and nuances Fu explored as an ethnic minority really hit home. I was all in all, near ready to exalt my love for this novel. I thought my high 4-rating was locked-in until I finished and felt tricked.

Audrey’s trauma was laid out in detail throughout the book’s entirety, yet her actualisation was crudely skimmed over in a singular paragraph. Her joy, autonomy, and truth never given the space to be celebrated. This felt extremely unbalanced and a silencing of Audrey. 

Secondly, my heart sank when discovering Fu did not consult, or engage, ANY trans folks while penning Audrey’s life as a trans woman. Although agender and part of the gender-expansive/diverse community, I felt Fu (she/he/they) fell short on elevating the trans community’s autonomy over their own story. I perhaps would have cut Fu more slack if their interviews didn’t also deadname Audrey constantly. A review/criticism, far more valid at capturing this point, can be found here https://kara.reviews/for-today-i-am-a-boy/

Lastly, I am still perplexed by Fu’s inclusion of a horrific sexual assault of a minor. Not only was it abruptly and violently inserted within the opening chapter, but to the best of my knowledge, it served NO purpose to the storyline and was absolutely unnecessary.