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Too Bright to See  By  cover art

Too Bright to See

By: Kyle Lukoff
Narrated by: Jax Jackson, Kyle Lukoff
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Publisher's summary

A Newbery Honor Book • Winner of the Stonewall Book Award • A National Book Award Finalist

"A gentle, glowing wonder, full of love and understanding." (The New York Times Book Review)

It's the summer before middle school and 11-year-old Bug's best friend, Moira, has decided the two of them need to use the next few months to prepare. For Moira, this means figuring out the right clothes to wear, learning how to put on makeup, and deciding which boys are cuter in their yearbook photos than in real life. But none of this is all that appealing to Bug, who doesn't particularly want to spend more time trying to understand how to be a girl. Besides, there's something more important to worry about: A ghost is haunting Bug's eerie old house in rural Vermont...and maybe haunting Bug in particular. As Bug begins to untangle the mystery of who this ghost is and what they're trying to say, an altogether different truth comes to light - Bug is transgender.

©2021 Kyle Lukoff (P)2021 Listening Library

Critic reviews

A National Book Award finalist

Boston Globe Best Book of 2021

Time Best Children’s Book of 2021

Washington Post Best Children's Book of 2021

New York Public Library Best Book for Kids of 2021

Chicago Public Library Best of the Best Book for 2021

NPR Best Book of 2021

Publishers Weekly Best Book of 2021

Kirkus Best Book of 2021

School Library Journal Best Book of 2021

"This book is a gentle, glowing wonder, full of love and understanding, full of everything any of us would wish for our children. It will almost certainly be banned in many places, but your child almost certainly needs to read it." (The New York Times Book Review)

“This coming-of-age and coming-out story takes a needed departure from other stories about transgender youth.... A chilling, suspenseful ghost story balances the intimate, introspective narrative style.... Haunting and healing.” (Kirkus, starred review)

"Smart and thought-provoking.... Through Bug’s journey to self-realization and self-acceptance, and the wonderfully nuanced understanding of gender he comes to, Lukoff provides a tender rumination on grief, love, and identity." (Publishers Weekly, starred review)

What listeners say about Too Bright to See

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Absolutely amazing

There is so much here to learn from and overall is a fantastic book I could read this a thousand times and never lose that happiness I get at the end of the book A+++

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  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
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    3 out of 5 stars
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Quite good!

This story was really good and made me do that mom face when your child is finding themselves and you’re so happy for them.. yea, loved it!

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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Beautiful, haunting and important story

This book will stay with me for a long time. The author has a way of illustrating anxiety and dysphoria in such an authentic way, masterfully wrapped into a ghost story that is both actually spooky and genuinely sweet. I bought this for my tween but consumed it myself within days, before she’s even had a chance to pick it up herself!

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2 people found this helpful

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    5 out of 5 stars
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finally a truly outstanding narrative 4 trans boys

nothing I've yet read has come close to being as authentic as this book. love.

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3 people found this helpful

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Excellent

This was very helpful for me as someone who has questioned their gender. I like how it had a happy ending too.

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  • Overall
    2 out of 5 stars
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    1 out of 5 stars
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    2 out of 5 stars

Mediocre and predictable

I love books supporting trans students coming out but this one was pretty predictable and just bland in its language. Also, the person who read the story had a voice that was very hard to listen to.

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1 person found this helpful