Act Cool by Tobly McSmith – 5 Star Book Review

A trans teen walks the fine line between doing whatever it takes for his acting dream and staying true to himself in this moving, thought-provoking YA novel from the acclaimed author of Stay Gold.

Welcome to my review post for Act Cool by Tobly McSmith!

I received an ARC of Act Cool from the HarperCollins Canada influencer team after attending the Fall YA catalogue preview event. Thank you so much for sending the book! My thoughts are my own, my review is honest, and I regret that I didn’t receive it in time to get my review out prior to release day.

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About the Book

Act Cool
by Tobly McSmith

Published 7 September 2021
Quill Tree Books

Genre: YA Contemporary, LGBTQIA+
Page Count: 352
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A trans teen walks the fine line between doing whatever it takes for his acting dream and staying true to himself in this moving, thought-provoking YA novel from the acclaimed author of Stay Gold.

Aspiring actor August Greene just landed a coveted spot at the prestigious School of Performing Arts in New York. There’s only one problem: His conservative parents won’t accept that he’s transgender. And to stay with his aunt in the city, August must promise them he won’t transition.

August is convinced he can play the part his parents want while acting cool and confident in the company of his talented new friends.

But who is August when the lights go down? And where will he turn when the roles start hitting a little too close to home?

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My Review

My Rating: 5 Stars
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I received an ARC of Act Cool from the HarperCollins Canada influencer team after attending the Fall YA catalogue preview event. Thank you so much for sending the book! My thoughts are my own, my review is honest, and I regret that I didn’t receive it in time to get my review out prior to release day.

Oh my gosh, this book is amazing! August is a trans teen who has just run away from his home in Pennsylvania and his ultra-religious transphobic parents to live with his aunt in New York and attend a prestigious performing arts high school. His dream is to make a name for himself on Broadway, and not just as a trans actor playing trans roles. In fact, he doesn’t want trans roles. Imagine the conflict, then, when a play about conversion therapy comes to town, plans to make use of the school’s theatre for rehearsal, and everyone is protesting the casting of a cis actor for an important trans speaking role.

This book has so much to say about learning to face, accept, and when necessary, move on from unsupportive family. Sometimes the best family is the family you choose, and August definitely learns to let go of the family that won’t support him while embracing the family who will. There’s also a lot in here about living your truth no matter what, and getting to a point in your own personal growth and healing where you’re able to drop any acts and masks you’ve put on for survival in the past and instead learn to just be yourself. Even for non-trans kids, teens, and young adults, these are important lessons to learn, but I do believe this book will be a very important, influential book for countless trans and non-binary young people. With that said, I don’t think this book should be a first trans story for anyone. It does an excellent job telling the story of a trans teen who has escaped an unsupportive situation and is learning to live in a supportive one, but it does very little to explain the culture and language of the LGBTQIA+ community and trans terminology in general. For those things, I would recommend starting with something like Felix Ever After and then coming here next.

I really enjoyed all the different plays that were mentioned in this book, too. Come From Away got a mention! Newfoundlander here, that made me smile! But also film, and how theatre and cinema play a huge role in LGBTQIA+ culture. Rocky Horror screening with all the bells and whistles? Amazing! “You’ll be drier here.” “Drier?” Oh sweet, innocent August…

This book broke my heart, but it’s absolutely forgiven for doing so.

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Want more? Check out my 3.5 star review of The Color of Dragons.