Homebody

Homebody is a graphic novel memoir about Theo Parish's life as a nonbinary person. This coming of age book shows how they navigated their own identity and came out as a transgender and nonbinary. They called this process "coming home to myself wherever that may be" and use cute visual symbols of Theo drawn as a house to show how they come to feel more at home in their own body. The story of Theo's journey is an uplifting one that will likely be affirming for queer youth and enlightening for all audiences. It is an important memoir for middle school and high school students.

One thing I appreciated about Homebody is how Theo focuses on different elements of their transition as a nonbinary person. They discuss feeling pressure to conform to gender norms as a teen and how they were able to push back against these standards after high school. Theo covers big steps in their identity journey, like receiving a gender affirming hair cut, learning about the nonbinary identity, coming out in stages to friends and family and selecting a new name that better represents them. These steps are important as they help Theo to feel more comfortable and to become more authentically themself.

Homebody tells us that identity is complex. Figuring it out can take time and that's okay. As Theo writes, "There is no one way to be transgender... just like there is no one way to be cisgender. We are all just trying to find a place to call our own. We are all deserving of comfort and safety... A place to call home." Having a book that gently and honestly describes one individual's journey as a transgender nonbinary person and affirms that identity is incredibly important.