The final chapter is what made this three stars instead of two. So many parts felt heavy-handed and over-dramatic, but chapter nine had a bittersweet sort of melancholy that I identified with more than I thought I would. ( )

Professional reviews of this book call it 'sensitive', but for me 'dreary' is a better description. I think the book does a good job giving a feel of being a Chinese outsider in a very white Canadian town, and how it affected and molded each member of the family differently. I was especially moved by Peter's mother, who grew up privileged in China, but felt marooned and lost in Canada, dominated by her husband and disappointed in her children. This sentence captures her so well and so simply: Mother, a pilgrim who walked a thousand miles only to find the sacred grove was just a clump of trees."

This is one of those books that I didn't enjoy while reading, but appreciate more afterwards. I like the idea of writing Peter as a character who - slowly, painfully and all alone - has to figure out that he is trans. But he didn't feel entirely real to me, as if the author didn't do enough research into trans struggles to create a fully authentic character.

On a technical note, the transitions from Peter's voice to an omniscient voice were too abrupt, and broke the flow of the writing. ( )

This one just did not work for me. It was entirely too disjointed and distant, with a focus on other characters that was both unnecessary and distracting. The storytelling was as flat as the characters, with the question of gender seemingly used more as a novelty hook as opposed to a theme to be developed.

In all honesty, I skimmed for a bit and then just gave up.

I wanted to love this book, but I never quite connected with Peter. His struggle never really felt strong enough? Deep enough? Something, anyway. When he had suicidal thoughts, I didn't feel that he had gotten that desperate. And, yes, I'm well aware that the trigger for these thoughts and actions is different for each person and what one may find bearable, another may feel is completely unbearable. However, as a reader, I spent the time inside Peter's head and still didn't believe his despair deep enough to get to that point. The book is beautifully written and the story well told, but there is something--and maybe it's something in me--that kept me from connecting to Peter's journey emotionally. There were times when I should have cried and times when I should have cheered and I recognized those moments intellectually, but they didn't spark any emotional response. It's a good book, but not a great one. ( )

Peter is celebrated by his Chinese parents, who had been waiting for years to have a son, from the moment he is born. As he grows, he feels forced to live up to the high expectations of his overbearing father while surrounded by his three vastly different sisters and submissive mother. Yet, from a young age, Peter feels sure he is a girl, making the norms set by his father seem like impossible goals to reach.

Where Peter's female identity is silently recognized by his sisters from childhood, he never breaches the subject with his parents, though his father routinely drills him on the importance of masculinity. Still, his struggle with gender identity is not necessarily the central focus of the novel, as it is not a public feature of Peter's life. Instead, it weighs as a burden, hidden in the private thoughts and actions that impact every decision in his coming-of-age story.

After reading Golden Boy by Abigail Tarttelin, a novel with similar themes that I also loved, For Today I Am a Boy stands out for its willingness to embrace the differences in individual experiences. Fu gracefully balances ideas of self, cultural identity and acceptance in a novel that readers won't soon forget.

Read more at: www.rivercityreading.com ( )