''Too Bright to See'' is a

middle grade Middle grade fiction is fiction intended for children between the ages of 8 and 12. While these books are sometimes grouped together with books for other age bands and called collectively "children's books", middle grade is distinct from, and is ...

ghost novel written by

Kyle Lukoff Kyle Lukoff is a children's book author, school librarian, and former bookseller. He is most known for the Stonewall Awards, Stonewall award-winning ''When Aidan Became a Brother'' and for ''Call Me Max'', which gained attention when parents in T ...

and published on April 20, 2021, by Dial Books. It tells the story of Bug, a transgender boy who lives in a haunted house, as he tries to understand a message a

ghost A ghost is the soul or spirit of a dead person or animal that is believed to be able to appear to the living. In ghostlore, descriptions of ghosts vary widely from an invisible presence to translucent or barely visible wispy shapes, to rea ...

is trying to send him. ''Too Bright to See'' received

starred reviews A starred review is a book review marked with a star to denote a book of distinction or particularly high quality. A starred review can help to increase media coverage, bookstore placement and sales of a book. References {{DEFAULTSORT:Starr ...

from several outlets, including ''Kirkus Reviews'', ''Publishers Weekly'' and ''School Library Journal'', who praised the author's take on

gender identities Gender identity is the personal sense of one's own gender. Gender identity can correlate with a person's assigned sex or can differ from it. In most individuals, the various biological determinants of sex are congruent, and consistent with the i ...

and

self-acceptance Self-acceptance is acceptance of self. Definition Self-acceptance can be defined as: * the awareness of one's strengths and weaknesses, * the realistic (yet subjective) appraisal of one's talents, capabilities, and general worth, and, * feelings ...

Reception

Kirkus Reviews ''Kirkus Reviews'' (or ''Kirkus Media'') is an American book review magazine founded in 1933 by Virginia Kirkus (1893–1980). The magazine is headquartered in New York City. ''Kirkus Reviews'' confers the annual Kirkus Prize to authors of fic ...

'' noted the book's focus on a

coming out Coming out of the closet, often shortened to coming out, is a metaphor used to describe LGBT people's self-disclosure of their sexual orientation, romantic orientation, or gender identity. Framed and debated as a privacy issue, coming out of ...

story from "the perspective of a young person who does not initially know how to identify his discomfort." They also commented on Lukoff's push against gender stereotypes, and called the book " unting and healing." '' Publishers Weekly'' praised the author's "smart and thought-provoking use of the ghost story framework" to talk about the main character's experience as a transgender boy. They concluded by saying "Lukoff provides a tender rumination on grief, love, and identity." Taylor Worley, who reviewed the book for the '' School Library Journal'', called Lukoff's book "a deeply empathetic exploration of grief and gender identity," and noted that both the

ghost story A ghost story is any piece of fiction, or drama, that includes a ghost, or simply takes as a premise the possibility of ghosts or characters' belief in them."Ghost Stories" in Margaret Drabble (ed.), ''Oxford Companion to English Literature'' ...

and the overall themes on gender and identity are well written. ''Too Bright to See'' was a

Newbery Honor Book The John Newbery Medal, frequently shortened to the Newbery, is a literary award given by the Association for Library Service to Children (ALSC), a division of the American Library Association (ALA), to the author of "the most distinguished cont ...

and a finalist for the National Book Award in the "Young people's literature" category. The book was the recipient of the Stonewall Book Award in the "Children's and Young Adult" category, alongside Malinda Lo's ''

Last Night at the Telegraph Club ''Last Night at the Telegraph Club'' is a young adult historical novel written by Malinda Lo and published on January 19, 2021, by Dutton Books for Young Readers. It is set in 1950s San Francisco and tells the story of Lily Hu, a teenage daughte ...

''.{{cite news , last1=Harris , first1=Elizabeth A. , title=Donna Barba Higuera Wins Newbery Medal for 'The Last Cuentista' , url=https://www.nytimes.com/2022/01/24/books/newbery-last-cuentista-caldecott-watercress.html , access-date=March 3, 2022 , work=The New York Times , date=January 24, 2022 , archive-date=January 31, 2022 , archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220131113100/https://www.nytimes.com/2022/01/24/books/newbery-last-cuentista-caldecott-watercress.html , url-status=live

References

2021 children's books 2021 LGBT-related literary works American bildungsromans Children's books with transgender themes Dial Press books Ghost novels Newbery Honor-winning works Stonewall Book Award-winning works Novels with transgender themes 2020s LGBT novels American LGBT novels LGBT speculative fiction novels Children's books about ghosts