#MMGM: Glitch Girl, by Rainie Oet
I'm posting this morning with the Marvelous Middle Grade Mondays blog hop. The hop is sponsored by Greg Pattridge of Always in the Middle. Check out Greg's blog for a list of additional middle grade reviews.
In honor of Pride month, I am also seeking out, reading, and reviewing MG books with LGBTQ+ characters and themes. This verse novel is a little different from the others I've read and reviewed.
Title: Glitch Girl!
Author: Rainie Oet
Publication Info: Kokila, 2025. 448 pages
Source: Library
Publisher's Blurb (via Goodreads):
A middle grade novel in verse about a young
trans girl who uses a computer game to process an ADHD diagnosis,
isolation, and her relationship to gender for fans of Too Bright to See by Kyle Lukoff.
J—’s life is consumed by the roller coaster video game Coaster Boss, and by the power she exerts over the pixelated theme park attendees. Her life outside the game, however, is less controllable.
Me.
I’m such a big space. I break the universe, a glitch.
She's
navigating ADHD, the loneliness of middle school, and an overwhelming
crush on a girl named Junie. J— is convinced that Junie sees her as who
she really is, a person who isn’t “bad” just because she doesn't stay
quiet and sit still in class. As a person who is realizing that the name
she's been given doesn’t really fit her. And that maybe boy doesn’t
either.
Glitch Girl! follows J— from fifth to
seventh grade, from the beginning to the end of her obsession with
Coaster Boss, and to the start of a new friendship. When J— meets Sam, a
nonbinary classmate, she begins to realize that it's okay to not fit
into neat, pixelated boxes.
My Review:
First off, despite the high page count, because this is a novel in verse it's not as long as it looks. Secondly, unlike how I feel about most verse novels, the poems in this one often really feel like poetry, not just sparse prose. Thirdly, J-- has ADHD and, I think, autism (can't recall if that's made explicit in the story), and this really shows in the narration. The story is set in the early 2000s, and is largely autobiographical.
Okay, so what about the story? I admit I wasn't sure at first. Telling the story with poems makes it at times disjointed and confusing--which I don't think is any accident. The narration seems to me to reflects the way J-- sees the world--I don't think anything I've ever read has given me as much of a feeling for what ADHD is like, and if at times it made me uncomfortable and confused, well, that seems only fair.
J--'s ADHD, rather than her gender, is more the focus of much of the story. But the book does trace the gradual realization that "boy" is not a good descriptor for her, and I think we can see the ways that discomfort plays into the ADHD. Her interactions with the "Coaster Boss" video game are sometimes creepy--and she knows it.
J--'s parents are a bit problematic. They aren't great parents in a lot of ways. They have totally let her see that she's a disappointment, and they've labeled behaviors she can't control as "badness," which is not helpful, to say the least. In the end, though, we are allowed to see them, too, learning and changing along with their daughter, creating a conclusion that I found mostly satisfying.
My Recommendation:
Did I love this book? Not really, but that was me, not the book. I struggled with the sort of scattered nature of the story, especially early on--a story that so well reflects the way J--'s mind is working (or not). I DO think that this will appeal to a lot of kids, and that there are a lot of them who need it. I suspect some will find themselves represented here in a way they never have elsewhere.
FTC Disclosure: I checked Glitch Girl! out of the library, and received nothing from the writer or publisher for my honest review. The opinions expressed are my own and those of no one else. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission's 16 CFR, Part 255: "Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising."
©Rebecca M. Douglass, 2026
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I would struggle with the scattered nature of a story too. I haven't read a middle grade with a kid with ADHD either. But my daughter has it and has told me about how she experiences it. She's on medication and has lots of coping skills and is doing great. I'm reading The London Seance Society by Sarah Penner now. It's adult fiction with LBGTQ themes and is set in 1873. You might like it.
ReplyDeleteMy goodness, there is a lot going on in this story. Novels in verse aren't my preferred choice but this does have many elements I'd enjoy. Other books I've read with an ADHD main character include FOCUSED by Alyson Gerber; HONESTLY ELLIOTT by Gillian McDunn; and JOEY PIGZA SWALLOWED THE KEY by Jack Santos.
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