Too Bright to See by Kyle Lukoff

 Bug lives in a haunted house with her mom and uncle.  When her uncle dies after a long sickness, paranormal experiences in the house escalate, and Bug believes her uncle is trying to tell her something.  Meanwhile, Bug's best friend, Moira, is gearing up for their first year in middle school by practicing makeup and upgrading her wardrobe to include more cute sundresses. Bug feels vaguely that she should be interested in those kind of things, but when Moira tries to dress her up in cute girly clothes or paint her fingernails, it only makes something in her stomach twist. Meanwhile the experiences with her uncle's ghost lead her on a path to self-discovery that ultimately helps her accept her real identity.

This is another of the Newbery Honor books from last year.  I didn't like it as well as Red White and Whole (see previous review).  It is well written, and the characters are sympathetic, but there are a lot of controversial ideas here.  (spoiler alert).  In the end, the ghost leads Bug to discover that she is transgender. I read the book George, and in that book, the child had believed he was really a she for a long time and the book was about getting the courage to tell someone how she felt.  In this book, however, the only evidence that Bug has that she is a he, is that he isn't interested in dresses and makeup and giggling about boys.  I don't know if it is a great message that if you are not a girly girl, you aren't a girl at all. There are plenty of girls who don't like makeup or dresses, but are still girls.  Also, Bug makes the discovery that she is transgender soon after the death of the Uncle, during a family financial crisis, and right before starting middle school. I don't think an 12-year-old, who hasn't even started puberty yet, should be making those kinds of decisions in the middle of emotional crisis.  Finally, the book portrayed Bug's decision to come out as transgender as the solution to all his problems.  Everyone in his life accepts his decision without drama or trauma.  I don't think that is realistic.  I don't see a school of early teenagers, or their teachers, all being that kind and accepting. (2021, 192 p)