Editor’s note: This reader review was submitted as part of Adult Summer Reading. We will be sharing more throughout the rest of the year.
“This Is How It Always Is” by Laurie Frankel is about a family with a gender non-conforming child and how one secret can change a family’s whole dynamic. I loved the story itself and seeing the world from Poppy’s perspective. I didn’t entirely enjoy Penn’s long dramatic monologues. It was a slower read for me, but I feel like it opened my mind to what it would be like to have a big family and a gender non-conforming family member! The universal theme of a family keeping secrets is always interesting, too.
Three words that describe this book: family, secrets, heartwarming
You might want to pick this book up if: You’re a parent or someone who is gender non-conforming or loves someone who is!
-Samantha
