Too Bright to See
Kyle Lukoff
Dial Books
Published April 20, 2021
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About Too Bright to See
A haunting ghost story about navigating grief, growing up, and growing into a new gender identity
It’s the summer before middle school, and eleven-year-old Bug’s best friend Moira has decided the two of them need to use the next few months to prepare. For Moira, this means figuring out the right clothes to wear, learning how to put on makeup, and deciding which boys are cuter in their yearbook photos than in real life. But none of this is all that appealing to Bug, who doesn’t particularly want to spend more time trying to understand how to be a girl. Besides, there’s something more important to worry about: A ghost is haunting Bug’s eerie old house in rural Vermont…and maybe haunting Bug in particular. As Bug begins to untangle the mystery of who this ghost is and what they’re trying to say, an altogether different truth comes to light–Bug is transgender.
My Review
I found so many things about this book to be so clever. The way that Lukoff uses the ghost story tradition between Bug and Uncle Roderick sets up the haunting experience. Bug’s experience with reflections that seem wrong somehow becomes a description of gender dysphoria.
I’ve read other middle grade stories with protagonists who are very sure of their identity and either have already made changes to their pronouns and how they live or are in the process of doing so. This is the first time that I can remember reading a novel in which the main character has this slowly dawning realization of their identity, and it comes across as just as real and genuine, but we get to experience that journey with Bug.
I wasn’t sure at the beginning whether the ghost part of the story was going to be in Bug’s imagination or something that I should accept as really happening within the story. Some of the inexplicable things Bug goes through are a little scary. Moira cuts her foot on a broken nail polish bottle in the middle of the night. Bug’s room gets ransacked. Doors slam throughout the house while Bug is home alone. Yet I love that Bug turns to the library for answers and finds not only books that offer comforting explanations but a new friend, too.
I really enjoyed this book. I’ve read a picture book by Kyle Lukoff, but this is my first time reading a full-length novel by him. I’ll definitely be checking out more.
Readers who enjoy contemporary books that dabble in the supernatural or books that explore identity will enjoy this award-winning novel.
Content Notes
Recommended for Ages 9 to 12.
Profanity/Crude Language Content
None.
Romance/Sexual Content
Bug feels uncomfortable when Moira and some other girls from school discuss which boys are cutest.
Spiritual Content
Bug and Uncle Roderick played a game making up stories about the ghosts or ghostly presences in the house. Now that Uncle Roderick is gone, a ghost or ghostly presence begins doing unsettling things in the house, like breaking a bottle of nail polish and slamming doors. Bug and Moira use a ouija board to try to contact Uncle Roderick’s spirit.
Violent Content
Bug isn’t sure whether there’s danger from the ghosts or ghostly presences, so a couple of those scenes are a little intense. Nothing malevolent happens on the page, though.
Drug Content
Vague reference to an adult drinking a glass of wine.
Note: This post contains affiliate links, which do not cost you anything to use but help support this blog. I borrowed a copy of this book from the public library. All opinions are my own.
