Stay Gold
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- Create Date：2021-05-28 11:56:56
- Update Date：2025-09-06
- Status：finish
- Author：Tobly McSmith
- ISBN：0062943170
- Environment：PC/Android/iPhone/iPad/Kindle
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Summary
Debut author Tobly McSmith delivers a coming-of-age teen love story about a transgender boy who’s going stealth at his new Texas high school and a cisgender girl who is drawn to him， even as she’s counting down the days until graduation。 Perfect for fans of David Levithan， Becky Albertalli， and Jenny Han。
Pony just wants to fly under the radar during senior year。 Tired from all the attention he got at his old school after coming out as transgender， he’s looking for a fresh start at Hillcrest High。 But it’s hard to live your best life when the threat of exposure lurks down every hallway and in every bathroom。
Georgia is beginning to think there’s more to life than cheerleading。 She plans on keeping a low profile until graduation…which is why she promised herself that dating was officially a no-go this year。
Then， on the very first day of school， the new guy and the cheerleader lock eyes。 How is Pony supposed to stay stealth when he wants to get close to a girl like Georgia？ How is Georgia supposed to keep her promise when sparks start flying with a boy like Pony？
Funny and poignant， clear-eyed and hopeful， Stay Gold is a story about finding love—and finding yourself。
Pony just wants to fly under the radar during senior year。 Tired from all the attention he got at his old school after coming out as transgender， he’s looking for a fresh start at Hillcrest High。 But it’s hard to live your best life when the threat of exposure lurks down every hallway and in every bathroom。
Georgia is beginning to think there’s more to life than cheerleading。 She plans on keeping a low profile until graduation…which is why she promised herself that dating was officially a no-go this year。
Then， on the very first day of school， the new guy and the cheerleader lock eyes。 How is Pony supposed to stay stealth when he wants to get close to a girl like Georgia？ How is Georgia supposed to keep her promise when sparks start flying with a boy like Pony？
Funny and poignant， clear-eyed and hopeful， Stay Gold is a story about finding love—and finding yourself。
Reviews
Em
，
"We need marginalized people， like the LGBTQIA community， to be louder and more visible。 And they need our help to feel safe enough to shine。 That’s on us。"All Pony wants is to make it through his senior year unscathed。 After all the hassle of coming out as trans at his last school， he wants his time at Hillcrest to be as straightforward as possible。 All Georgia wants is to keep on her cheer captain's good side but her passion for journalism and her flair for the dramatic keep getting in the "We need marginalized people， like the LGBTQIA community， to be louder and more visible。 And they need our help to feel safe enough to shine。 That’s on us。"All Pony wants is to make it through his senior year unscathed。 After all the hassle of coming out as trans at his last school， he wants his time at Hillcrest to be as straightforward as possible。 All Georgia wants is to keep on her cheer captain's good side but her passion for journalism and her flair for the dramatic keep getting in the way。 Being true to yourself is difficult but sharing your truth with others is even more so。 Pony and Georgia are about to learn that the hard way。 Okay YA publishers， we need to talk about the way you market trans books。 This is the third book I've come across recently whose blurb promises a light-hearted romance but actually turns out to be full of triggering， transphobic content that just isn't safe to walk into unawares。 Is there a space for books about trans pain？ Of course， but those books need to come with fair warning and Stay Gold absolutely does not。 This is a brutal read。 I figured out pretty quickly that this isn't necessarily a book to give sweeping praise。 It's a nuanced look at the trans experience and that requires a nuanced response。 Its honesty is unflinching and its willingness to show how difficult life can be for trans teens is unfailing but that makes for an emotionally taxing read that doesn't really address the abuse Pony faces at the hands of the other characters。 It's one thing to show the hardships faced by a marginalised community， it's another thing to explain why the majority - cis people - need to be aware of them。 That's the clincher with this book。 It's about the trans experience but it's not necessarily written for a trans audience。 This is a book I would recommend to cis people wanting - or needing - to learn about the day-to-day dangers of being trans。 Misgendering， bathroom dilemmas， the constant threat of being outed。 Trans people already understand these things; it's cis people who need the education this book offers。 But what this book really fails to do is make amends to Pony for the abuse he suffers。 Georgia needed to do more than write an article to apologise - especially when that article outs Pony to anyone with access to the internet。 Pony's father needed to do more than donate a couple grand to a GoFundMe。 Max needed to apologise for pushing Pony to do things it wasn't safe for him to do and ignoring the fact that trans people have different experiences with the process of transitioning。 Pony deserved better than the showy apologies at the end of the book - he deserved real growth from the people around him and acknowledgements of the trauma they put him through。 If you're a cis person still learning about what the trans experience can be like， I would encourage you to read this book as a starting point。 But please continue to learn about trans life beyond the community's pain。 Trans joy is out there as much as the danger is and I hope we start seeing more YA books focusing on that joy soon。 Warnings: transphobia， an abusive parent， queer-bashing， sexual assault， public outing of someone’s sexuality， suicidal ideation and an instance of revenge porn。 。。。more
Isabella
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Honestly loved this book so much。 I had a feeling it'd be good but DAMN。I could go on a very long tangent here but I'm not because I've been procrastinating homework that really needs to be done。 Basically Pony was a great character and everything about him I just loved。 Georgia wassss， ok like she was great and all， but in the middle there y i k e s。 （view spoiler）[She was so cruel to Pony when he told her he was transgender， she kept saying he was lying to her and it really made her character Honestly loved this book so much。 I had a feeling it'd be good but DAMN。I could go on a very long tangent here but I'm not because I've been procrastinating homework that really needs to be done。 Basically Pony was a great character and everything about him I just loved。 Georgia wassss， ok like she was great and all， but in the middle there y i k e s。 （view spoiler）[She was so cruel to Pony when he told her he was transgender， she kept saying he was lying to her and it really made her character overall shitty in my eye。 Obviously。 But with them getting together in the end， it just sits wrong with me。 Yeah she was obsessed with image but holy shit。 Idk， I guess there wasn't enough said about her initial reaction to Pony being transgender for me to just absolutely LOVE them being together in the end。 （hide spoiler）]The cover is so cute and the audiobook is really good in case anyone is interested in reading it that way。 Would maybe recommend， but be warned the main love interest in a tad transphobic。 。。。more
Steph
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WOW this book made me feel all the things。 It's really important。 The only reason I knocked a few stars off is that there are a few plot holes in the first half that I feel like deserved a bit more of an explanation。 But the second half， pun completely intended， was gold。 WOW this book made me feel all the things。 It's really important。 The only reason I knocked a few stars off is that there are a few plot holes in the first half that I feel like deserved a bit more of an explanation。 But the second half， pun completely intended， was gold。 。。。more
Zozo
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It was so goood it showed also a real problem many trans people have to face， but also a love that is not to cliché and just perfect。 I so recommend it i read it super fast because I couldn't stop reading It was so goood it showed also a real problem many trans people have to face， but also a love that is not to cliché and just perfect。 I so recommend it i read it super fast because I couldn't stop reading 。。。more
Abby
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This was pitched to me as The Outsiders but LQBTQ+ which I was excited and nervous about it's not， that's not an issue in itself just set up my expectations differently and if there had just been a different mc name and title you would have no idea。 Positives trans rep is pretty lacking so it's always great to see but this is not a rom-com there is lots of homophobia and transphobia， and while I didn't finish it's so clear that Pony is going to be forced into coming out and I just don't want to This was pitched to me as The Outsiders but LQBTQ+ which I was excited and nervous about it's not， that's not an issue in itself just set up my expectations differently and if there had just been a different mc name and title you would have no idea。 Positives trans rep is pretty lacking so it's always great to see but this is not a rom-com there is lots of homophobia and transphobia， and while I didn't finish it's so clear that Pony is going to be forced into coming out and I just don't want to read that。 An issue that I find pretty regularly plagues ya-contemporary is that this is not what teenagers act like， please stop， there are not random words shortened （not slang）， and acronyms。 Seniors do not care about freshmen， you spend half the year worrying about apps then miss half your classes， freshmen are just annoying no one cares about them。 Also， no one cares if you're new I went to a relatively large school like in the novel， and I couldn't name half the people in my class let alone tell you if someone transferred partway through your teachers don't say your knew in the front of the class they don't care。 。。。more
Emily Dean
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This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers。 To view it， click here。 I enjoyed this book， but I HATED Max for trying to guilt/force Pony to tell people he was trans before he was ready。 And if he was never ready， that would have been fine， too。 Aside from that， though the characters were definitely flawed， as high school children （and parents） tend to be， I really loved reading Pony’s story。 By the end of the book everything was all wrapped up with a neat little bow。 Sometimes you just want a happy ending and I’m glad Pony got his。
Cecilia Rossi De Pieri
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The cover: 💖🥰💗🌈✨The content: 💔🤬💣💢😭
Lexi
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This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers。 To view it， click here。 man i really wanted to love this。 the premise sounded great and i always am on the search for more trans rep， especially from ownvoices authors。 h o w e v e r。 i couldn't root for either of the characters， and personally didn't find them likable。 i found pony strangely insistent and disrespectful towards georgia when she said she didn't want to date but would like to be friends。 instead of respecting her wishes and backing off， pony continued to flirt and turn platonic situations into romantic o man i really wanted to love this。 the premise sounded great and i always am on the search for more trans rep， especially from ownvoices authors。 h o w e v e r。 i couldn't root for either of the characters， and personally didn't find them likable。 i found pony strangely insistent and disrespectful towards georgia when she said she didn't want to date but would like to be friends。 instead of respecting her wishes and backing off， pony continued to flirt and turn platonic situations into romantic ones and i just found it so frustrating？ he seemed so resentful that she just wanted to be friends and i've seen that so much irl from toxic guys who refuse to take no for an answer。 georgia was also。 not great。 her insistence that pony 'lied' to her was really annoying。 i just don't think hiding the fact that you are trans is lying， nor is it really 'hiding'， as much as i would think it's something an individual is allowed to keep private if they wish。 which kind of brings me to the overall idea of the novel， which seems to be that you should be as public and visible about your queer identity as possible。 i just。 hate this idea。 i think it's great and wonderful if someone is proud and open about their identity if that's what they want and feel comfortable with， but as proven in the novel， sometimes that can be dangerous！！！ not everywhere is going to be as open minded and as inclusive to be openly queer， and while that's unfortunate and should be improved， it's not up to lgbt+ and marginalised people to expose themselves to potential backlash。 it's up to the majority to create safer and more welcoming environments for the marginalised。 and i hate that the novel implies that you're a bad person for hiding your queerness to protect yourself。 and i also think it's probably more complicated than a short review on goodreads can cover。 and on a minor note， the constant pop culture references， the tedious high school drama and easy resolutions irritated me。 and i don't know if that's a fault of the novel or if it's just me outgrowing YA。 。。。more
Shelley
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it was good。 just the general YA novel。
Ashley Curtin
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Beautiful。 Heartbreaking。 It made me tear up at the end。
Jacob
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Stay Gold had some bright spots。 Pony was engaging and deep and I liked his vibe。 Georgia was okay and occasionally annoyed me with her generic cheerleaderness。 When I selected this book I was expecting a bit more romance and less of some of the trans-rights education that is sprinkled throughout the book。 I did learn from some of those education pieces， so it's not a bad thing， but I was going in looking to read a trans romance that was more centrally a romance。 Maybe that's my own bias and all Stay Gold had some bright spots。 Pony was engaging and deep and I liked his vibe。 Georgia was okay and occasionally annoyed me with her generic cheerleaderness。 When I selected this book I was expecting a bit more romance and less of some of the trans-rights education that is sprinkled throughout the book。 I did learn from some of those education pieces， so it's not a bad thing， but I was going in looking to read a trans romance that was more centrally a romance。 Maybe that's my own bias and all that being said， I really loved Max a whole lot。 If instead I'd started reading this thinking of the story as a young adult book with some romance I would have been better set。My favorite part of this book is this stylistic thing that Tobly does in the writing。 Every single time someone genders Pony correctly， there is a new line with only the pronoun italicized。 It reads like a glowing giddy smile， over and over again。 The consistency of this throughout the book really emphasized how powerful that experience is and I loved how it was done。My least favorite part of this book was the constant product placement。 I have no idea if Tobly McSmith got paid， but Target and Sonic should pay up with the amount of times they get called out。 My other critique is that the book also seemed racially color blind， without any significant mention of the race of different characters。 Jake was potentially a POC but it was ambiguous。 That lack of diversity made the world a little less rich。Stay Gold was hard to read at points and Pony's pain felt very real。 I needed to take a breather a few times with the heaviness of the oppression and violence that he experiences。 Overall， glad I read it， but wouldn't want to read it again。--I read this for Book Riot's 2021 Read Harder Challenge #8: "Read a romance by a trans or nonbinary author。" 。。。more
Fernanda Granzotto
，
Audiobook！3。5 stars
Hailey
，
I love Pony so much！！！ 😭 What a wonderful story！ I was rooting for him the entire time。 I loved his speech he gave his dad， and Georgia's speech she also gave to Pony's dad。 This book needs more hype because it was so good！！！！I also LOVED Theo Germaine's narration！ What a perfect casting！ BRAVOOOOO！！！ I love Pony so much！！！ 😭 What a wonderful story！ I was rooting for him the entire time。 I loved his speech he gave his dad， and Georgia's speech she also gave to Pony's dad。 This book needs more hype because it was so good！！！！I also LOVED Theo Germaine's narration！ What a perfect casting！ BRAVOOOOO！！！ 。。。more
Ariana Kountouri
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A truly magic novel。 This specific book has taught me so much about one sexuality and how bad it can be when you don't allow someone to be themselves ，how important friendship is and how strong a person's determination can became 。 A truly magic novel。 This specific book has taught me so much about one sexuality and how bad it can be when you don't allow someone to be themselves ，how important friendship is and how strong a person's determination can became 。 。。。more
Jasper
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This wasn’t an easy read。 Although I came out as trans later in life， I can feel this。 the non-acceptance from family， the suicidal thoughts， the pressure to fit into a box of masculinity。 The character trying to force him to come out， abandoning him when he didn’t。。。 That was the part that made me angriest。 You cannot force someone to come out， it is not always safe for them。 If someone is stealth， that is okay。 I know people who are stealth， and I would never imagine forcing them out。 Overall， This wasn’t an easy read。 Although I came out as trans later in life， I can feel this。 the non-acceptance from family， the suicidal thoughts， the pressure to fit into a box of masculinity。 The character trying to force him to come out， abandoning him when he didn’t。。。 That was the part that made me angriest。 You cannot force someone to come out， it is not always safe for them。 If someone is stealth， that is okay。 I know people who are stealth， and I would never imagine forcing them out。 Overall， very good book with a feel good ending。 。。。more
Sharon Cote
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This was a great story， well written and well narrated。 There was a lot of good insight into the trials of being transgender。 There was also some more general insight into the LGBTQIA world。 The story was well voiced as to feelings and emotions and issues of a trans person。 I liked and rooted for the characters， and appreciated the personal growth。 （I also liked the nod to the Outsiders）
Emma
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I was looking for a feel-good LGBTQ+ story， and this definitely rose to the task。 I had a couple of feelings about the pacing of the story and some very minor critiques， but overall I really enjoyed it。 A low 4。5/5。
Lukas
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I'm a trans man， albeit a little older than the intended audience at 26 and long transitioned。 To me this book was way too cringy。 References to current events and slang that， even now， feel outdated。 Personally， I read to get away from current topics。 I appreciate difficult topics， but the references to MAGA， etc。 were quite off-putting to me - at that point I can just go read twitter。 I understand why books about trans people still do a lot of explaining currently - but here it was handled ver I'm a trans man， albeit a little older than the intended audience at 26 and long transitioned。 To me this book was way too cringy。 References to current events and slang that， even now， feel outdated。 Personally， I read to get away from current topics。 I appreciate difficult topics， but the references to MAGA， etc。 were quite off-putting to me - at that point I can just go read twitter。 I understand why books about trans people still do a lot of explaining currently - but here it was handled very stiff and heavy-handed。 This next might spoils the ending， but unfortunately I really hated how the author handled stealth vs。 out。 （view spoiler）[ The bullying of the main character for being stealth by his "best friend" was also never addressed。 Instead， the story concluded with everyone being unendingly supportive， apart from one incident， and <> What a harmful narrative and how condescending！ The author obviously feels that being stealth or not completely "out and proud" is a bad thing and that every trans person has a duty to be out。 For this， I hated the book。 （hide spoiler）] 。。。more
H。
，
The trans representation was amazing， but the story was quite bland。 i cried at one spot， but more bcs of my experiences and less bcs of the book。
Jem Fisher
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I wasn't a fan of the couple at all for a lot of reasons。 The fact that Georgia spends 2/3rds of the book being fucking transphobic isn't cute。I wasn't a fan of the extremely toxic rhetoric the other LGBTQ characters were spouting。 The fact that Max is constantly belittling and bullying his best friends choice to pass and keep his life "stealth" was nauseating to read。 there isn't one singular way to be trans and I felt like this book really pushed the idea that there is a correct way to have a I wasn't a fan of the couple at all for a lot of reasons。 The fact that Georgia spends 2/3rds of the book being fucking transphobic isn't cute。I wasn't a fan of the extremely toxic rhetoric the other LGBTQ characters were spouting。 The fact that Max is constantly belittling and bullying his best friends choice to pass and keep his life "stealth" was nauseating to read。 there isn't one singular way to be trans and I felt like this book really pushed the idea that there is a correct way to have a trans experience。I really really really really really really just hated the fact Georgia could feel empathy with Jakes wealth being trouble for him but couldn't even try and understand the fact Pony was trans？？？ Like？？？？ As a trans person I was just super turned off about these things。 The message to be proud of who you are got lost in all the toxic trans rhetoric and transphobic plot points。I really only was able to finish the audiobook because i love Theo Germaine。 If one of my trans friends told me "come out or I'll stop being your friend" i would literally cut them out of my life。 Just really as a transgender person i found this book so fucking offensive。 。。。more
Nim nim
，
4。5/5 Wow。 Just wow。 The story was extremely smooth and natural with its pace and direction。 I never once had to go back and re-read a description， they were never too detailed nor too vague。 This book made me realize and experience （as much as possible） what a trans person has to go through。 It was so heartbreaking that they couldn’t just exist normally。 Hearing the main character’s thoughts and “witnessing” the awful treatment he received made my blood boil。 On top of that， he felt GUILTY like 4。5/5 Wow。 Just wow。 The story was extremely smooth and natural with its pace and direction。 I never once had to go back and re-read a description， they were never too detailed nor too vague。 This book made me realize and experience （as much as possible） what a trans person has to go through。 It was so heartbreaking that they couldn’t just exist normally。 Hearing the main character’s thoughts and “witnessing” the awful treatment he received made my blood boil。 On top of that， he felt GUILTY like it was his fault？！！？？？ I’m so sorry to anyone who feels this way， feels the need to hide themselves out of fear of being rejected by their loved ones and society。 I realized the importance， no， more like the author showed me the importance of standing up to ignorance and hate towards the LGBTQ+ community and towards the people who don’t fit society’s norms。 No one deserves to be treated like less， especially if their “fault” is just existing。 I related to this on a level I didn’t think I would， and I now know that standing up to it is way more important than I thought it was。 Aside from that， I loved how the story progressed in a heartwarming way。 I cried happy tears mixed with sad tears， it was an emotional mess。 It was refreshing to hear “don’t care about what others think of you， stay true to yourself” in such a deep and moving way。 。。。more
tiffany
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starting a georgia hate page she’s so mean
Bee
，
Okay so for the most part I actually like the book and how the story went。 Yes there was some problems but overall it’s a great book。
Emerson L
，
This book was really really good and seriously underrated。 I rarely have a book so good that I don’t go on my phone the whole afternoon but this one had me sitting in my room reading literally all day。 This story was so beautiful I cried at the end， the characters and relationship were both so well written。 Please read this book！
bee！
，
jeez。 lets start off with the fact that this is NOT a light-hearted romance。 not what it looks like or is advertised to be。 Major trigger earnings in the book are: Transphobia， suicidal thoughts， （I may be wrong but I think！ that self harm was mentioned？） AGain， transphobia。 AND AND AND I HAT EHAT HATW HATETETET georgina。 Lets leave it at that。 Glad she learned at the end though。 Also， in some laces in the book it felt like a straight infodump。 When pony was talking about binders， which I'm alre jeez。 lets start off with the fact that this is NOT a light-hearted romance。 not what it looks like or is advertised to be。 Major trigger earnings in the book are: Transphobia， suicidal thoughts， （I may be wrong but I think！ that self harm was mentioned？） AGain， transphobia。 AND AND AND I HAT EHAT HATW HATETETET georgina。 Lets leave it at that。 Glad she learned at the end though。 Also， in some laces in the book it felt like a straight infodump。 When pony was talking about binders， which I'm already aware about， I just ？？ at times it felt like I was just getting educated which， I didn't really enjoy。 I did think the author did a good job at the info-dump at the end， because it was appropriate。 I really did enjoy this book， but it was a difficult read。 。。。more
ashtyn robinson
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this book was so good it made me cry in the end which almost never happens when i read。 the ending made me so so happy and it just got better the further i read
Kristina Hart
，
Stay Gold is a stunning debut from the author and is a powerful coming of age novel about Pony， a transgender teenager trying to fly under the radar。 Having moved to a new school， Hillcrest High， no one knows his history and he finally feels he can belong。 However， as time progresses Pony cannot stay as silent as he would like， about his transition， due to various reasons。 Pony meets Georgia a cheerleader and immediately falls for her。 He sees her， beyond the cheerleader façade， sensing there is Stay Gold is a stunning debut from the author and is a powerful coming of age novel about Pony， a transgender teenager trying to fly under the radar。 Having moved to a new school， Hillcrest High， no one knows his history and he finally feels he can belong。 However， as time progresses Pony cannot stay as silent as he would like， about his transition， due to various reasons。 Pony meets Georgia a cheerleader and immediately falls for her。 He sees her， beyond the cheerleader façade， sensing there is much more to her。 She is just as interested but after finding out his secret， she struggles with her inner thoughts about the situation， worrying about what others will think， deciding they should just stay friends…This book highlights the difficulties that transgender individuals face on a daily basis， including wearing tight bindings， which can cause long term medical issues。 The issues surrounding the use of public bathrooms and the stigma faced by society。 This book focuses on the complexities surrounding being transgender but in a really easy， fun and accessible way。I LOVED this book！ 。。。more
Lillian
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This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers。 To view it， click here。 I am really glad I read some reviews before reading this book because I wouldn't have expected everything in this book。 There are a lot of potentially triggering things， like deadnaming， transphobia， public outing， dysphoria， and hate crimes。 There were parts that were hard to readIt was a really good book overall though。 I'm glad it wasn't this perfect life for Pony because this felt more true。 I finished this book in 1 day。 It was so hard to put down。 The romance was sweet， and Tobly McSmith d I am really glad I read some reviews before reading this book because I wouldn't have expected everything in this book。 There are a lot of potentially triggering things， like deadnaming， transphobia， public outing， dysphoria， and hate crimes。 There were parts that were hard to readIt was a really good book overall though。 I'm glad it wasn't this perfect life for Pony because this felt more true。 I finished this book in 1 day。 It was so hard to put down。 The romance was sweet， and Tobly McSmith did a really good job of portraying what it can be like to come out to people you care about。 He also did a good job of making Georgia a changing character。 Sometimes you liked her， and sometimes you wished she would just understand。 He made her real。 。。。more
˚✧₊⁎lily˚✧₊⁎
，
There is so much to love about this book。 Bear in mind that there is a lot of transphobia。 I love Pony and his journey throughout this book。 Made me feel a lot of ways 🥲
Janina
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Wow。 One of the best books I've read in months， it really brought back my love to read Wow。 One of the best books I've read in months， it really brought back my love to read 。。。more
Reference
google book https://www.google.com/search?tbm=bks&q=Stay Gold
hathitrust digital library https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/ls?q1=Stay Gold&field1=ocr&a=srchls&ft=ft&lmt=ft
The British Library https://bll01.primo.exlibrisgroup.com/discovery/search?query=any,contains,Stay Gold&tab=LibraryCatalog&search_scope=Not_BL_Suppress&vid=44BL_INST:BLL01&lang=en&offset=0