LGBT

Act Cool

Act Cool

  • Downloads：2334
  • Type：Epub+TxT+PDF+Mobi
  • Create Date：2022-02-18 09:54:49
  • Update Date：2025-09-06
  • Status：finish
  • Author：Tobly McSmith
  • ISBN：0063038560
  • Environment：PC/Android/iPhone/iPad/Kindle
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Summary

A trans teen walks the fine line between doing whatever it takes for his acting dream and staying true to himself in this moving， thought-provoking YA novel from the acclaimed author of Stay Gold。

Aspiring actor August Greene just landed a coveted spot at the prestigious School of Performing Arts in New York。 There’s only one problem: His conservative parents won’t accept that he’s transgender。 And to stay with his aunt in the city， August must promise them he won’t transition。

August is convinced he can play the part his parents want while acting cool and confident in the company of his talented new friends。

But who is August when the lights go down？ And where will he turn when the roles start hitting a little too close to home？

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Reviews

gabby_books_ ，

4/5⭐️To było mocne。 Książka mną wstrząsnęła。 Historia Augusta była niezwykle bolesna i zarazem piękna。 Łzy płynęły mi po policzkach ze smutku jak i ze wzruszenia。 Autor porusza bardzo ważny temat w swojej książce i uważam， że każdy powinien się z nim zapoznać。 Bardzo polubiłam postacie， zwłaszcza Elijah’a i ciocię Lil。 Niektóre zachowania bohaterów nie podobały mi się a momentami ich rozmowy trafiły sens。 Przez jakiś czas nie rozumiałam Augusta， ale każda kolejna strona pozwalała mi lepiej go po 4/5⭐️To było mocne。 Książka mną wstrząsnęła。 Historia Augusta była niezwykle bolesna i zarazem piękna。 Łzy płynęły mi po policzkach ze smutku jak i ze wzruszenia。 Autor porusza bardzo ważny temat w swojej książce i uważam， że każdy powinien się z nim zapoznać。 Bardzo polubiłam postacie， zwłaszcza Elijah’a i ciocię Lil。 Niektóre zachowania bohaterów nie podobały mi się a momentami ich rozmowy trafiły sens。 Przez jakiś czas nie rozumiałam Augusta， ale każda kolejna strona pozwalała mi lepiej go poznać i zrozumieć。Książka ma swoje wady ale jest bardzo wartościową lekturą。 Na długo zostanie w mojej pamięci a mój sposób postrzegania świata się wyostrzył。P。S książka spodoba się fanom klimatów Nowego Jorku， Broadwayu’ oraz prestiżowej szkoły dla utalentowanej młodzieży。 。。。more

Lizzie ，

Def a good book but there were moments were half the characters were getting on my nerves

Marta Book_with_benefits ，

5/10𝔸𝕔𝕥 ℂ𝕠𝕠𝕝。 August przez całe życie był aktorem， nie tylko na deskach szkolnego teatru， ale także w domu。 Jednak， gdy ma ma szansę otworzyć przed sobą drzwi do Broadwayowskiego teatru musi zadać sobie pytanie - kim tak naprawdę jest？。Mam z tą książką ogromny problem。 Uważam， że Act Cool miało bardzo duży potencjał — historia o transpłciowym aktorze， który odnajduje wolność po ucieczce od swojej konserwatywnej rodziny do cioci w Nowym Jorku — brzmi świetnie （szczególnie dla queer theater kids， 5/10𝔸𝕔𝕥 ℂ𝕠𝕠𝕝。 August przez całe życie był aktorem， nie tylko na deskach szkolnego teatru， ale także w domu。 Jednak， gdy ma ma szansę otworzyć przed sobą drzwi do Broadwayowskiego teatru musi zadać sobie pytanie - kim tak naprawdę jest？。Mam z tą książką ogromny problem。 Uważam， że Act Cool miało bardzo duży potencjał — historia o transpłciowym aktorze， który odnajduje wolność po ucieczce od swojej konserwatywnej rodziny do cioci w Nowym Jorku — brzmi świetnie （szczególnie dla queer theater kids， a wiem， że jest Was tu dużo ;））。 Jednak muszę wytknąć tej historii parę błędów。Po pierwsze samo wykonanie oraz kwestia stylistyczno — językowa。 Momentami niesamowicie ciężko mi się przez tę książkę brnęło — dialogi są bardzo nienaturalne， zdanie często na siłę wydłużane， nie wspominając już błędach w korekcie （szczególnie w kontekście używania złych zaimków względem osoby niebinarnej）。 Niestety， nawet jeśli uważam， że fabuła i postacie są ważniejsze niż kwestia wykonania， to w tym przypadku wszystko traciło na jakości i realizmie。Drugą kwestią， która bardzo mnie kłuła w oczy， był główny bohater - jest to bardzo subiektywna opinia， ale niestety muszę przyznać， że August niezmiernie mnie irytował。 Choć bardzo mu współczułam， to często przez jego sposób bycia i mówienia nie byłam w stanie brać go na poważnie…。Poza pomysłem niestety jedyną mocną stroną tej historii jest jej zakończenie。 Przez ostatnie 15-10% książki nie potrafiłam się oderwać， a moje serce nie wyrabiało przy przewracaniu finalnychstron。Podsumowując — nie będzie to mój ulubieniec， ale doceniam próbę wprowadzenia na polski rynek większej ilości reprezentacji。 I wiem， że jeśli właśnie tego potrzebujecie i poszukujecie w książkach， to mimo wszystko znajdziecie w Act Cool coś dla siebie。 。。。more

otylia ，

4，75/5brak mi słów。 to była wspaniała książka。

allison ，

this book was another case where i didn’t like the authors first book but loved their second。 i loved this book！ it was so easy to read。 i read pretty much the whole book in one day。 i loved reading about august’s journey。 i was genuinely interested the whole book。 i loved watching his growth。 august was such an easy character to cheer on。 i was so invested in his story and really wanted the best for him。 i found his journey with figuring out his role in the trans community really interesting。 w this book was another case where i didn’t like the authors first book but loved their second。 i loved this book！ it was so easy to read。 i read pretty much the whole book in one day。 i loved reading about august’s journey。 i was genuinely interested the whole book。 i loved watching his growth。 august was such an easy character to cheer on。 i was so invested in his story and really wanted the best for him。 i found his journey with figuring out his role in the trans community really interesting。 we really saw how new he was to understanding himself。 watching that growth over the book was really interesting。 i also loved all the side characters。 this book was so so good！！！ 。。。more

Weronika ，

To było dobre， smutne， wzruszające i potrzebne。

Theo B ，

I related to the main character a lot and it actually made me cry at the end。

Veronica ，

Początek zaskakująco długo mi się czytało- trochę brak chęci， trochę przez to， że potrzebowałam więcej stron by wciągnąć się w historię。 To nie tak， że jest zła czy nudna， wręcz przeciwnie- jest to urocza historia o poznawaniu siebie z uroczym bohaterem， która pod koniec mnie trochę kupiła。 Tak czy siak， ostatecznie polecam książkę， tym bardziej jak szuka się czegoś delikatniejszego do czytania。

James ，

Probably closer to a 4。5， but rounded up to counter balance the transphobes。OMFG。。。this was an uncomfortable read。 That's not a bad things。 Decently written books should make readers feel things。 That said， for trans readers， this may involve serious discomfort。 Cisgender readers will notice nothing。August is really well-written and captures dimensions not always well-represented in YA trans books， including the drive for parental approval， the need to fit in for survival， the desire to stand ou Probably closer to a 4。5， but rounded up to counter balance the transphobes。OMFG。。。this was an uncomfortable read。 That's not a bad things。 Decently written books should make readers feel things。 That said， for trans readers， this may involve serious discomfort。 Cisgender readers will notice nothing。August is really well-written and captures dimensions not always well-represented in YA trans books， including the drive for parental approval， the need to fit in for survival， the desire to stand out and be seen， the long periods of life where self-sufficiency， solo problem-solving， and staying one step ahead of disaster feel like EVERYTHING there is and may ever be。 Whew。。。 Despite character flaws， he is deeply real and very sixteen。Must gripe。 Sorry。 The character name （August） in my culture is primarily a girl's name。 So。。。that was weird。 I don't understand why the author chose a name that goes both ways。 Not a big deal， but I kept thinking about it。August is straight， which is becoming a little more common in trans youth literature， so I don't need to talk about theater stereotypes （no） or whether there was cock in this book （no） and can just carry on from here。I think anyone who has never seen Grease will have trouble understanding the middle section of the book。 I'm not sure how many people in the target audience （Gen Z） will have the frame of reference。 I haven't seen it in twenty years， but that was enough。The author did an okay job with the parents， especially August's feelings about them， but I think the author underestimated how malign （in general） and intentionally hurtful/vengeful evangelical christian parents are to their LGBTQ children。 It's worse out there than he thinks。 Proof？ Look at how many of the homeless are LGBTQ youth。 Kids in these religious families are literally thrown away IRL。All things consider， the book does really good representation across the board， and that is incredibly valuable。 The book is definitely going to feel different to trans vs cis readers， the latter of which could learn quite a bit here。 It's not preachy or pedantic， but it's a good place to pick up some things， especially for readers in rural areas or that have limited access to the Internet or adult readers of YA books。Overall， I would definitely recommend， especially for readers interested in the theater。 I'm not a theater person at all， but I saw Tick Tick Boom a couple months ago and that helped with some of the technical stuff。 It probably isn't the next great LGBTQ read， but it certainly adds to the small body of existing lit。 。。。more

justa ，

3。75

Qwerty ，

chryste。 nie pamiętam， która książka ostatnio tak mocno psychicznie zmiotła mnie z planszy。 moje łzy przebiły się przez przynajmniej 5 stronXD

merlinsaldain ，

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers。 To view it， click here。 This review is coming from a trans gay guy who usually doesn’t read YA or books with straight men as main characters so take this with a grain of salt。 For starters idea of August playing roles and personalities in real life is a really interesting one but I think we spend way too much on it to the point where I don’t think I actually know him as a person。 I know he in large part doesn’t know himself either but I think we missed out on a ton of genuine moments from him even just as an inner mono This review is coming from a trans gay guy who usually doesn’t read YA or books with straight men as main characters so take this with a grain of salt。 For starters idea of August playing roles and personalities in real life is a really interesting one but I think we spend way too much on it to the point where I don’t think I actually know him as a person。 I know he in large part doesn’t know himself either but I think we missed out on a ton of genuine moments from him even just as an inner monologue。 All the side characters （except maybe Elijah） felt flat for me， they were only there when the plot needed to move forward， or there was a heart to heart， and most of the time conflict between them was left without a proper discussion （Anna seeing August kiss Yaz， Yaz being manipulative towards August， Aunt Lil’s drinking problem， Anna finding out about Duncan）。 Which wasn’t helped by most of the scenes/chapters being cut off after an important line when we didn’t even get a chance to properly end it after。 Regardless of all of that it was still an okay read for me and I’m really glad that other people are enjoying it because as an ftm guy I love seeing own voices representation。 I look forward to what Tobly McSmith writes in the future。 。。。more

Zeynep Şen ，

This one just hit differently。

Wiktoria ，

3。5 Zaokrąglone ze względu na naprawdę ciekawe postacie。 Tylko główny bohater taki jakiś wkurwiający。

！Dante ，

to jest ta książka która dotyka mnie personalnie i aż za bardzo utożsamiam się z bohaterem

∆Disaster∆ ，

Jutro recenzja

Nikola ，

4。5

night_faerie ，

6，5/10

blok sera szwajcarskiego ，

3，25-3，5⭐"Act Cool" to książka porządna。 Fabuły nie ma jako takiej， bo wszystko， co się dzieje， wychodzi od bohaterów， ich relacji， słów czy masek， które przybierają。 To jest kluczowy aspekt tej historii， jako że opowiada ona o aktorach， jednak nie tylko tych na scenie。 To opowieść o ukrywaniu siebie， układaniu pewnej roli， w którą musisz wpisać się w określonych okolicznościach， a poprzez to – o zapominaniu prawdziwego siebie。Augusta można lubić i nie lubić， obie strony mają tak samo wiele za， 3，25-3，5⭐"Act Cool" to książka porządna。 Fabuły nie ma jako takiej， bo wszystko， co się dzieje， wychodzi od bohaterów， ich relacji， słów czy masek， które przybierają。 To jest kluczowy aspekt tej historii， jako że opowiada ona o aktorach， jednak nie tylko tych na scenie。 To opowieść o ukrywaniu siebie， układaniu pewnej roli， w którą musisz wpisać się w określonych okolicznościach， a poprzez to – o zapominaniu prawdziwego siebie。Augusta można lubić i nie lubić， obie strony mają tak samo wiele za， jak i przeciw。 Podobał mi się pomysł， że nie do końca jeszcze wie， jaki ma charakter ani kim powinien być， więc cały czas zmieniał przybierane role， choć czasami potrafił być w tym niekonsekwentny。 Na plus też， oprócz reprezentacji samej w sobie， że August pokazywał， że bycie trans chłopakiem nie ogranicza się do skrajnej męskości， i że każde doświadczenie jest inne。Reszta bohaterów była zaskakująco rozbudowana， co było jednocześnie przywarem i ujmą， gdyż nie zawsze narracja pozwała wszystkim wątkom rozwinąć się w pełni， bądź też je przyspieszała。 Ale to raczej urok narracji pierwszoosobowej i czasu teraźniejszego。Gratulacje dla AC za bycie jedyną książka， która posiada Elijah i Juliet。 I would die for them。 。。。more

Natalka ，

4。75， jedna z moich ulubionych książek， niestety niektóre wątki mogły zostać lepiej pociągnięte。 Nie zmienia to faktu， ze bardzo mi się podobała。

nie powinno nas tam być ，

3。5

Karolina ，

Przepiękna książka， opowiadająca o walce osób transpłciowych pochodzących z konserwstywnych rodzin i społeczności。 Mamy tutaj pokazaną siłę miłości i przyjaźni， walkę i odkrywanie własnej prawdy， samego siebie。 Kolejna poruszająca i dającą do myślenia lektura。

Lyn Childers ，

A feel-good story about a BOY named August Greene who runs away to live out his truth in New York City。As a nonbinary person， I was thrilled to see some positive trans rep in a new book！ Act Cool is a wonderfully sweet story about being brave， finding yourself， chasing your dreams， and the performances it takes to find out who you truly are。 My only gripe against the book is its writing style and themes。 Everything is a little too good。 All of the problems resolve themselves a little too easily。 A feel-good story about a BOY named August Greene who runs away to live out his truth in New York City。As a nonbinary person， I was thrilled to see some positive trans rep in a new book！ Act Cool is a wonderfully sweet story about being brave， finding yourself， chasing your dreams， and the performances it takes to find out who you truly are。 My only gripe against the book is its writing style and themes。 Everything is a little too good。 All of the problems resolve themselves a little too easily。 August instantly melts into a pool of queer， supportive friends and extended family that fight tooth and nail for someone they barely know。 He isn't a Mary Sue， but he's close。 There's also more telling than showing in the book， lending to it feeling like a middle grade read。 I enjoyed the diverse characters and positive rep for a trans character， but this book felt more like a fairy tale than a real example of LGBTQ life。 I'd still read works by this author， however。 They've got the right idea; just need a little more practice :） 。。。more

Marcelle pietersen ，

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers。 To view it， click here。 i freaky loved this book i am not trans so i have no experience but on some moment i was just scart that his parents where sending him a way

Kelsey Hlavaty （readingwithkelsey） ，

4。5 stars - I thought I was done with YA contemporaries and yet， I always find one that pulls me back in and Act Cool definitely did that for me。 August was a great main character and I think he worked for me in exactly the way people did not like when reading some reviews。 August is flawed - he is fake， he lies and he is always putting on an act （both on stage and off stage）。 And he makes sure to tell you whenever he is doing so - but I loved that he was this somewhat unlikeable main character。 4。5 stars - I thought I was done with YA contemporaries and yet， I always find one that pulls me back in and Act Cool definitely did that for me。 August was a great main character and I think he worked for me in exactly the way people did not like when reading some reviews。 August is flawed - he is fake， he lies and he is always putting on an act （both on stage and off stage）。 And he makes sure to tell you whenever he is doing so - but I loved that he was this somewhat unlikeable main character。 This is my first McSmith book， but I really enjoyed how easy and real his writing felt to me。 I enjoyed watching August grow as a MC and come into his own identity。 I also felt as though this novel had the perfect balance between light， funny moments and really sad ones。 I do feel as though some of the plot points are told to readers in a quick fashion instead of shown， so the pacing felt a tad weak but other than that I thought this was really good！ I am definitely surprised and delighted with this read。 。。。more

Claude's Bookzone ，

It's wonderful to have more transgender representation in books and especially by ownvoice authors。 That being said， the main character in this book was quite an unlikeable young man。 His fake personas grew annoying and the desperation to increase his following was pretty superficial。 I also didn't enjoy the writing as there was simply too much 'this happened and then that happened and then I did this'。 It is， however， an important story which is why I kept reading。 One where a young man is not It's wonderful to have more transgender representation in books and especially by ownvoice authors。 That being said， the main character in this book was quite an unlikeable young man。 His fake personas grew annoying and the desperation to increase his following was pretty superficial。 I also didn't enjoy the writing as there was simply too much 'this happened and then that happened and then I did this'。 It is， however， an important story which is why I kept reading。 One where a young man is not accepted by his parents as a boy and plans for conversion therapy are been hatched behind his back。 I did not feel drawn into the story until about the 90% mark where there were about 20 minutes of emotional and moving writing。 Overall， this was a miss for me and the content warnings need to be checked out。CW: （view spoiler）[transmisia， homomisia， dead naming， threats of conversion therapy， parents withdraw from teens life， suicidal thoughts/ideation， in one of the stage productions a transgender character commits suicide after receiving some conversion therapy， Mis-gendering， Coming out， Gender dysphoria （hide spoiler）] 。。。more

Elliot ，

This was fantastic I love it and I definitely related to it it was close to home I connected with many of the characters I love this book it took me time to finish but I definitely loved it！

Angela Y （yangelareads） ，

Act Cool is a YA novel about a trans teen， August Greene， doing whatever it takes for his acting dream and staying true to himself。 Aspiring actor August just landed a coveted spot at the prestigious School of Performing Arts in New York。 The only problem is that his conservative parents would not accept that he’s transgender。 August must promise them he won’t transition while staying with his Aunt in the city。 August is convinced he can play the part his parents want while acting cool and confi Act Cool is a YA novel about a trans teen， August Greene， doing whatever it takes for his acting dream and staying true to himself。 Aspiring actor August just landed a coveted spot at the prestigious School of Performing Arts in New York。 The only problem is that his conservative parents would not accept that he’s transgender。 August must promise them he won’t transition while staying with his Aunt in the city。 August is convinced he can play the part his parents want while acting cool and confident in the company of his talented new friends。I personally loved the concept of having a trans teen as a main character since we rarely see that in books， and the author that is trans as well。 This was a very important story to have out there for young teens。 Being able to see themselves on page and to have these discussions are great and amazing。 I also loved the diversity of representation in this book。 There was a wide cast of LGBTQIA characters， and the fact that August was able to find a place among them was amazing。 setting also feels just so right。 However， I wished I loved the book as much as I wanted。 The plot was very slow and I think this book tried too much at once。 I did not connect with August and I felt the side characters needed to be developed more。 I did not like the writing throughout the story， it felt dry and lacked emotion。 A lot of the dialogue between characters felt forced and unnatural。 I wanted to see more of his life， outside of the fact that he’s an actor and is transgender。 Not only that， but I also wished we got to see more of his backstory。 More emotion， more descriptions of what it was like growing up when he was in Pennsylvania with his parents。 Overall， I am just glad to see trans representation and a trans author。 。。。more

Jaxton Elam ，

This book is phenomenal！！ It was an emotional roller coaster I never wanted to end！！

mienioszewska ，

Czy można napisać historię o kimś， kto uczy się aktorstwa i jednocześnie połową jego dialogów nie są dialogi odgrywanej przez niego postaci？ Jak widać można。 Naprawdę dobra

Reference

google book https://www.google.com/search?tbm=bks&q=Act Cool

hathitrust digital library https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/ls?q1=Act Cool&field1=ocr&a=srchls&ft=ft&lmt=ft

The British Library https://bll01.primo.exlibrisgroup.com/discovery/search?query=any,contains,Act Cool&tab=LibraryCatalog&search_scope=Not_BL_Suppress&vid=44BL_INST:BLL01&lang=en&offset=0