Ciel is excited to start high school. A gender non-conforming trans kid, Ciel has a YouTube channel and dreams of getting a better camera to really make their mark. Ciel can always rely on their best friend, Stephie, a trans girl who also happens to be a huge nerd. But their friendship begins to feel distant when Stephie makes it clear she wants the fact that she’s trans to be less visible now that they’re in high school. While navigating this new dynamic with Stephie, Ciel is also trying to make a long-distance relationship work with their boyfriend Eiríkur, who just moved back to Iceland. Add to the mix a cute swim star named Liam, and Ciel’s life is becoming more complicated by the minute!

Sophie Labelle is an internationally renowned visual artist and author from the South shore of Montreal. She is the transgender cartoonist behind Assigned Male, a webcomic about a group of queer and trans teenagers that has been running since 2014 and has touched millions of readers. She lives in Finland.

Sophie Labelle's profile page

David Homel was born in Chicago in 1952 and left that city in 1970 for Paris, living in Europe the next few years on odd jobs and odder couches. He has published eight novels, from Electrical Storms in 1988 to The Teardown, which won the Paragraph Hugh MacLennan Prize for Fiction in 2019. He has also written young adult fiction with Marie-Louise Gay, directed documentary films, worked in TV production, been a literary translator, journalist, and creative writing teacher. He has translated four books for Linda Leith Publishing: Bitter Roase (2015), (2016), Nan Goldin: The Warrior Medusa (2017) and Taximan (2018). Lunging into the Underbrush is his first book of non-fiction. He lives in Montreal.

David Homel's profile page

• Long-listed, OLA Best Bets
• Commended, Tinlids: Maria Recommends - Fall 2020 Children's

"This charming novel depicts a realistic slice of life as a nonbinary teen."

Kirkus Reviews

"Ciel is such a charming character you want to spend time in their world, learning about their friends, family, and even their favourite brand of chips."

Quill & Quire

"Ciel’s experience is both very specific and fairly universal, giving readers a glimpse into the head and heart of a young nonbinary person living their life and trying to make the world just a little bit better along the way."

CM: Canadian Review of Materials

"In Ciel, Labelle has written something that cis kids can relate to and learn from, and that trans kids can also see themselves in without being demoralized. Ciel feels simultaneously like a mirror and an instant friend."

Rainbow Round Table Book and Media Reviews