Glitch Girl! — Rainie Oet

A middle grade novel in verse about a young trans girl who uses a video game to process an ADHD diagnosis, isolation, and their relationship to gender.

J -- 's life is consumed by the roller coaster video game Coaster Boss, and by the power they exert over the pixelated theme park attendees. Their life outside the game, however, is less controllable.

Me.
I'm such a big space. I break the universe, a glitch.

They're navigating ADHD, the loneliness of middle school, and an overwhelming crush on a girl named Junie. J -- is convinced that Junie sees them as who they really are, a person who isn't “bad” just because they don't stay quiet and sit still in class. As a person who is realizing that the name they've been given doesn't really fit them. And that maybe boy doesn't either.

Glitch Girl! follows J -- from fifth to seventh grade, from the beginning to the end of their obsession with Coaster Boss, and to the start of a new friendship. When J -- meets Sam, a nonbinary classmate, they begin to realize that it's okay to not fit into neat, pixelated boxes.