Acting the Part by Z.R. Ellor
Published by Harper Teen on December 6, 2022
ISBN: 0063157888
Genres: Realistic Fiction, Romance
Format: Chapter Book Fiction
Goodreads

This novel’s tagline: When your life is full of Hollywood magic, how can you tell what’s actually real? felt pretty on-theme. It’s the story of Lily, who, while initially identifying as queer, through the course of the story finds she is more strongly relating to Frey, her male persona from an online video game community, and this causes her to wonder if she might be trans. In real life, Lily is an actress in a hugely successful sci-fi show and has grown up surrounded by wealth and privilege in Hollywood with her producer mom. She does try to use this privilege to promote the queer storyline she has on the show, but ultimately the novel underscores her picture-perfect happy-ending-style life. While some assigned female at birth teens who are questioning their gender identity might feel something to relate to here, most of the story will be very far removed from real life. The one exception to this is the time Lily spends online gaming with friends she has met via the internet; that is an experience which more teens share. The overall feel is a fantasy of the everything-is-too-good-to-be-true variety. A fun enough teen rom-com romp through Hollywood with a gender-questioning teen in the leading role, which makes for a nice twist but not a must-have unless you are a library trying to develop that particular niche spot on your shelves.

Reviewed by Jenny Martinez Nocito, Maine State Library