It’s the summer before middle school and eleven-year-old Bug’s best friend Moira has decided the two of them need to use the next few months to prepare. For Moira, this means figuring out the right clothes to wear, learning how to put on makeup, and deciding which boys are cuter in their yearbook photos than in real life. But none of this is all that appealing to Bug, who doesn’t particularly want to spend more time trying to understand how to be a girl. Besides, there’s something more important to worry about: A ghost is haunting Bug’s eerie old house in rural Vermont…and maybe haunting Bug in particular. As Bug begins to untangle the mystery of who this ghost is and what they’re trying to say, an altogether different truth comes to light—Bug is transgender.
I’m going to struggle with this review, I can already tell. Sometimes these just come easy to me & other times…not so much. I’m always trying to “get it right,” so that my review gets at least somewhat close to capturing what I felt when I read the book.
But I just think in the case of Kyle Lukoff’s TOO BRIGHT TO SEE, I’m doomed to fail. Because this book is just flawless & beautiful beyond words. It’s got all those awards on the cover for a reason, and I’m so glad to have read this. I discovered this one while trying to add some middle grade horror novels to my TBR for the Trans Rights Readathon!
This is the story of Bug, a twelve-year-old kid from Vermont. Bug lives in a big, old, haunted house with their Mom & Uncle Roderick. But sadly, when we meet Bug, Roderick has recently passed away after an illness.
Bug & their Mom are devastated, completely. The first little bit of this novel is breathtakingly sad, real talk. It’s clear from the outset that Roderick was a hugely important figure in Bug’s life, and nothing is ever going to be the same for Bug.
But life, as it does, goes on.
Bug’s best friend is Moira, and this is the summer before they both will be starting middle school. And Moira has decided that they need to make a big effort to fit in, by dialing in their fashion sense & working on makeup.
Two things Bug has zero interest in.
Bug is really struggling. Looking in the mirror and seeing a stranger’s face. Consumed with grief over Uncle Roderick. Trying to put on a brave face and just…falling apart on the inside. Meanwhile, the sort of gentle, quiet day-to-day haunting of the family house has grown a bit more rambunctious. A little more urgent.
Scarier.
This ghost really wants Bug’s attention.
This is a short book (less than 200 pages) and so I don’t want to give any more away than I have already! But while its page count may be small, the emotional wallop of TOO BRIGHT TO SEE is enormous.
I’m going to include a BIG SPOILER WARNING here. If you want to go into this book totally unspoiled, TAP OUT HERE.
YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED.
There’s a note from the author at the end of the book about how best to talk about the story to someone else. Because it’s a little tricky, as this is a story about a kid who comes out as trans. So when we meet Bug, she/her pronouns are fine. But by the end, Bug has come out as trans and is using he/him pronouns. So it’s just a little challenging writing a review after you’ve seen this brilliant character really find themselves.
I just couldn’t help thinking how incredibly important this book could be for trans kids. The book was published in 2021, and the landscape for trans kids was hostile then.
And it’s only gotten more hostile since.
A book like this could save a life, without a doubt.
TOO BRIGHT TO SEE is a complete triumph, on so many fronts. It’s a beautiful coming-of-age novel, and it’s got more than a few genuinely spooky moments for anyone looking for some age-appropriate scares! There is an unimaginable amount of hope & strength in this book, and I’m sincerely in awe of just what Kyle Lukoff was able to do here. A total masterpiece, cover to cover.
Grimdark Dad 