Like Julie Ann Peters’ Keeping You a Secret, Girl Mans Up is a totally engrossing portrayal of a gay teen’s coming-of-age. Pen Oliviera is sort of chunky, an amazing gamer, and a girl. Confused for a boy in restaurants, bathrooms, and everywhere else, all she wants is to be the kind of girl she is, but it’s confusing to her friends and unacceptable to her family.

Her pal Colby from two doors down gave Pen respect from the first time they met when they were small, but Colby has become conflicted about Pen’s value to him, and he can be downright nasty about it. Lucky for Pen, she’s met Blake, also a gamer, and a girl who Pen says wins everything.

Can Pen manage to respect Colby’s loyalty code even though his jealousy of her has become cruel and toxic What does she owe her parents other than being their daughter Pen has to man up and figure it all out.