I received this book for free from Publisher in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.

Stay Gold by Tobly McSmith
Published by HarperTeen on 5/26/20
Genres: Contemporary, LGBT, Romance, Young Adult
Pages: 368
Format: eARC
Source: Publisher
Buy on Amazon

Pony just wants to fly under the radar during senior year. Tired from all the attention he got at his old school after coming out as transgender, he’s looking for a fresh start at Hillcrest High. But it’s hard to live your best life when the threat of exposure lurks down every hallway and in every bathroom.

Georgia is beginning to think there’s more to life than cheerleading. She plans on keeping a low profile until graduation…which is why she promised herself that dating was officially a no-go this year.

Then, on the very first day of school, the new guy and the cheerleader lock eyes. How is Pony supposed to stay stealth when he wants to get close to a girl like Georgia? How is Georgia supposed to keep her promise when sparks start flying with a boy like Pony?

Short and Sweet

Its Pony’s senior year at a new high school and his goal is to fly under the radar. Pony is transgender and he already had to deal with the fall out at his old school and he just wants to avoid it this time around.

Georgia is a cheerleader but she wants to do more, but she thinks its better that she keeps a low profile until graduation.

Characters

Pony: Pony is our main character and he’s transgender. His goal this year is to lay low and just keep his secret, he’s already come out before and it didn’t go well. Pony was great he was just trying to live his truth and he did have to struggle with those around him that didn’t agree.

Georgia: Georgia is our other main character. Theres a lot more to Georgia than being a cheerleader, she’s a great writer but nobody knows it, she’s afraid of what people will think. Georgia also has a habit of making up stories.

Romance

Georgia and Pony: There were a lot of ups and downs with these two. There was a lot of chemistry but Pony hid the fact that he was transgender which turned Georgia away mainly because he lied to her. But when these two are together there’s lots of chemistry and they have fun, it was cute and I was happy they worked things out.

Georgia and Jake: Georgia the cheerleader and Jake the football player in high school this is a match made in heaven, but Georgia wasn’t into it. I did like Jake though he was sweet and understanding.

My Thoughts

~ We read from both Pony and Georgia’s POVs. While reading from Pony’s you can feel the hurt from being misgendered or just even having to hide his secret. Pony isn’t supported by his dad which is hard on him. The one thing I did like was how supportive Pony’s older sister Rocky was, she was the best! Georgia is also dealing with some things, she hasn’t seen much of her mother since the divorce and last year there was an incident with a boy who left her feeling like she couldn’t trust guys.

~ I learned a lot from this book especially from Max he was very informational about transgender topics, he was also a good friend for Pony and did try to push him out of his comfort zone.

~ I liked that we got to see Pony at his job I liked Ted London and the interactions that they had. I feel like if they had more time together they could have shared more with each other.

~ Georgia is a great story and I like how she went from writing about topics that didn’t really matter to ones that called for people to make a change.

~ Something happened at homecoming that was upsetting, but the outcome of everything made things better.

Overall

This was an own voices book and it was great. It felt authentic and I loved how real the characters were. This was a fresh and funny book! Pony was a great character and so was Georgia. Pick this book up if you see it and Stay Gold!