For some, choosing whom to vote for in this Ontario election is difficult. Typically, Ontario alternates between Liberal and Conservative governments. The NDP is climbing in the polls, but is not, as yet, threatening to displace the Progressive Conservatives. A reasonable voter might choose to say to all political parties: The political system has failed me, and by declining my ballot, I register my protest at that failure.

Elections Ontario includes the option of declining a ballot in its literature on how to vote. But even some election officials are unaware of Section Two friends who have declined ballots in past elections say voting officials were flummoxed by their declaration. But Elections Ontario says accepting a declined ballot is part of the training of election officers.


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Sometimes she also dealt with her situation by making jokes out of it, which is what a lot of people do when they're faced with something they know they can't defeat. She was also passionate about running, and when they tried to stop her from what she loved doing most? Sure, she was disheartened and hurt as hell who wouldn't be?

Kristin had the most supportive father who did everything in his power to try to cheer Kristin up and to show her that he still loves her despite her condition. He was an awkward sort of supportive and I found him to be really endearing. There was also a very tame romance presented in this book, and I appreciated that the author made it so that Kristin's condition was still the star of the book rather than the super adorable romance.

But I'll talk about it since it was so cute. Darren was such a sweet love interest, and I loved how he was first Kristin's friend and supporter before they got together. You can never go wrong with this kind of romantic development. This book was proof that while there are people who will judge you for things that weren't your fault, there will still be a handful of people who will try to brighten your day.

We may all fall down, but we'll get back up with the help of the people who love us. View all 8 comments. What book is that? Yeah, not my thing. Cue Steph educating me and piquing my curiosity enough that I followed her to the HarperCollins booth and requested a copy to read for myself. Kristin is a very average girl, maybe a little more popular than most of us were in high school, but a normal girl who is dealing with life and boys and sex.

So she visits the doctor and is told her diagnosis. What I loved is I felt like I truly got to experience this journey with Kristin. I understand her shock and shame and confusion because I felt it, too. Having doctors explain to Kristin what her condition meant was like having doctors explaining it to me. Rarely have a learned so much in a novel without feeling preached to or like I just finished a text book. This truly a book about journey and self-discovery and I. Gregorio handles is with delicate strength, showcasing the doubt and triumph with incredible grace.

And yes, people like me. Jan 04, Kelsey rated it did not like it Shelves: And I hated it. Several of the problems I had with this book, however, are related to things I am qualified to speak about or are general-knowledge sort of issues. To start, I fully believe that I.

Gregorio had good intentions when she wrote this book. However, like the character Faith in the book and like many dyadic cishet authors before her, her intentions failed. Because I was an English major and the 3-point paper is basically a part of my soul by now, I have 3 main points: There is a time and place for slur usage, namely when the narrative expressly points out that they are, in fact, pejorative slurs.

I also have an issue with this: This is where the spoilers are gonna start. At the end of the book, Krissy goes clubbing with some friends of hers. While there, she runs into a man named Josh who was in a previous scene. She and Josh flirt, then he recognizes her as the local intersex track star and decides this would be a prime time to let his inner rapist out. This assault is the catalyst that flings Krissy back from her post-diagnosis depression. After this, she kisses the guy, makes up with her old friends, goes back to school, emotional high-fives her dad, and finally learns to love herself as the girl she is.

All because being sexually assaulted at a club taught her the meaning of life or whatever. Hate crimes are not a rite of passage you go through to earn your minority credibility. Krissy could so easily have learned to accept her diagnosis without having to be assaulted. Even after another character explains to the protag how intersex and trans are different, Krissy and others and by extension the author still make jokes at the expense of trans women. There comes a point where Krissy almost insinuates that violence against her as an intersex girl is wrong, but would be okay if she were a trans girl.

Not quite, but almost. View all 6 comments. Nov 03, Sarah rated it really liked it Shelves: I received a digital copy of this book for free on a read-to-review basis. Thanks to HarperCollins and Edelweiss. The way people started to treat her was just awful, and the way her friends and boyfriend turned on her was just so sad. He seemed to just be with Kristin because she was pretty and popular, and seemed like he was pretty desperate to have sex!

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I much preferred the slower hint of a romance that we got later in the book. Kristin seemed to be really making steps in the right direction, and I was happy that she was going to cope with her diagnosis, and really get her life back on track. Nov 18, Dahlia rated it it was amazing Shelves: Books that could totally destroy a spirit, or make it impossible to believe in happy endings, or gloss over difficulties or sex.

This book is real.

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It is fun, and funny, and sad, and painful, and entertaining, and educational, and supportive. The characters feel like teenagers, the dialogue's spot on, and the information coming from medical professionals is interspersed in a natural way that books about largely untapped issues rarely manage. If I could make this mandatory reading for teens and adults alike, I'd do it in a heartbeat.

View all 9 comments. Yes, here I am again, shitting all over books everyone else finds incredible. This book IS important. Intersex issues deserve more recognition and the author is clearly trying to give these topics exactly the recognition they deserve. But first of all, it's kind of mediocre, and second of all, the rep isn't really all that fantastic?

And that just feels I don't k 2. I don't know, I really do not like issue books. I think there's a fundamental flaw in the idea of trying to write a book "about" some issue. No book can sum up all experiences , and I feel like books of this type are trying. I also somewhat disliked how the main character builds friendship. I don't know, false? It doesn't come close to any experiences I've had as a marginalized person; in fact, it kind of feels like it's being written to appeal to people without any of these experiences.

I'm not judging the author here, but this is There's a weird event with a hate crime that I've seen a lot of people discussing as a negative, and I have to say I don't necessarily find it quite so inauthentic, but it's also And there's also the huge overuse of slurs for shock value. Here is a longer review with examples of the overuse of slurs. Most of these are considered negative, but I honestly wish some of it had just been cut? Despite some important discussions of gender issues, what does this book offer to the genre of ya contemporaries?

Beneath all the good, important conversations, there's a protagonist who's hard to relate to - even when you feel sympathy for her situation, you feel one step removed from the book. There's also one of the most cookie-cutter romances I've read. Yes, here is a boy.


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He fell for this girl. He actually thinks of her as a girl.

Is that all their relationship is based off of? Because it felt that way to me. There's also a dissatisfying ending. It's happy, which is sadly kind of unexpected, but it's far too abrupt. Kristin isn't given the full time to recover and get back into her life. Again, the topics of gender and intersex issues are executed somewhat well. But that's the only thing about this book I genuinely liked. It's full to the brim of slurs, super formulaic-issues-book type, and everything was very View all 12 comments.

The beginning was kind of generic, like a carbon copy of every YA contemporary out there, and I was worried this was going to be a disappointment. I'm pleased to say that it was not. Once Krissy's intersex diagnosis came along, I couldn't stop reading. So on that note, None of the Above was a really informative and educative read. I actually learned a lot about the condition and what it entails.

When Krissy's diagnosis is revealed to the whole school, we see a perfect example of human nature and its instinct to use ignorance as an excuse to be vile and cruel. Despite the more serious subjects, this book was a quick and easy read, and I'd recommend it to anyone looking to identify with an intersex character, seeking information, or wanting a capitivating story.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing me with a copy Jun 24, Samantha rated it it was amazing. None of the Above is one of those rare books that is not only important for its subject matter, but is a genuinely high quality entertaining book with a character I couldn't help but adore and root for. I fear that nothing I say can do it much justice, because it was just lovely, and necessary, and so incredibly well done. When we meet Krissy, things are going pretty great.

She's doing great in sports and school, has a close group of friends, and a boyfriend who she is thrilled with. So thrilled, None of the Above is one of those rare books that is not only important for its subject matter, but is a genuinely high quality entertaining book with a character I couldn't help but adore and root for. So thrilled, in fact, that she is thinking she's ready for some sexy time. But that's where things start to unwind for Krissy, because things don't really go as planned. I have to say, before moving on, that this was handled incredibly well.

And that is one of the things that makes this book so incredible: Of course, as we know by the synopsis, it turns out that Krissy is intersex, due to a condition that causes her to have male chromosomes, but a mainly female appearance. Between the doctor and her incredibly supportive father, Krissy is able to find a group of women with the same diagnosis. Krissy is obviously nervous about the aftermath of her diagnosis, and when word gets out around school, her greatest fears come to life. Most people in school are completely ignorant about what it all means, and are also very hateful toward Krissy.

The author does such a tremendous job connecting the reader to Krissy, that my heart was absolutely breaking for her as she was rejected by her jerk of a boyfriend, and all the people she had thought were her closest friends. And these aren't just rumors, or talking behind her back, etc. We're talking straight forward hate and nastiness, and it is so hard to swallow. Of course, as much as Krissy wants to go to her room and hide, she must eventually go on. There are so many questions brought up along the way, from whether she should be allowed to compete in sports as a female and some really amazing examples of Olympians and high level athletes who've been through this , to how she will go about navigating her romantic life in the future.

The thing about this story that absolutely gutted me was that I don't think there was a single bit of it that was exaggerated for the benefit of the story. I do think that a lot of people would act like Sam and the rest of the school did. I do think that opposing teams would try to get Krissy banned from competing.

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I do think that the aftermath would be incredibly psychologically damaging, because how could it not be when not only has your whole identity been uprooted, but a majority of the people who you thought were on your side simply are not? It sheds a light on what being intersex actually entails. But it also shows that she is a tremendously skilled author, because she is able to really define the condition in a way that absolutely everyone can understand.

To be able to explain the condition from the point of view of the person who has it? That is pretty fantastic. I find it so frustrating that this stuff still even happens, but sadly, it does. And while in this case, it is Krissy's intersex diagnosis that takes the brunt of the bullies, for so many young people, anything perceived as "not normal" can be fodder for bullies.

Since we are getting an inside view of Krissy's thoughts, it's so very clear how hard the bullying is on her. It should make anyone stop and think about how they would behave toward someone who was going through a life changing event. There's a very uplifting message for anyone who has been through a traumatic experience: Krissy's journey doesn't end with her diagnosis.

She has choices to make, things about herself to uncover, lessons to learn.

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I cannot really say it enough. It's more than just a great story though it is that indeed: Jul 04, Jeann Happy Indulgence rated it really liked it Shelves: This review appears on Happy Indulgence. Check it out for more reviews! Looking for a diverse book? None of the Above ticks all of the boxes - feminism, sexuality, gender identity, and what it means to be a hermaphrodite.

Now I thought being a transsexual and hermaphrodite were the same thing, but this book surely opened my eyes to what it meant to be intersex - or a female, with male reproductive organs. It starts off quite deceivingly, with Kristin being crowned the Homecoming Queen with her po This review appears on Happy Indulgence.

It starts off quite deceivingly, with Kristin being crowned the Homecoming Queen with her popular boyfriend. Soon after, Kristin finds out she has male testicles - that she's intersex. I'm not quite sure why it took her so long to find out - along with other bodily irregularities - she never had her period, which would definitely be a cause for concern.

Kristin's doctor is pretty straightforward about her diagnosis, and refers her to support groups. She was a bit questionable though and later in the book, talks about another teenager's problems vividly. What happened to doctor-patient confidentiality? Now it was really great to see Kristin's dad being supportive, searching for groups and doing research online.

It was quite graphic in the anatomical and medical areas but it also dealt with the topic really sensitively, and definitely portrayed an intersex diagnosis realistically. Psychologically, Kristin dealt with it in the best way she could - with absolute shock and confusion for what that means about her gender identity. She slowly explored what being an intersex person meant - identifying what it means to be female and finding out that she's not transsexual which is when you're in the body of the opposite gender which you identify with. The bullying in this book really broke my heart.

People were afraid of what they didn't know, and they conveniently fell back on stigma to try and come to terms with it. Every single person who Kristin knew at school was completely and utterly mean. They called her names, they bullied her, they posted mean photos of her on Facebook and they doled out hate. Even worse was Kristin's 'best friends' who isolated her in her time of need, and her boyfriend who pretty much broke up with her and publicly humiliated her after finding out about her status. Throughout all of this, Kristin managed to stay strong in the best way you could.

Now imagine someone telling you the most life shattering news, that all of your hopes and dreams would fade away with a single diagnosis. With all that considering, she did a pretty good job and dealt with it in a realistic and enviable manner. None of the Above is an incredibly diverse book that opened my eyes to the intersex population and what it meant to be one.

It showed how cruel people could be when they didn't understand, but that you also need the right support network to help you get through it. While the bullying, isolation and hate in the book was pretty terrible, it does a good job of educating us without prejudice. Definitely a great diverse read. The author is actually one of the main drivers behind the WeNeedDiverseBooks campaign and she's done wonderfully with spreading the word and writing a relatable diverse story.