Euphoria Kids by Alison Evans

Title: Euphoria Kids

Author: Alison Evans

Genre: Fantasy

Publisher: Echo Publishing

Published: 4^th February 2020

Format: Paperback

Pages: 272

Price: $19.99

Synopsis: The latest ground breaking young adult novel from award-winning author, Alison Evans.

Ever since the witch cursed Babs, she turns invisible sometimes. She has her mum and her dog, but teachers and classmates barely notice her. Then, one day, Iris can see her. And Iris likes what they see. Babs is made of fire. Iris grew from a seed in the ground. They have friends, but not human ones. Not until they meet Babs. The two of them have a lot in common: they speak to dryads and faeries, and they’re connected to the magic that’s all around them. There’s a new boy at school, a boy who’s like them and who hasn’t yet found his real name. Soon the three of them are hanging out and trying spell work together. Magic can be dangerous, though. Witches and fae can be cruel. Something is happening in the other realm, and despite being warned to stay away, the three friends have to figure out how to deal with it on their own terms.

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Babs is usually invisible – ever since the witch cursed her when she was a kid, and only a few people in her circle see her regularly. That is, until Iris sees her. Iris – who uses they pronouns – was born from a seed, and they like Babs, their first human friend. Iris’s other friends are fae and dryads who live in the bush near where Iris and their mothers, Clover and Moss live. Iris can speak to faeries and dryads, and they are connected to magic around the, and want to learn how to use it. Babs wants to find the witch who cursed her – but isn’t sure how, and Irish has made a pact with the fae creature – Saltkin – who is their best friend that she can’t break. Then Babs and Iris meet the boy. Like Babs and Iris, the boy is trans, and is trying to find his name. The three live in a magical world that lives alongside the non-magic Melbourne – but there is danger within the magical world Babs, Iris and the boy live in, and the three friends are keen to work on their spell work – but at what cost – and can they deal with everything going on in their lives on their own terms, for who they are as well as working it out together?

Euphoria Kids is one of the first LGBTQIA books I have read, and what drew me to it was the fantasy genre, the characters and the fae creatures. I’m not really one for romance, so I was happy when I found this one, as it combined a genre I love with something I wanted to learn more about – trans characters, gender euphoria, and how characters like Iris, Babs, and the boy navigate the world. For me, this book perfectly showed trans characters enjoying their lives, working out who they were and being themselves in ways that made sense to them, and I particularly enjoyed seeing how to use they as a singular pronoun in an extended text. I took my time with this one so I could understand and appreciate all of this, as it was my first encounter and I wanted to make sure I was understanding it properly. I liked this book because of its focus on the friendship as well – at least, that’s what I got out of it. The power of friendship and having people around you who understand you and can help you with things that you’re struggling with yourself. That to me is one of the beautiful and important things about the book as well as its celebration of being trans, and being yourself, and finding the euphoria that comes with working out your gender identity.

My other favourite thing about this book was the faeries and dryads, and the way they saw gender – and how they helped Iris, Babs, and the boy come to terms with their genders and identities, whilst also trying to protect them from dark magic and the witch – because where there is light magic – the magic that helps people, there always has to be a darker magic that feels like a threat – something that is an uncertainty, at least, because those who have experience with magic aren’t sure about some things. I think this mirrored our real-world uncertainties and how we come to understand the things we don’t know much about. We need to make the effort to understand things. For me, that’s where this book came into play – it helped me understand trans issues and trans identities more. I think seeing it in this form made it accessible and makes it accessible to kids wanting to understand it or kids who feel the way Iris and their friends feel. It is a book that can teach people things and help people, and most importantly, make people who feel like they don’t fit in and who know they are different to be seen, and if they don’t know what words to use, this book can help them find these words. Alison has created a delightful story and I love that they have poured so much of themselves into this book – I always love it when authors do that, as it gives something extra to the book. I could feel the genuine feelings and emotions in this book – it made me want to protect Babs, Iris, and the boy, because they were such wonderful characters, I wanted everything to work out for them. Most of all, I think the celebration of gender euphoria – a term I did not know until reading this book – is beautifully rendered in this story, and I hope that everyone who reads this book gets what they need out of this – whether it is being seen, seeing their experience reflected to them, or gaining an understanding of something they are unfamiliar with – this is a great book for all those things, and I will say again that I think combining it with faeries and dryads was a stroke of genius!