I am so angry with this book. 
 Here's Max Walker, the "golden boy," everyone's perfect child. He's beautiful and athletic; he's smart; all the girls want to get with him. But Max has a secret--he's intersex. 
 The only people who know about Max, outside his family and doctors, are friends of his parents with a boy whom Max grew up with. This boy, as it turns out, is trouble. He "abuses [Max's] trust in the worst possible way," which is, of course--and this isn't a spoiler, since it happens in the first five pages--means rape. Because that's the only plausible violation of someone with female parts, right? I was inclined to stop reading then, because I hate rape as a plot point, but kept with it. 
 Throughout the novel, Max experiences typical "girl" problems while identifying as male. This messes him up, and it makes him question what he is, but I just didn't find his voice believable. He does research on intersexuality, and his inner thoughts are a word-vomit of google research. Which, I suppose, was the method of research for this novel. 
 A brief mention of his girlfriend, Slyvie, who isn't like other girls (her words) and thinks about more than just boys and kissing. As proven: 
 [Max] has this impossibly sunshinelike smile. Other girls, of course, find it utterly distracting. Not me. Because I am an individual. 
 I spent a long time hoping it was meant to be ironic, but alas. 
 Oh, and the boy who rapes him? Despite being a "childhood friend," his only role in the novel is the token rapist: He's big and muscular, he drinks, and he's mean. And he only appears in three scenes. 
 I'll be honest: I bumped this review up a star for broaching the topic of intersexuality, because it's a topic not often found in popular literature. And if there's anything that sheds light on alternate sexualities and genders, I'm all for it. But I just do not like the execution. (If you're looking for believable intersexuality, please read Middlesex. Actually, please just read that book in general because it's wonderful.)