Rick by Alex Gino

Rick's a little excited and a little nervous about starting middle school. He's been best friends with Jeff for so long they can just hangout and play videogames or sometimes its okay to just hangout. But on the very first day when Jeff starts calling out girls as "hotties," Rick feels uncomfortable because he's never really felt that way about girls....or boys. When Rick decides to visit the school's Rainbow Spectrum, he meets kids of many genders and identities, include the girl who Jeff called a "hottie," and who readers of the author's first book George, will immediately recognize. Rick finds out that it's okay to not be attracted to either boys or girls, and begins the process of discovering what he wants in his own life and making some tough decisions. He begins to see his old friend Jeff in a new light, as a bully and a homophobe, as well as getting to spend more time with his grandfather who encourages him to talk about school and his friends. Funny and surprising, this is a book about LGBTQIAP+ issues that can be read by all kids (yup, I had to look that up, too).