Pink by Lili Wilkinson

(one of my all-time favorite covers!)

What it's about (from Goodreads): Ava has a secret. She is tired of her ultracool attitude, ultra-radical politics, and ultrablack clothing. She's ready to try something new—she's even ready to be someone new. Someone who fits in, someone with a gorgeous boyfriend, someone who wears pink.

Transferring to Billy Hughes School for Academic Excellence is the perfect chance to try on a new identity. But just in case things don't work out, Ava is hiding her new interests from her parents, and especially from her old girlfriend.

Secrets have a way of being hard to keep, though, and Ava finds that changing herself is more complicated than changing her wardrobe. Even getting involved in the school musical raises issues she never imagined. As she faces surprising choices and unforeseen consequences, Ava wonders if she will ever figure out who she really wants to be.

What I learned: Other people had and have a much harder time figuring out who they are than I did and do, at least in some ways. I was never unclear about my sexuality and I can't imagine how much more dramatic high school would have been had I been dealing with defining that alongside dating. There are so many people for whom identifying themselves on the sexuality spectrum is difficult and it's incredibly hard for people to go through. High school is full of so many other high-intensity situations to deal with. I'm so thankful that those four years were not a bad or hard period for me and I need to always be careful when I interact with others because I never know what they might be struggling with.

If you've read Pink, what did you learn? Have you ever questioned your sexuality? (Super personal question, I understand.)