81. The Pants Project by Cat Clark

listened on Audible

2017
272 pgs.
MidGr CRF
Finished  7/28/2021
Goodreads rating: 4.09 - 2106 ratings
My rating: 4.5

My comments: Another story about a trans middle schooler.  Live is starting a brand new middle school where she has to wear a uniform and for girlss that means a skirt every day.  She hates this.  nd of course there are two (female) bully sidekicks that treat her horribly, especially when they discover she has two moms.  Her best friend abandons her completely to be popular, but she meets a terrific young man, Jacob, who becomes her best friend.  Her mom and mama are terrific, as is her little brother Enzo.  It's a great story of a loving family in contemporary times and a young person who begins to trust herselfand the choices she makes.  

Goodreads synopsis:  Whoever wrote the uniform policy decided (whyyy?) that girls had to wear skirts, while boys were allowed to wear pants.

Sexist. Dumb. Unfair.

“Girls must wear a black, pleated, knee-length skirt.”

I bet I read those words a hundred times during summer vacation. The problem wasn’t the last word in that sentence. Skirt wasn’t really the issue, not for me.
The issue was the first word. Girls.

Here’s the thing:
I may seem like a girl, but on the inside, I’m a boy.

78. Too Bright to See by Kyle Lukoff

Book borrowed from CCLS

2021, Dial Book for Young Readers
188 pgs.
Mid Gr CRF
Finished 7/24/2021
Goodreads rating: 4.30 - 371 ratings
My rating: 4.5
Setting: contemporary rural Vermont

First line/s: "It's strange living in our old house now that Uncle Roderick is dead."

My comments: It's very difficult to review this book without spoilers, but I feel it's very important to read it without knowing exactly what is going to happen.  It's written beautifully. From the beginning I knew I wouldn't be able to put it into my new school's library, being a Catholic School and all the problems that Catholics seem to have with anything LGBTQ.  I need this job, so I won't fight that externally, only internally.  And now, spoilers are coming, so if you have not read this book and even have the tiniest notion you might, do not read further.  Bug, the protagonist, goes through an incredible transformation of identity in the summer s/he turns 13 and is getting ready for middle school.  Bug has been born with female "parts," and has been raised as a girl.  He discovers the reason that he never really sees himself when he looks in the mirror, just a copy of himself.  He discovers so much more than that as well...that he is transgender and immediately begins referring to himself as HE instead of she.  Everyone in his life is so understanding, no one bullies him or makes him feel in any way awkward or uncomfortable, neither kids he's grown up with or administrators in the new-to-him middle school.  How I would like to very much believe this would be the reality for kids like him!  In one of the reviews I read about this book, Betsy Bird says that she thinks that some kids are just getting tired of books and movies full of bullying and meanness (my words/translation).  I sure hope she's right!  The afterword by the author is very enlightening, I'm guessing this story - or a big part of it - is autobiographical.  

Goodreads synopsis:  A haunting ghost story about navigating grief, growing up, and growing into a new gender identity

          It's the summer before middle school and eleven-year-old Bug's best friend Moira has decided the two of them need to use the next few months to prepare. For Moira, this means figuring out the right clothes to wear, learning how to put on makeup, and deciding which boys are cuter in their yearbook photos than in real life. But none of this is all that appealing to Bug, who doesn't particularly want to spend more time trying to understand how to be a girl. Besides, there's something more important to worry about: A ghost is haunting Bug's eerie old house in rural Vermont...and maybe haunting Bug in particular. As Bug begins to untangle the mystery of who this ghost is and what they're trying to say, an altogether different truth comes to light--Bug is transgender.

28. This Is How It Always Is by Laurie Frankel

listened on Libby/borrowed from the library

narrated by Gabra Zackman  beautifully

Unabridged audio (11:00)
2018
338 pgs.
Contemporary CRF
Finished 3/27/2021
Goodreads rating: 4.25 - 129,079 ratings
My rating: 4.5
Setting: contemporary Wisconsin, then Seattle, then Thailand

First line/s: "But first, Roo was born.  Roosevelt Walsh-Adams.  They had decided to hyphenate because --- and in spite of --- all the usual reasons but mostly so their firstborn could have his grandfather's name without without sounding too presidential, which seemed to his parents like a lot of pressure for a six pound, two ounce, brand-new tiny human."

My comments: The husband is a stay-at-home author dad, the wife's an outstanding ER doctor.  Four sons, and the then fifth Claude, who really wants to be Poppy, right from the start.  A move from Wisconsin to Seattle, for safety, and then on to Thailand for clarity.  Great parents raising great kids amid turmoil and questions and wanting to do the right thing.  There were a few places where I burrowed my brow or scratched my head, a few places there was just a little too much fairytale telling or philosophical thinking, but all in all this was a great story, beautifully narrated.

Goodreads synopsis:  This is how a family keeps a secret…and how that secret ends up keeping them.
          This is how a family lives happily ever after…until happily ever after becomes complicated.
          This is how children change…and then change the world.
          This is Claude. He’s five years old, the youngest of five brothers, and loves peanut butter sandwiches. He also loves wearing a dress, and dreams of being a princess.
          When he grows up, Claude says, he wants to be a girl.
          Rosie and Penn want Claude to be whoever Claude wants to be. They’re just not sure they’re ready to share that with the world. Soon the entire family is keeping Claude’s secret. Until one day it explodes.
          This Is How It Always Is is a novel about revelations, transformations, fairy tales, and family. And it’s about the ways this is how it always is: Change is always hard and miraculous and hard again, parenting is always a leap into the unknown with crossed fingers and full hearts, children grow but not always according to plan. And families with secrets don’t get to keep them forever.
          "This is a novel everyone should read. It’s brilliant. It’s bold. And it’s time.”
―Elizabeth George, #1 New York Times bestselling author of A Banquet of Consequences

78. Zenobia July by Lisa Bunker

listened to Audio, borrowed from Library
read by Taylor Meskimen
Unabridged audio (7:43)
2019 Viking Books for Young Readers
320 pgs.
Mid Grade CRF/Transgender female
Finished 8/15/2019
Goodreads rating:  4.08 - 203 ratings
My rating:4
Setting:   Contemporary (Portland?) Maine

First line/s:  "She had that new kid look."

My comments:  A captivating story about a trans girl who, after being orphaned, moves from Arizona to Portland, Maine to live with her aunt and her aunt's wife.  For the first time in her life she is able to dress like a girl and, without telling anyone her backstory, begins middle school in Maine.  What we discover here is a large community of LGBTQ, oodles of questioning, self-hate, extreme bullying, and finally, acceptance -- not only be her community, family, and friends, but by herself.

Goodreads synopsis:  The critically acclaimed author of Felix Yz crafts a bold, heartfelt story about a trans girl solving a cyber mystery and coming into her own.
          Zenobia July is starting a new life. She used to live in Arizona with her father; now she's in Maine with her aunts. She used to spend most of her time behind a computer screen, improving her impressive coding and hacking skills; now she's coming out of her shell and discovering a community of friends at Monarch Middle School. People used to tell her she was a boy; now she's able to live openly as the girl she always knew she was.
          When someone anonymously posts hateful memes on her school's website, Zenobia knows she's the one with the abilities to solve the mystery, all while wrestling with the challenges of a new school, a new family, and coming to grips with presenting her true gender for the first time. Timely and touching, Zenobia July is, at its heart, a story about finding home.

52. Being Jazz: My Life as a (Transgender) Teen by Jazz Jennings

listened to audio read by the author
2016 Crown Books/ Listening Library
272 pgs.
Memoir/Autobiography
Finished 6/16/2018
Goodreads rating:  3.9 - 2553 ratings
My rating:  3

First line/s:  "When did you first know?  I get asked a lot of questions about my life, and that's the one that comes up the most."

My comments:  This is an autobiography more than a memoir, I think. Not only does 15-year-old jazz Jennings write this, she reads it aloud as well, and a self-confident way that gives extra impetus into what she says. She is so positive, so upbeat, that I think this book would be extra special for any young person that’s transgender. I certainly enjoyed it. You can tell that it was written by a 15-year-old, and I enjoyed everything she talked about. However, the reason I say it’s more autobiography is because there is not enough “showing” for me. She tells about things that happened to her and she talks about the surface stuff involved with being transgender, but I just wanted to “see” what she was talking about in my head, and I couldn’t.  It was almost more like an outline - an interesting outline, to say the least, or even an essay.  I’m glad she wrote it and look forward to reading more about her as the years pass.

Goodreads synopsis: Jazz Jennings is one of the youngest and most prominent voices in the national discussion about gender identity. At the age of five, Jazz transitioned to life as a girl, with the support of her parents. A year later, her parents allowed her to share her incredible journey in her first Barbara Walters interview, aired at a time when the public was much less knowledgeable or accepting of the transgender community. This groundbreaking interview was followed over the years by other high-profile interviews, a documentary, the launch of her YouTube channel, a picture book, and her own reality TV series—I Am Jazz—making her one of the most recognizable activists for transgender teens, children, and adults.
          In her remarkable memoir, Jazz reflects on these very public experiences and how they have helped shape the mainstream attitude toward the transgender community. But it hasn’t all been easy. Jazz has faced many challenges, bullying, discrimination, and rejection, yet she perseveres as she educates others about her life as a transgender teen. Through it all, her family has been beside her on this journey, standing together against those who don't understand the true meaning of tolerance and unconditional love. Now Jazz must learn to navigate the physical, social, and emotional upheavals of adolescence—particularly high school—complicated by the unique challenges of being a transgender teen. Making the journey from girl to woman is never easy—especially when you began your life in a boy’s body.

PICTURE BOOK - I am Jazz by Jessica Herthel & Jazz Jennings

Illustrated by Shelagh McNicholas

2014 Dial Books for Young Readers (an imprint of Penguin Group)

HC $17.99

24 pgs.

Goodreads rating:  4.12 - 1313 ratings

My rating:  Think I'm going with a 4

Endpapers: Pale pink

1^st line/s:  "For as long as I can remember, my favorite color has been pink. (My second-favorite color is silver and my third-favorite color is green.)"

My comments:  A child with a girl's brain and a boy's body.  So unfair, and so good that books are written about kids like this.  There are more than most people think, I'm guessing....I'm thinking of some of the kids I've taught in the past umpteen years.  To have parents that understand, and accept is the first step.  To have peers understand and accept is the next.  And a book like this goes a long way towards that, I would think.  This is ased on the true story of a now-teen named Jazz (who is NOT white, so why make this protagonist white, I wonder) - a beautiful young lady.  She's "written" a memoir, which I just found in the teen section of the library and checked out.

Goodreads:  The story of a transgender child based on the real-life experience of Jazz Jennings, who has become a spokesperson for transkids everywhere.
          From the time she was two years old, Jazz knew that she had a girl's brain in a boy's body. She loved pink and dressing up as a mermaid and didn't feel like herself in boys' clothing. This confused her family, until they took her to a doctor who said that Jazz was transgender and that she was born that way. Jazz's story is based on her real-life experience and she tells it in a simple, clear way that will be appreciated by picture book readers, their parents, and teachers.

66. George by Alex Gino

2015 Scholastic Press
199 pgs.
Middle Grades
Finished 12/2/15
Goodreads rating:  3,96
My rating:  4
Setting: Contemporary -- New Jersey? (2 hrs. from the Bronx, a couple hours from Pennsylvania's Poconos)
I like the cover.  A lot.

First line/s:  (From Chapter 1:  Secrets)  "George pulled a silver house key out of the smallest pocket of a large red backpack.  Mom had sewn the key in so that it wouldn't get lost, but the yarn wasn't quite long enough to reach the keyhole if the bag rested on the ground.  Instead, George had to steady herself awkwardly on one foot while the backpack rested on her other knee.  She wiggled the key until it clicked into place."

My comments:  First of all, I'm thrilled that this book is written for and accessible to younger (ages 9, 10, 11) kids.  It IS written very simply, it IS a quick read, but it's real, it has heart, it elicits much more empathy than hearing things on the nasty news.  I know I have parents in my classroom that will have a fit if their son/daughter reads it.  I'll deal. A needed book.
     (Then why not a 5-rating?  I'm not sure.  It was a really good book, but lacking the little extra something for me that pushes it up to a five.)

Goodreads Summary:   BE WHO YOU ARE.
          When people look at George, they think they see a boy. But she knows she's not a boy. She knows she's a girl.
          George thinks she'll have to keep this a secret forever. Then her teacher announces that their class play is going to be Charlotte's Web. George really, really, REALLY wants to play Charlotte. But the teacher says she can't even try out for the part . . . because she's a boy.  
          With the help of her best friend, Kelly, George comes up with a plan. Not just so she can be Charlotte -- but so everyone can know who she is, once and for all.

8. I Am J - Cris Beam

2011, Little Brown &  Co.
340 pgs.
Written for YA
Excellent/4

Setting:  Contemporary NYC
OSS:  Being born male in a female body and dealing with that, silently, for your whole life....that's where we meet J at the beginning of his senior year. 
1st sentence/s:  "I could smell the hostility, the pretense, the utter fakeness of it all before they even climbed the last set of stairs."

What an intriguing, informative read!  J, born Jenifer to a Puerto Rican mom and a Jewish dad, has always known that he was a boy, born with the wrong body.  Now in his senior year, and never having discussed this with anyone, he is ready to become the person he feels he has always been.  Dressing in layers of clothing to hide body parts that he feels shouldn't be there, speaking very little, so that his soft voice is not detected, have to be changed.  But he has to figure out a way to tell his parents, and he's afraid of their reaction.  Even though they've always seen the boy, they still consider him their daughter.  He loves them.  He so badly wants and needs their understanding. 

His only friend is Melissa, who seems to understand him, but who he's never discussed his predicament with.  Other than that he has no friends, and no one to talk to. Until now.  He's studied up.  He's learned about testosterone injections. And then he discovers a school that is FOR kids like him.  He makes a friend, reluctantly talks to a counselor, joins a support group.....and finally makes friends.  Friends that understand him, friends that he can talk. 

This was an intriguing, thoughtful read.  Cris Beam adds a wonderful afterward and a list of sites and books and information that would be helpful to any transgender teen.  She's volunteered at a school similar to J's, she is foster mom to a transgender teen.  She knows what she's talking about, which makes this even better.