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.