Author: Lisa Williamson
What it’s about (in 75 words or fewer): David feels that he* is really a girl and really wants to tell his* parents--before it's "too late" and David develops into a man. Leo is a new kid at school, and when he sticks up for David in a fight, he and David become friends, and David discovers Leo's big secret.
What I think (WAY OVER 250 words): Massive spoilers in this review. Also, I couldn't keep to my own limit of 250 words. Also also, this review is from my point-of-view as a cis person raising a transgender son (as are ALL of my reviews).
I found this book by accident. I was looking for a completely different book, but then I found The Art of Being Normal lying by itself in the wrong section. Like a good librarian, I picked it up to re-shelf correctly, but then read the blurb on the back and was excited to have found it! My trans-son is only in second grade, but I really want him to be able to find books to relate to when he is older.
The book is told in alternating first-person points-of-view between David and Leo. Leo is the "kid from the wrong side of town" who left his old school under mysterious circumstances; David is the privileged kid with a good family who attends a prestigious private school. I felt bad for both characters right away: David is used to being picked on and is so scared to tell anyone besides his* two friends that he* wants to start living as a girl. Leo lives with his sisters and his single mom who drinks too much and goes through man after man. Plus, Leo clearly had some trauma happen to him in the recent past that he had not gotten over yet.
I was lamenting the fact that I hadn't yet a found a book that my son can relate to and wondered if all transgender teenager books were about male to female--but then Leo reveals to David that he was also trans! I should have seen that coming, but I didn't. I had no clue. Leo's girlfriend freaks out when he tells her, and a depressed Leo quits coming to school. David's secret is revealed to Leo; Leo tells David what had happened at his old school (it broke my heart) and the book's ending is cheesy in the style of a John Hughes 80s movie.
I liked a lot of things about this book. I enjoyed the two main characters, for the most part. I was sad for Leo when his dream of meeting his estranged father was shattered and cheered for David during the coming-out-to-his parents scene. David's parents, though we didn't see them that much, were very supportive.
Leo's mom . . . well, she really did do the best she could. I didn't care for her, but I could see why she was the way she was. I found David's insistence on being friends with Leo a bit puzzling--he followed and hunted Leo down almost in a stalker-ish way. I could not figure out if David had a crush on Leo or not, but I was really glad that David and Leo didn't become a couple. I hate when books have the only gay or the only trans people in a school magically become the perfect people for each other. Barf.
Also, just like some other reviewers, I had issues with the pronoun usage throughout the book. As you may have noticed, every time I used a male pronoun to refer to David, I put an asterisk by it because it felt wrong to use male pronouns and I wanted to acknowledge to readers that I didn't think it was right. But throughout the majority of the book, David is called he, even when out in public with Leo as a girl called Kate. Once David to his parents and dressed Cinderella-style at a ball is she referred to as Kate and female pronouns used. Yet never once is Leo referred to as anything but a he.
I can understand how this could really offend trans readers, but I disagree that it makes the author of the book transphobic. Pronouns are tricky and confusing, especially if you are someone who has always thought of people as either male or female with no room for flexibility. And not all people who are transgender really care about pronouns. Some teachers at my son's school are really hung up about using the correct pronouns, or making sure they don't even use pronouns around my son because they don't want to be wrong, and when I asked my son if he had a preference, he looked at me and said "what's a pronoun?" When I explained that people wanted to know how to refer to him, he gave me a weird look and said "they can refer to me as a person" and rolled his eyes, and then said "Who really cares? Why should that even matter?" Indeed. And then, "Ugh, adults are WEIRD." Okay, yeah, probably, but we try.
The pronoun thing is not a deal-breaker for me, and frankly I had more of a problem with Kate's stalker-ish behavior than I did with the pronouns. Leo revealed his secret in a way that I thought was unrealistic. Also, "normal" kids can have therapists. Just sayin.'
My final takeaway: I liked the story, but some of the characters' choices felt off to me. The ending took me out of the story because I found it so unrealistic.
This book was nominated for the 2017 Rainbow Book List.
My favorite quotes:
- "'Normal' kids don't have mothers like mine, who tell you life isn't fair with messed-up glee, like the unfairness of life is pretty much the only thing they know for sure. I've spent my whole life being told I'm the complete opposite of 'normal'" (first US edition, p. 94).
- "I'm mad at him for showing signs of popularity. I was convinced he was one of us, a Non-Conformist, and I hate the possibility that he might not be" (p. 159).
- "'But normal is such a stupid word,' I say, anger suddenly rising in my belly. 'What does it even mean?'" (p. 269)
Other reviews: Teen Reads and Kirkus. Also, how to review a trans book as a cis person.
This book is available in the Greensboro Public Library.
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