Author: Jazz Jennings
What it's about (in 75 words or fewer): Being Jazz is a memoir written by transgender teenager Jazz Jennings. Jazz was assigned male at birth, but has lived most of her life as girl. Her transgender advocacy at such a young age has been documented on the TLC reality show I am Jazz.
What I think (in 250 words or fewer): This was a super-easy and quick read, and I enjoyed it. I have a transgender son of my own (the opposite of Jazz--my child is a biological female who has always lived as a boy) and felt that I could emphasize with some of the issues that Jazz's family (especially her parents) had to deal with. I am very grateful to Jazz and her family for being pioneers for transgender children.
What I think (in 250 words or fewer): This was a super-easy and quick read, and I enjoyed it. I have a transgender son of my own (the opposite of Jazz--my child is a biological female who has always lived as a boy) and felt that I could emphasize with some of the issues that Jazz's family (especially her parents) had to deal with. I am very grateful to Jazz and her family for being pioneers for transgender children.
Most information in the story was not new for me since I have followed Jazz's story for years, but I especially enjoyed the chapter devoted to soccer and how Jazz's father fought the youth recreational soccer league so that Jazz could play on a girls team. Through their activism, United States Soccer Federation (USSF) ended up bringing in a member of the National Center for Lesbian Rights (NCLR) to write a "transgender-inclusive policy" that all soccer leagues in all states have to follow. In other words, children play on a team based on their “lived” gender instead of biological sex. My son has played on boys’ soccer team with no problems due to this policy.
My problem with this book is that it seemed it contained a lot of filler. I
liked the typical awkward child stories, pictures, and embarrassing moments,
but they seemed to be added to make the story longer. Jazz writes,
“How do you end a memoir when you’re fifteen?” (p. 214) and I want to add
“Why write a memoir when you’re only fifteen?”
This book is on the 2017 Rainbow Book List.
My final takeaway: I recommend this book, especially if you do not watch the reality show (or want to learn about Jazz's life without watching a reality show) but I really want to read the version Jazz writes in about thirty years.
My favorite quotes:
- "I'm happy! I love who I am! Can I go play with Stephanie now?" (p. 39, 2016 hardback edition).
- "I share my story so that my message of loving yourself and knowing that it's okay to be different can be spread everywhere" (p. 63).
- "It's weird to think that as you're reading this, you might know more about my life than I do at the time I'm writing this" (p. 214).
Other reviews: Common Sense Media and GLBT Reviews
This book is available in the Greensboro Public Library.
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