Author: M. G. Hennessey with cool artwork by Sfé R.Monster
What it’s about (in 75 words or fewer): Shane is a regular twelve-year-old boy: Josh is his best friend, graphic novels are his hobby, Madeline is his crush, and baseball is his favorite sport. However, Shane has not told anyone at his new school his secret: he was born a biological female, although Shane has always lived as the boy he knows he truly is. When one of his baseball teammates finds out and tells the whole school Shane's secret, Shane experiences bullying.
What I think (in 250 words or fewer): I was nervous when I started reading this book because it is the one that mirrors my life the most out of the transgender-themed books I've reviewed so far. Shane is a transgender boy who is completely stealth at school and a star on his baseball team. He hasn't told anyone about his past, including his best friend, Josh. Shane's father is not quite as understanding as Shane's mother, and I thought that would be a major conflict, but it was resolved pretty quickly.
Then comes the school jerk who tells the whole school Shane's secret. I knew the bullying was coming and that's why I was nervous reading this book, but the bullying wasn't that bad to read. I mean, it would be terrible for your kid to go through, but it wasn't as awful and graphic as some forms of bullying I've heard about in real life or even read about in other YA books. I wish Shane had confided in his best friend, however.
Because it wasn't that traumatic of a read, it would be a good book to read with a younger kid just learning about trans issues. It's also a short book, so I am going to recommend it for both of my sons. Shane's athletic ability saves the day for him, and I hope that is the case with my son as well, who is pretty stealth now but plays all sports with pretty much everyone in his school.
This book is on the 2017 Rainbow Book List.
My final takeaway: This was a simpler book than Gracefully Grayson. I felt that it was kind of a nice segue to a discussion with my son about what types of bullying he might receive and how to handle it. Plus, the illustrations were super fun, and I would read the spin-off graphic novel with those characters. 👽 I hope the spin-off novel happens.
My favorite quotes:
- "What if you woke up tomorrow, and somebody had switched your body while you were asleep? . . . And suddenly, you had a girl body. Would you automatically feel like a girl? I mean, you'd have the same brain. All that changed was your body" (hardback edition, pg. 70).
- "The bathroom stall seemed to lengthen as the walls pressed in, like the trash compactor scene in Star Wars" (pg. 88).
- "The past couple of years, with everyone just treating me as a boy, sometimes I'd almost forgotten about being transgender. And when I did remember, I mainly felt ashamed of it . . . but one of the kids had talked about feeling lucky to have been born this way, because it made us unique and special. He said he wouldn't change it if he could. I kind of doubted I'd ever feel like that. But it was nice to know it was possible" (pg. 127).
Other reviews: GLBT Reviews and Book Page
This book is available in the Greensboro Public Library.
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