If I Was Your Girl by Meredith Russo; Flatiron Books, $17.99
Lily and Dunkin by Donna Gephart; Delacorte Press, $16.99
Being Jazz: My Life as a (Transgender) Teen by Jazz Jennings; Crown Books, $17.99
As the transgender rights movement, its increased presence and acceptance, and the prominence of gender fluidity have fast become mainstream at home and throughout the media, more meaningful reading material has emerged as well, particularly for young adults who are just beginning to embark upon this often difficult, challenging, multifaceted journey.
Here are three newly released books for young adults with transgender themes that are noteworthy for their compassionate and fresh approaches to individuality, acceptance, self-discovery, friendships, and relationships.
Inspired by her experiences as a trans woman, Tennessee author Meredith Russo's touching teenage love story If I Was Your Girl features Amanda Hardy (born Andrew), a transgender teen who moves in with her father in Lambertville, TN, after enduring a physical attack and school bullying, which precipitates a suicide attempt. She has been living as a girl for many years and is now hoping to finish high school under the radar and remain relatively unseen by her classmates.
Along comes Grant, a friendly, handsome guy who takes a liking to Amanda. The pair heat up quickly, though she knows her secret will cast a shadow on their relationship until the truth is revealed. Friends, particularly Bee and Virginia, help, but in the end, it's Amanda's obligation to come clean to Grant.
Russo's fiction displays believable, real-life situations for transgender teens, including stresses about fitting in, sexual orientation, awkwardness, and being "stealth" (physically undetectable as a transgender person). She doesn't sugarcoat the problematic transformation transgender teens must endure to fully live their true selves.
Award-winning writer and public speaker Donna Gephart admits that she wrote the feel-good, promising ending of her rewarding novel Lily and Dunkin well before she wrote the actual story itself. Inspired by both the documentary I Am a Girl and her son Andrew's brain condition, Gephart's tale revolves around Lily Jo (born Timothy), an eighth-grader struggling with gender dysphoria who prefers to live life as a girl. Her life has been made whole by the inclusion and unconditional acceptance of her family and friends, yet she has dreams of eventually coming out to the rest of the world. She befriends Norbert Dorfman, whom she quickly renames Dunkin (in honor of his favorite hangout, Dunkin' Donuts), a boy caught in the throes of bipolar disorder. The pair click on a variety of levels immediately, even throughout Dunkin's strained attempts to become part of the basketball-obsessed crowd.
If readers can forgive Gephart's creation of a too-precious gem in the perfect Lily (trans readers won't find much to relate to her, unfortunately), the story will entertain and enlighten, primarily with the constant struggle of youth battling for control over their bipolar behavior. It's written with heart and tremendous empathy, a wonderful rumination about the hidden benefits of unusual friendships between misfits, and the importance of sharing kindness and expressing compassion to others at all stages of life.
Finally, TLC network reality star and trans activist Jazz Jennings has published a frank, endearing life-story, I Am Jazz, which makes a terrific companion volume to her groundbreaking television series. The book recounts Jazz's acknowledgment of her female identity way back in preschool, and her struggles to create a safer space for herself and others like her in schools across the nation. A newspaper article caught the eye of television producers eager to interview Jazz and her amazing family.
The author speaks from the heart, and is open about her struggles with hereditary depression and the slings and arrows of an otherwise average teenage life. Her serialized television program delves into more specific territory, including addressing haters, and how Jazz must endure surgery in order to prevent the onset of male puberty.
There's definitely thematic variety in these three selections. While they each bring something different to the bookshelf, collectively they instill some much-needed hope and visibility for a better, more tolerant future for the transgendered population.