Some Assembly Required

July 21, 2014
Born Emerald, Arin remembers trying on his male cousin’s clothes in fourth grade, as well as crafting a “homemade funnel” to urinate standing up. As puberty progresses, Arin wears black sports bras to minimize his chest and feels “betrayed” when his period starts. Arin first thinks he is gay, but things click when he discovers online what it means to be transsexual. Like Katie Hill (whose Rethinking Normal was acquired simultaneously with this book), Arin gets help from an initially reluctant mother, who, scared by his suicide attempt, decides, “I will support you. I can’t lose you.” Around the same time Arin gets a prosthetic penis, starts taking testosterone shots, meets Katie, and realizes, “I’d never felt love this pure or strong before.” Together, they become a media sensation dubbed “America’s First Teen Trans Couple!” Arin is remarkably frank about all aspects of his transition and keeps a casual, conversational tone while discussing everything from surgical options to inner anxieties. This is a brave book that handles complicated and sensitive topics honestly and, at times, with humor. Ages 14–up.

September 1, 2014

Gr 9 Up-In this memoir, a female-born, transgender teenager describes the challenges presented by his transition. Andrews was always pleased to be called a tomboy as a child; in spite of his body, he felt like a boy, and his mother's insistence that he wear dresses and take part in pageants was painful. Andrews's relationship with his first girlfriend, a lesbian, helped him become aware of the fluidity of gender and sexuality and realize that it wasn't so bad to be different. However, his mother saw his girlfriend as a terrible influence and forbade the boy from seeing her. Andrews struggled with depression and suicidal thoughts: Who was he? Why did he feel so out of place? A YouTube video introduced the teen to the idea of being transgender. With the help of a family therapist specializing in gender dysphoria and an adolescent LGBT support group, Andrews began the journey toward transition and taking on his true identity. Readers will find many useful resources at the end, such as organizations, websites, and YouTube channels. The teen writes frankly and bravely about his transition and romantic relationships. This nonfiction account from an actual transgender teen author-as opposed to a novel, such as Cris Beam's I Am J (Little, Brown, 2011)-is enlightening. The tone is more journalistic than personal, which may hold some readers at arm's length, but this is still a solid addition.-Brandy Danner, Perkins School for the Blind, Watertown, MA

Copyright 2014 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

August 15, 2014
In a plainspoken and sometimes-humorous memoir, transgender teenager Andrews discusses his life so far. Andrews received national recognition when he was profiled on television's Inside Edition as one half of a transgender teen couple (the other half, Katie Rain Hill, has written her own memoir, Rethinking Normal). In a conversational tone, the author describes events from his childhood and teen years: dating a girl of whom his parents disapproved, first encountering the concept of being transgender in a series of YouTube videos, and most significantly, dating and falling in love with Katie Hill, a transgender teen girl whose profile in a local newspaper had helped inspire him to transition himself. Perhaps an unintentional consequence of the simultaneous publication of Hill's and Andrews' memoirs after the two have ended their romantic relationship is that readers see many of the same incidents in both books-a failed family ski trip, a first sexual experience, Katie's eventual choice to date someone else-recounted from vastly different perspectives. Here, Andrews' tone when writing about the relationship is largely reverent, and background information about societal gender expectations and physical transition processes fit in easily among typical teenage concerns like love, heartbreak and prom. Friendly and informative. (Memoir. 12 & up)

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