Trans and Non-binary YA Fiction

CharlasQueery

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Trans and Non-binary YA Fiction

1originalslicey
Editado: Jul 20, 2020, 5:42 pm

I've read a few books this year for teens with transgender, genderqueer, gender non-conforming or non-binary protagonists.
Have anyone else read any books in this genre that they would recommend?

Symptoms of Being Human by Jeff Garvin
My favorite of these was probably Symptoms of Being Human, mostly because no gender pronouns are ever used in the book, and the reader never learns what sex the main character was assigned at birth. This serves the reader well because it helps us to see Riley as genderfluid instead of imagining them as not conforming to prescribed gender norms for their biological sex. It's also interesting because Riley presents themselves as non-binary when they are really genderfluid. Riley dresses intentionally neutral every day, which results in them appearing like either a slightly effeminate male or a slightly masculine female. Which is very confusing to all the kids at Riley's new school trying to figure out if androgynous Riley is a girl or a boy. Riley, however, feels constant anxiety in this in-between state. Riley wakes up every morning sometimes feeling like a boy and sometimes feeling like a girl, but knowing that they can't go to school in a skirt one day and carharts and Timberlands the next, even though that is what would actually make Riley happy and comfortable in their skin.

Alex as Well by Alyssa Brugman
Alex As Well is about a teenager who is starting to feel more like a girl than a boy. Alex refers to themselves as two genders, "boy Alex" or the old Alex and "girl Alex" or the new Alex. Alex is brash and bold, self-centered like most teens, but is also really someone you want to root for because her mother is really uncomfortable with Alex asserting her female identity. This books is interesting because it takes place right at that point of transition where Alex's body is flooded with both male and female hormones, so both Alex's are very near to the surface. “He (the male Alex) looks at me and sees a hot chick—a smooth Clinique girl. I (the female Alex) look at him and see a chimpanzee tugging on his little noodle.”

And She Was by Jessica Verdi
And She Was is about a teenage girl discovering a family secret and trying to cope with the fact that someone else's identity and secrets and lies has directed the course of her life.

George by Alex Gino
George is actually for kids, not teens, but it is fantastic. I read it twice. It is about a little girl whose class is putting on the play Charlotte's Web. George wants to play Charlotte, but is told that she can't because she is a boy. No one sees George for who she really is and it is starting to take a toll. This is a sweet story about a child who wants to be brave enough to tell her family and friends that she is really a girl so that she can start living a life that makes her happy.

2reconditereader
Jul 20, 2020, 7:22 pm

Pet by Akwaeke Emezi is YA or middle-grade. I liked it. I've heard good things about Lizard Radio and really good things about Dreadnought, but I haven't read them yet.

3originalslicey
Jul 20, 2020, 7:38 pm

>2 reconditereader: I've heard of Pet, but not the other two. I think I'm going to add Dreadnought to my wishlist.

4aspirit
Editado: Mar 4, 2021, 3:58 pm

Cemetery Boys by Aiden Thomas

Yadriel is proud to come from a long line of brujas and brujos. He is the son of the East LA community leader, who oversees a graveyard and its spirits. He's past the age to go through the ritual in which his people are granted their powers to help. The problem is he's been forbidden from participating because he's transgender. He sneaks away and does the ritual anyway, gaining the power of a brujo, but the aftermath makes him responsible for the care of a teenaged spirit who's bound to a threat bigger than almost anyone in their overlapping communities imagined was possible. It's a story about everyday issues for a trans teen who wants acceptance. It's also a magical adventure with a trans teen as a hero, saving the day despite how few people accept his word alone about who he is.