User Reviews
Rating: really liked it
Middle grade contemporary fiction. This is a sweet, poignant novel about an elementary school student named George, who was born a boy but knows in her heart that she is a girl. When the chance comes to do the school's yearly production of Charlotte's Web, George knows that she wants to be Charlotte, the wise and kind mother spider, but will taking the role force her to reveal more about her true self than she is ready to share?
This is a fast read, great for giving elementary kids a glimpse of what it's like to be a young transgender person in a world that doesn't comprehend or accept you. I loved George's best friend Kelly and her music-composer father. I loved George's internal struggle to come out to her mom and her friend Kelly. The first scene is especially well done, where George's big brother questions why she was in the bathroom with the door locked, and speculates that she was looking at girlie magazines. George's brother is right, but not the way he thinks: George secretly peruses the pages of Girls' Life and dreams of being accepted as female.
Many transgender students know who they are well before puberty, as George's story makes clear. I have seen this struggle with several of my own students during my time in K-8 schools. This is a timely and important topic, and not something schools can pretend to ignore until kids are "old enough to know about this sort of thing." In my humble opinion, it's never too soon to be accepting and inclusive.
George would make an interesting comparative book study with Gracefully Grayson, also about a young transgender girl using a school play as a means of revealing her true self. The books are very different, but both tackle an important issue with sympathy and grace.
Rating: really liked it
George stopped. It was such a short, little question, but she couldn’t make her mouth form the sounds.
Mom, what if I’m a girl?
This might be the most important novel released this year. George is a sensitive, honest, and much-needed story about a trans girl.
The simplicity of the story makes it even more emotional. Alex Gino never tries too hard to turn this book into a lesson, and there is no attempt to make us cry, but - personally - I think the subtle sadness, frustration and loneliness of George's tale is what makes it so incredibly powerful and moving.
It's an important subject, but like all great stories, this novel's strength comes not from what it is about, but how it is told. One might think a first person narrative would make us feel closer to George and her story, but the clever third person narration immediately introduces George in female pronouns - a fact that completely changes the way we read the book.
George is not a boy wanting to be a girl, but a girl in a world where no one else can see it. It's an important distinction.
George is a middle-grade book, but that didn't put me off in the slightest. It follows George as she longs to play Charlotte in her school play but is told she cannot even audition for the part because she is a boy. But she knows that she's a girl. And she wants more than anything for the rest of the world to see it.
The story is sad and eye-opening - partly because of the bullying George endures, but even more so because of her loving mom's inability to understand:
“You will always be my little boy, and that will never change. Even when you grow up to be an old man, I will still love you as my son.”
Though, ultimately, this is not a depressing book. It's a heartwarming tale about learning to accept who you are, and it also educates the reader. It tells other Georges out there that they are not alone, that they have options, and that there is a support network available to them.
We should be giving this book to all children - male, female, transgender, intersex, genderqueer, or otherwise.
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Rating: really liked it
This year, only two books have made me cry so hard I had to stop reading. This was one of them.
But it's not because it's sad--it's actually a sweet, hopeful book filled with the ordinary joys of childhood. It's more the understanding of how isolated the Georges of the world must feel, and the hope that every single one of us takes the time to listen, to understand, to be supportive, and to be kind.
Review to come.
Rating: really liked it
[superannuated (hide spoiler)]
Rating: really liked it
The cutest.
Rating: really liked it
I honestly could not give this book any less than 5 stars. It was beautiful and heartwarming. I felt so much for George and really connected to her. This book is just so important, and whilst as a middle-grade this is an easy ready with a simple writing style, I think that everyone should read it.
Rating: really liked it
This was so wonderful. I've said this before but I LOVE seeing LGBTQ+ middle grade books. Society has a problem of thinking these topics are inappropriate for kids and that is so backwards and harmful.
This is about George/Melissa, a 10 year old girl born as a boy. I loved how Gino used female pronouns through the entire book. This was so lovely to see, since George thought of herself as a girl. Gino explained what transgender means in such a simple way for kids to understand.
This book is so important no matter your age. I highly recommend.
Rating: really liked it
“It takes a special person to cry over a book. It shows compassion as well as imagination.”This book had me right from the start. George is such a sweet and special character. You want to hug her and tell her everything will be alright.
I don't think I need to tell people how important representation is, especially for kids. I hope this book will help readers understand and open their eyes, as well as help many families and children in similar situations.
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Rating: really liked it
This review is also posted at http://readingnookandcranny.blogspot....
Before I get into my review of this story, I need to tell you a little bit about myself, because my own personal experiences heavily impacted my thoughts on this novel.
When I was in elementary school, I did swim team and softball. In middle school, I gravitated towards martial arts and rock climbing. In high school, I played a lot of tennis, basketball and bowling. I went to college to go work in motorsports. Starting in middle school, I started wearing jeans from the boys' department, because I didn't like how tightly formed jeans from the girls' department were (especially how useless the pockets were). And you were likely to catch me in a t-shirt of my favorite sports team pared with it (and NEVER with a purse, as I don't own one since I have pants that have usable pockets and thus don't need one). I even kept my hair cut short to help keep the sweat off my neck in the summer.
I guess what I'm trying to say is that I was/still am a "tomboy". As I got older, things didn't "improve" much. Instead of going shopping at the mall, I went to hockey games with my dad. And instead of watching Dancing with the Stars with my mom, I would either be outside playing kickball or playing Around the World with the neighborhood kids or I would be sitting in front of the tube watching an IndyCar race with my dad.
So now let's look at George. A charming fourth grader, George is struggling with her identity. She knows she's a girl, even though she was born inside a boy's body. She has a secret stash of Seventeen magazines (which I never personally read) she has to keep hidden from her mother and her older brother, because she doesn't think they will understand. She has to deal with constant taunting from boys at school, one of which was kind of her friend for a while, and a school play dear to her heart that is not going the way she would like at all.
I love little George, don't get me wrong. I can relate to little George, because in a lot of ways I struggled with some of the same insecurities as she does. Luckily, I had a dad who embraced my love of sports, and not a mother who told me I needed to conform.
I have two issues with this novel, and neither have to do with George herself, but more of the way Gino tries to send a message about transgender kids and kids alike. The first one being that I did not like that George resorts to bullying to counteract bullying. That is not a message I would ever send my kids. I know sometimes you gotta fight fire with fire, but what George does sends the wrong message completely (especially with how the adults deal with it).
The second, and much more important, is how Gino treats gender stereotypes. This is a hugely personal topic for me, since I've always been labeled a "tomboy". While I understand the difficulties of being transgender in today's society, Gino makes George out to be transgender simply because he doesn't fit his own gender stereotypes. In addition, it's kind of offensive the way Gino portrays what it means to be a girl.
To George, being a girl means she gets to wear lots of makeup. First of all, I don't want my fourth grader wearing makeup. Second of all, I never wear makeup even now. It also means getting to try on high heels and wear a skirt. Because, and a character in this novel points out, "When girls dress up, they wear skirts. I have a lot to teach you about being a girl." Being a girl DOES NOT mean you have to wear a skirt or a dress to dress up. My version of dress up is a button down blouse and a nice pair of black slacks. Over high heels, I wear a pair of very nice sneakers or flats.
Another character makes the comment to George, "No offense, but you don't make a very good boy." What the heck is that supposed to mean? Because George would rather play Mario Kart and read Seventeen magazine over playing bloody first person shooter games with his brother, he doesn't make a good boy? The gender stereotypes in this book are INSANE.
Yes, I think it's important that we stop being so narrow minded and judgmental about transgender people. Yes, I love George with all my heart. But I would not want a son or daughter, or even a niece or nephew of mine, to read this book and think that they ever have to act a certain way or do certain things or dress in certain clothes because that is what society has decided is "appropriate". I think Gino tries to bring one social issue - treatment of transgender people - to light by throwing another important social issue - gender stereotypes - completely under the bus. That part of this book I found highly offensive, through no fault of George's. And I realize perhaps I am reading too much into it and that a fourth grader or someone in the target audience for this book would not even realize what I saw, but I wouldn't give it to them to ever make that mistake.
Rating: really liked it
Well, this was just exactly as good as everyone said it was. I'm so happy after finishing this.
Rating: really liked it
“My point is, it takes a special person to cry over a book. It shows compassion as well as imagination.”This review contains
*spoilers*.
I needed a breather after Crooked Kingdom, so
George came at the perfect time for me to pick up. The premise of this middle-grade novel tells the story of Melissa, a ten-year-old girl who desperately wants to play Charlotte in her classroom’s theatrical production of Charlotte’s Web.
“I want to be Charlotte,” George whispered.
Kelly shrugged. “That’s cool. If you want to be Charlotte, you should try out for Charlotte. You make such a big deal out of everything. Who cares if you’re not really a girl?”
George’s stomach dropped. She cared. Tons.”I was rooting for her to get the part with all my heart. But Ms. Udell says she can't even try out for it.
“George knew she couldn’t have possibly expected to hear Ms. Udell call her name. Still, her heart sank. She had genuinely started to believe that if people could see her onstage as Charlotte, maybe they would see that she was a girl offstage too.”George's best friend Kelly ends up with the part of Charlotte, the wonderful, kind spider. They have a bit of a falling out over this, but fortunately drift back together after giving it some time. And, above all else, a weight lifted of my shoulders when George finally had someone to be completely honest with.
“She told Kelly about her bag of girls’ magazines, and about Mom taking it.
“But that’s not fair!” Kelly was indignant. “You didn’t steal them! What right does she have to take them from you?”
“Sometimes transgender people don’t get rights.” George had read on the Internet about transgender people being treated unfairly.
“That’s awful.”
“I know.”George hatches a plan with her best friend, so that everyone can know who she is once and for all.
Since there are two performances in the day. Kelly could take one and George could have the other.
“She would be Charlotte’s Charlotte, deeply hidden in the shadows.”And by the time Ms. Udell realizes it’s not Kelly performing, it’ll be too late. George’ll already be onstage and there won’t be a thing she can do about it.
Understandably, George was ecstatic about the idea of playing Charlotte onstage, and it was hard not to show it (same for me, too).
She's going to be Charlotte!!!!
And George didn’t disappoint at all because watching her fulfil her dream role made my heart sing. My love for her is never-ending.
“Charlotte was dead, but George was alive in a way she had never imagined.”Also, that last chapter made my day because we finally get to see her use her private name: Melissa. I’m really proud of her for being herself one step at a time. And I seriously need some fanart of my best girlfriends, Melissa and Kelly, getting to dress up and go out to the Bronx Zoo with Kelly's uncle.
“What if your uncle figures out I’m not really a girl?” Melissa asked.
“Look at you. Why would he think you’re anything else?”A++ for this beautiful friendship.
And another thing: This book made me open up my eyes and see how many unnecessary things are gendered in our lives... from who got to play jump rope at recess to standing in girls’ and boys’ lines to leave class… I'm absolutely livid at myself that I never took notice upon this.
So I'm grateful that I got educated in the most honest way. This book may be small, but it speaks volumes. And in the short amount of pages that I got to read about Melissa, I felt like I got to know her so well. I'm dreaming for a sequel to come.
Also, listening to this next song made my reading experience that more incredible, which is saying a lot.
On that note, please let me know in the comments if you have more LGBTQIA+ book recommendations for me to read and love.
*Note: I'm an Amazon Affiliate. If you're interested in buying George,
just click on the image below to go through my link. I'll make a small commission!* 
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Rating: really liked it
"My door is always open." ❤️
Rating: really liked it
PLEASE READ THIS REVIEW!!!
I don't want someone to see this one star rating and instantly write this off as someone who was offended by this book so they gave it one star. That is not the case at all. In fact I'm sure enough people are going to comment and share their opinions about the topics of this book that I'm not even going to bothering chiming in. The fact is it doesn't matter because there is a super tangible reason why no one should ever read this book. The writing is straight up terrible, like some of the worst I have ever read terrible. I couldn't stand how absolutely fake everything felt and I'm not sure if this author has ever had a conversation with a ten year old before. It felt very detached from reality, like to the point where even if this book was not about a transgender student, the way things played out would not have happened.
I'm guessing this author was on a mission to make a statement and didn't feel like they needed to actually find out what an average elementary school kid would be like. (And to provide some justification to myself I'm an elementary teacher, so I think I kinda have a grasp on what they are like). I also want to meet a parent who talks to their kids the way this mother does.
Basically, the character felt forced and unrealistic, transgender aside, the book should be destroyed and never read due to its horrible writing!
____________________________________________________________
Okay round 2 of the review, because I was called out for my critique of this book by the author of "Lily and Dunkin", a far superior book about a transgender boy dealing with similar problems as Geroge. In my review of "Lily and Dunkin" I gave the author credit for writing a story that sheds light on the subject in a way that is more accessible to children who are struggling with this transition.
Right off the bat, I'm not changing my 1-star rating. "George" deserves every bit of that and "Lily and Dunkin" helped to confirm that.
Some of the comments I've gotten about "Geroge" was that I should consider the perspective of a 4th grader and I've read numerous reviews (and I agree with myself) that "George" is not appropriate for a 4th grader to read. If there was a 4th grader who was dealing with these issues I'd recommend "Lily and Dunkin" to them. Again another book that I don't think is appropriate for the age group, but if you're going to recommend one at least have it be good literature.
After rereading this book (an incredible feat in and of itself because I NEVER reread books) I still found the overall lack of writing skills to be apparent. Donna Gephart, author of "Lily and Dunkin" makes it a point in her author's note to address how much research went into the writing of her book. I'd venture to guess that Alex Gino's research involved sharing the experience that they had as a child. Although there is credit to an author's personal experiences, I think that 99% of kids who are experiencing a transition like George would not have it play out anywhere near what happens in this book. Super supportive "4th Grade" friend (most 4th graders probably don't even know what transgender is, let alone would be willing to just completely buy into their friend telling them about it), a principal who shares the secret with the student, the bullying that occurs. I feel like if anything the bullying that happened to George wasn't any more than the amount of bullying the average 4th grader encounters on a regular basis. It needed to be more extreme. There just was no connection to what the life of a 4th grader is really like and I think if any kid started reading this book they would instantly realize how unrealistic it is.
I know I said in my initial review I didn't want to share my thoughts on the issues at hand in the book and instead focus on the choppy, disjointed, unrealistic writing, but I've dug the hole this deep I might as well chime in with a few other things that rubbed me the wrong way, help justify my thoughts:
1) This book starts out by just flat out spoiling the ending to the greatest book ever!!!!!! If a kid gets their hands on this book before they've read "Charlotte's Web" it will literally take away one of the most magical moments an elementary school child can experience. The fact that chapter 1, boom, you find out what the climax of "Charlotte's Web" is, should, in my opinion, be punishable by law (hence the reason I'm even beating around the bush in this review, I don't want to say what happens).
2) With the issue of transgender comes a lot of "feelings". To me this book was all about "telling" a story, there were no "feelings involved.
3) A lot of mention of kissing boys. Regardless of the topic not appropriate for the elementary level.
4) Again, who cares what the topic of the book is, just a lot of talk about human anatomy. This is a conversation kids need to have with their parents and won't happen for most until middle school, 4th grade is way too young.
5) 4th graders even knowing what the word "transgender" is. Do some? Of course, but for those students who don't, this book is not the place for them to discover that. It just opens up a whole new can of worms, that needs to be discussed between child and parent and to say that by 4th grade this should happen is just way too early.
6) Talks about "porn", enough said.
7) Kelly is just 100% accepting of it from the start, this fact was way too unbelievable for me to swallow. What are the odds that Kelly would even know what it is, and she's just all about embracing, no questions asked (because let's be honest a 4th grader wouldn't know what to ask).
8) Just the comment about 4th grade boys trying to look up girls skirts all the time. Middle school boys maybe, the random deliquent 4th grader it's a stretch, but this is not something that is happening on a regular basis like Kelly makes it sound like.
9) Sharing of the underwear, just took it too far. Regardless if it was girl sharing with girl, boy sharing with boy, boy sharing with girl, who cares sharing with who cares, this didn't need to happen.
Again, just as disappointed with the second read through, felt like I needed to get more off my chest because I wasted my time twice and I'm going to stick to my guns and finish with the final statement. If you see a kid who is screaming out for help in this area don't direct them to this book, pass along "Lily and Dunkin" it just approaches the subject in a lot more heartfelt and meaningful way.
Rating: really liked it
This book is so lovely, well-done, and important! I wish I would have read this as a kid and I just adore the fact that it exists, especially as a kid's book. George's story is so relevant and heart touching and I love the way that this one was done! I just took a star off because since it is middle grade the writing was a bit simplistic, but it was still very quick and I will definitely be recommending this to people as an LGBTQ+ read!
Rating: really liked it
I'm so happy that this book exists.
