{"id":45458,"date":"2019-06-28T11:30:25","date_gmt":"2019-06-28T15:30:25","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/apa.si.edu\/bookdragon\/?p=45458"},"modified":"2019-07-24T16:42:06","modified_gmt":"2019-07-24T20:42:06","slug":"transgender-pride-literally-11-titles-by-ownvoices-authors-and-more-in-the-booklist-reader","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/apa.si.edu\/bookdragon\/transgender-pride-literally-11-titles-by-ownvoices-authors-and-more-in-the-booklist-reader\/","title":{"rendered":"Transgender Pride, Literally: 11 Titles by #OwnVoices Authors and More [in The Booklist Reader]"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"Happy final Friday of Pride Month<\/a>. Wow . . . that went by quickly! I have 25 (no lie!) more books on, under, next to, and all around my desk that I will\u00a0not<\/em>\u00a0be covering here, which is actually a good thing, because that\u2019s proof that twenty-first-century titles by and about the transgender and genderqueer community are indeed proliferating! By no means is this an exhaustive list \u2013 think of it as a recent starter kit. And how grateful are we readers \u2013 and\u00a0especially\u00a0<\/em>younger readers in search of windows and mirrors\u00a0\u2013 for the myriad trans, genderqueer, and related voices and experiences to be shared, appreciated, and celebrated?!<\/p>\n

Titles are divided into two sections: books by #OwnVoices authors and books by and about the families, friends, and lovers of transgender and genderqueer people. Numerous titles included here are forthcoming (more, more, more!). And, please feel free to grow the list in the comments below.<\/p>\n

By #OwnVoices Transgender and Genderqueer Authors<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

\"\"100 Crushes<\/a><\/strong>\u00a0by Elisha Lim<\/p>\n

Graphic artist\/comics creator Lim offers five years of graphic work in a single, slim, wow-inducing volume that examines the essence of being fluid, label defying, label reclaiming, self-defining . . . and just\u00a0being<\/em>.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\"\"Long Black Veil<\/a><\/strong>\u00a0by Jennifer Finney Boylan<\/p>\n

Transgender activist\/professor\/best-selling author Boylan (She\u2019s Not There<\/em><\/a>) presents a then\/now murder mystery intriguingly narrated by a rather chimerical character, who, once a lonely lost soul, is now an adored wife, mother, and successful travel writer in small-town Maine.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\"\"OP: Original Plumbing: The Best of Trans Male Culture<\/strong>\u00a0edited by Amos Mac and Rocco Kayiatos, with a foreword by Tiq Milan<\/p>\n

A San Francisco zine turned national print publication,\u00a0Original Plumbing<\/em>\u00a0is now 10 years young! Founders Mac and Kayiatos collect their \u201cfavorite moments from each issue,\u201d compiled between striking fuschia covers, filled with so much color, life, and love. \u201cNeedless to say, there is not just one way to be a trans man.\u201d<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\"\"Trans Like Me: Conversations for All of Us<\/strong>\u00a0by CN Lester<\/p>\n

British musician and trans rights activist Lester affectingly uses personal life experiences of coming out and living an authentic life to illuminate wider issues of acceptance, understanding, and inclusion. Lester channels history to connect trans communities from past to present, while drawing on pop culture to underscore the immediacy of contemporary nonbinary identity.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

For Younger Readers<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

\"\"Birthday<\/strong>\u00a0by Meredith Russo (Grades 9\u201312)<\/p>\n

Through life\u2019s dramatic changes, Eric and Morgan have shared every birthday together. Morgan\u2019s mother is dead, his father has shut down; meanwhile, Eric\u2019s seemingly perfect family is imploding. At 13, Morgan desperately needs to tell Eric, \u201cI want to be a girl.\u201d Eric wants to know who Morgan really is \u2013 especially who Morgan is to him.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\"\"The Boy and the Bindi<\/a><\/strong>\u00a0by Vivek Shraya and illustrated by Rajini Perara (K\u2013Grade 1)<\/p>\n

A young boy curious about his mother\u2019s bindi finally receives his own \u2013 which connects him with generations past, inspiring him to embark on a journey of empowered discovery. Indian Canadian musician\/filmmaker\/writer Shraya, a transgender woman, deftly explores difference and self-acceptance, the subversion of gender expectations, and the power of \u201cmaking sure I don\u2019t hide \/ Everything I am inside.\u201d<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\"\"Pet<\/strong>\u00a0by Akwaeke Emezi (Grades 7\u201310, September)<\/p>\n

Children in the town of Lucille are told there are no monsters. But there\u00a0are<\/em>\u00a0monsters. And Jam \u2013 guided by Pet, who crawls out of her mother\u2019s painting \u2013 will hunt and expose the monster lurking in her best friend\u2019s home. Emezi (Freshwater<\/em><\/a>) makes their younger reader debut with the inaugural title of Christopher Myers\u2019 \u201cMake Me a World<\/a>\u201d imprint. That Jam\u2019s transgender identity is treated as a factual nonevent is a refreshing approach to character diversity.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\"\"Stage Dreams<\/strong>\u00a0by Melanie Gillman (Grades 8\u201311, September)<\/p>\n

When Ghost Hawk makes her latest descent on a California-bound stagecoach, she kidnaps Grace, a Georgian trans woman escaping Confederate conscription. Delightful hijinks and adventures ensue. Gillman is an award-winning creator of \u201cpositive queer and trans comics for younger readers,\u201d and her Wild West escapade is enhanced with intriguing glimpses into little-known transgender military history.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\"\"Trans Mission: My Quest to Grow a Beard\u00a0<\/strong>by Alex Bertie (Grades 9\u201312)<\/p>\n

YouTube star Bertie \u2013 who\u2019s British and transgender \u2013 shares his coming out with unflinching honesty, raw vulnerability, sharp insight, and quite a bit of gentle humor. Unusual is the addition of a chapter from Bertie\u2019s mother, who intimately shares her POV as the mother of a transgender son.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\"\"When Aidan Became a Brother<\/a><\/strong>\u00a0by Kyle Lukoff and illustrated by Kaylani Juanita (K\u2013Grade 1)<\/p>\n

When Aidan, a transgender boy, learns he\u2019s going to be a big brother, he helps his parents prepare for the newest addition to their family in the most welcoming ways. Lukoff reveals in his author\u2019s note that parts of his own story are \u201cvery much like Aidan\u2019s.\u201d Lukoff and illustrator Juanita create \u201ca world that supports and believes in [Aidan],\u201d modeling a community that embraces \u201call different kinds of kids.\u201d<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\"\"Zenobia July<\/strong><\/a>\u00a0by Lisa Bunker (Grades 5\u20138)<\/p>\n

For spunky middle-schooler Zenobia July, a fresh start in a new home and new school with new friends means she\u2019ll finally be able to live as her authentic self. Bunker herself is transgender; she\u2019s one of two openly transgender women who were elected to the New Hampshire House of Representatives in November 2018!<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

By and About Family Members, Friends, and Lovers<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

\"\"In the Darkroom<\/strong>\u00a0by Susan Faludi<\/p>\n

At 76, feminist writer Faludi\u2019s (Backlash<\/em>) father went to Thailand and returned to Hungary as Stef\u00e1nie, all the while insisting she was \u201cstill [Faludi\u2019s] father.<\/em>\u201d In trying to understand this new identity, Faludi examines her father\u2019s history as a Holocaust survivor, American immigrant, husband, father, Hungarian returnee \u2013 and how her many reincarnations shaped the woman she became.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Transitions of the Heart: Stories of Love, Struggle and Acceptance by Mothers of Transgender and Gender Variant Children<\/strong>\u00a0edited by Rachel Pepper<\/p>\n

Journalist\/author\/therapist Pepper \u201cfocus[es] on the emotional experience of mothers, highlighting the parallel process that parents go through along with their transitioning child\u201d because \u201cno one feels this change as acutely as mothers.\u201d Pepper\u2019s mothers are as diverse as their gender nonconforming, nonbinary children \u2013 who vary from age six to 60!<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\"\"Unbound: Transgender Men and the Remaking of Identity<\/strong>\u00a0by Arlene Stein<\/p>\n

Award-winning, gay journalist Stein follows the remarkable journeys of four young people, who each had their top surgery done on the same day by the same Florida surgeon. Together, the diverse challenges, choices, and outcomes for these four individuals \u2013 three of them trans, one of them a gender-bending butch lesbian \u2013 create an inclusive collage of the vast spectrum of the contemporary transgender experience.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

For Younger Readers<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

\"\"Almost Perfect<\/strong>\u00a0by Brian Katcher (Grades 9\u201312)<\/p>\n

Winner of the first Stonewall Award for Children\u2019s & Young Adult Literature, Katcher\u2019s novel follows the unlikely love story between Logan, still reeling from a breakup with his cheating first love, and Sage, a mysterious new girl with many secrets.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\"\"Beast\u00a0<\/strong>by Brie Spangler (Grades 10\u201312)<\/p>\n

Hirsute, comparatively behemoth Dylan might have sort-of-maybe fallen off his roof . . . on purpose. Required to attend therapy, he meets quirky, smart, enigmatic Jamie. Their initial antagonism soon turns to genuine friendship, then quickly moves towards more \u2013 but Dylan somehow missed something Jamie revealed to the whole group, so what\u2019s gonna happen when he finds out?<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\"\"Freeing Finch<\/strong>\u00a0by Ginny Rorby (Grades 5\u20138, October)<\/p>\n

At 12, Finch has had plenty of struggles. Her father left, her mother died, she lives with her stepfather, who, less than year after losing her mother, gave Finch a stepmother. Finch has always been a girl, but the parents she\u2019s got left don\u2019t seem to understand. Luckily, nearest neighbor Maddy \u2013 and her menagerie of rehabilitating wildlife \u2013 is exactly the support Finch needs to be her true self. Note to readers: get tissues ready \u2013 there couldn\u2019t have been more tears!<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\"\"Juli\u00e1n Is a Mermaid<\/a>\u00a0<\/strong>by Jessica Love (K\u2013Grade 1)<\/p>\n

Across her stupendous watercolor, gouache, and ink spreads, Love captures the transformative power of being seen. With his grandmother\u2019s unconditional affirmation, young Jul\u00edan\u2019s daydreams become spectacular reality in Broadway actor Love\u2019s triumphant author\/illustrator debut.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\"\"Something Like Gravity<\/strong>\u00a0by Amber Smith (Grades 9\u201312)<\/p>\n

Chris arrives to spend a summer with his aunt in rural North Carolina after surviving a brutal attack back home in Rochester. Maia, his nearest neighbor, is reeling from the sudden death of her older sister and caught between two grieving parents who still acrimoniously live together four years after their divorce. Chris and Maia\u2019s initial almost bike-into-car crash reluctantly sparks a collision of emotions that will have them both falling into first love.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Published<\/strong>:\u00a0\u201cTransgender Pride, Literally: 11 Titles by #OwnVoices Authors and More,\u201d The Booklist Reader, June 28, 2019<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Happy final Friday of Pride Month. Wow . . . that went by quickly! I have 25 (no lie!) more books on, under, next to, and all around my desk that I will\u00a0not\u00a0be covering here, which is actually a good thing, because that\u2019s proof that…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":45453,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"inline_featured_image":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[5,142,114,274,9,62,23,6,7243,107,30,60,20,6535,31],"tags":[6294,8493,8496,8492,8501,6608,6668,7235,7138,8499,58,6293,10,11,8490,7012,50,7479,13,6931,129,8494,8495,39,8489,7502,8497,79,8498,8500,8491,5878],"class_list":["post-45458","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-adult-readers","category-black-african-american","category-british","category-canadian","category-canadian-asian-pacific-american","category-children-picture-books","category-european","category-fiction","category-lists","category-memoir","category-middle-grade-readers","category-nonethnic-specific","category-nonfiction","category-repost","category-young-adult-readers","tag-100-crushes","tag-almost-perfect-brian-katcher","tag-amos-mac","tag-arlene-stein","tag-birthday","tag-bookdragon","tag-booklist","tag-booklist-reader","tag-boy-the-bindi","tag-cn-lester","tag-coming-of-age","tag-elisha-lim","tag-family","tag-friendship","tag-identiry","tag-jennifer-finney-boylan","tag-lgbtqia","tag-long-black-veil","tag-love","tag-meredith-russo","tag-mother-daughter-relationship","tag-op","tag-original-plumbing","tag-parent-child-relationship","tag-pride-month","tag-rajini-perara","tag-rocco-kayiatos","tag-school-challenges","tag-tiq-milan","tag-trans-like-me","tag-unbound","tag-vivek-shraya"],"yoast_head":"\nTransgender Pride, Literally: 11 Titles by #OwnVoices Authors and More [in The Booklist Reader] - BookDragon<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/apa.si.edu\/bookdragon\/transgender-pride-literally-11-titles-by-ownvoices-authors-and-more-in-the-booklist-reader\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Transgender Pride, Literally: 11 Titles by #OwnVoices Authors and More [in The Booklist Reader] - BookDragon\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Happy final Friday of Pride Month. Wow . . . that went by quickly! 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