7/8/2023 0 Comments Books by alex gino![]() ![]() ![]() George captures adeptly the challenging experience of a transgender fourth grader, where bullies loom large around nearly every corner. Author Alex Gino expertly weaves together snapshots of transgender childhood and deftly maneuvers through difficult moments in George, ranging from stings to slaps. The plot of George will keep you turning pages (don’t worry, I won’t spoil the story here), but where George really shines is in Melissa’s moments of pain. ![]() ![]() This production is the moment to let everyone know once and for all that she is a girl. The stage, it seems, should be a safe space for Melissa to try out a new identity and play with gender. Like Ellen Wittlinger’s Parrotfish,which follows the transition of a boy named Grady whose family puts on annual Christmas pageants, the centering of Melissa’s transition and coming out on a play highlights the performativity of gender. But she has a plan to let everyone know the truth-she will nab the title role in her school’s production of Charlotte’s Web. Melissa is a transgender girl, and the omniscient narrator affirms her story from the first page: she is a girl, even if everyone thinks she is a boy. George is a very special book, but the most special thing of all is its unfaltering use of female pronouns to refer to the protagonist. ![]()
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