George
by Alex Gino
Publisher: Scholastic
Press
Release Date: August 25, 2015
George introduces a compassionate and thoughtful fourth-grade girl living
in a boy’s body, who wants to be accepted by her family, friends, and
classmates as Melissa—if only she could be brave enough to share her secret.
This
middle-grade transgender story won the 2016 Stonewall Book Award from the
American Library Association.
The committee praised George as “a
classic story that speaks to the transgender child’s experience.”
George does speak to the transgender child’s experience, and I recommend
it simply for that. Some young transgender readers might identify with George
and feel less alone. The story might also help straight readers to understand
how other kids like George see the world, and perhaps think twice about hurtful
words and actions. Books build bridges that way.
George is also a timely book as many state
legislatures, sport leagues, and school districts are dealing with
controversial laws, policies, and rules for transgender students. I’m impressed
that Scholastic saw the importance of publishing a book like this. However, George often feels like a primer on the
transgender experience rather than a contemporary middle-grade novel about a
transgender character.
The
author hits all of the main points of a how-to guide to transgender students
like a translation of Schools inTransition: A Guide For Supporting Transgender Students in K-12 Schools
into a novel format. I stumbled on the multitude of stilted or stereotypical
character descriptions and plot points. George has a thin frame and wants to
wear pink outfits and glittery makeup, of course. Mom discourages any
“feminine” behavior, like playing dress-up, as you might guess. The class bully
hurls predictable derogatory comments at George and eventually punches George
in the gut, like a “classic” bully would do. Perhaps precisely because these
expected story elements are not well-tread territory in middle-grade novels, it’s
forgivable here. Besides, the author refrains from outright didacticism that
would make it a glorified how-to book, and the story is not bad. Just predictable.
Still,
as a writer, I have a few other issues with this book as a literary work. The
dust-jacket copy promises George will solve the problem for herself. Spoiler alert:
George does not come up with the plan. Kelly does. I really wanted George to
figure this out.
That
brings up another problem in the spoiler-alert category. Kelly and Scott,
George’s older brother, accept George’s transgender revelation too darn
quickly. Scott eats a dinner roll and – poof!
-- he is cool with her. Wouldn’t these characters balk at first? Maybe worry
what other kids would say about them? I was glad they loved George
unconditionally, don’t get me wrong, but I just didn’t believe they would
welcome Melissa without any hesitation.
One
other thing. Melissa? What’s up with
that name? Kelly isn’t any better. My friends’ names are Melissa and Kelly,
and I’m 50 years old. I don’t know of one Melissa or Kelly in fourth grade today.
I wondered if the setting was the 1970s, back when I was in fourth grade, but there’s
a cordless phone in one scene and Scott calls George “Dude.” I think it’s
supposed to be contemporary fiction. And, more important, I think you should read George despite the name anachronisms, despite Kelly solving the
problem, despite the predictable elements.
Please read it. So many children need to be better understood for who
they are. Then, if you’re looking for exceptional contemporary fiction that
happens to provide insights to the transgender experience, read Beautiful Music For Ugly Children by
Kristin Cronn-Mills . We need more bridge-building books and
more people reading them.
BIO:
Tracy
Nelson Maurer holds an MFA in Writing for Children and Young Adults from
Hamline University. She writes about children’s literature and has published
more than 100 titles for children. Her picture-book biographies, John Deere, That’s Who! (Henry Holt) and
Noah Webster’s Fighting Words will be
published in the spring of 2017. Find her on Facebook or at
TracyMaurerWriter.com.
