Pride Month 2018 read #2
I am a firm believer that "normal" is overrated. But I am not a teenager. I imagine for most teens it is closer to what Leo and David feel, the only way to make it through is fly under the radar and the best way to do that is to be or at least appear to be "normal."
But what exactly is "normal" and who gets to decide this? Is there room under the "normal" umbrella for those who appear so but got there by a different path? Transgender boys and girls ARE normal boys and girls even if their destination isn't the gender they were assigned at birth, because gender is more than biology.
Leo used to be Megan. But he has always known he wasn't a girl. So he began the transition process and Megan became Leo. But as so many of us know, kids can be the cruelest people, and the students at Leo's school knew him before...and then "February" happened and Leo was allowed to change schools. At his new school he is getting a fresh start, a place where he has never been anyone other than Leo. The plan is to be invisible, to not draw attention to himself, to just get through the next 2 years then go off to college. What he doesn't count on is falling for Alicia and meeting David.
David has always known he was in the wrong body but the only people who know it too are his best friends Felix and Essie. He wants to tell his parents, he has pretty cool parents units and is 99.9999% sure they wont turn him away no matter how shocked or hard it is for them to hear. But he hasn't said and he wears his girl clothes in secret, he learns how to wear makeup in secret, and he just wants to be seen as the girl that is who he really is. Then he meets Leo.
What "February" is broke my heart. I love Leo and David. Even though they are background characters I love Essie and Felix and how much they love David for who he is even if they can't do it openly fully. Essie even supplies clothes for David's SHE box.
I cried and cheered. I loved this book even when it was difficult.
(Finished June 11, 2018)
No comments:
Post a Comment