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mslater116's review against another edition
emotional
funny
hopeful
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.25
rereader33's review against another edition
2.0
2022 LGBTQAI+ Reading Challenge
Prompt: read a banned LGBTQAI+ book
Okay folks, here's the deal: I'm not trans. I'm not ten years old. I can't fathom what it must be like being so young and sure about who you are, but be so scared to tell others. What I CAN tell you is that I'm a grown-ass adult with an BA in English Literature under her belt and can accurately tell when a book is poorly written or not. SPOILER ALERT, THIS ONE IS!!!
Actual Spoilers Ahead
I have read many books trying to be progressive, trying to discuss heavy/sensitive topics, and/or trying to offer representation to minorities and unfortunately this novel does what most books like these tend to do:
-use their main character as a mouthpiece and leave it at that.
-make all of the other characters one-dimensional and/or only exist to represent a group or idea.
-wrap up everything in a nice squeaky-clean bow, even if it doesn't feel earned or justified.
Let me tell you what I know about Melissa after reading this book: she wants to be a girl and be Charlotte in Charlotte's Web. That's it. I don't her hobbies, interests, favorite color, favorite food, whether she prefers tv to video games or neither, you get the picture. I make a big deal out of this because a) as mentioned before, since she lacks any defining feature outside of her desire to be a girl, she doesn't feel like an actual character. She feels like a mouthpiece for the author to promote their agenda and nothing else and b) she's ten years old and little kids will tell anyone who will listen anything about themselves and their interests. Since we as readers know next to nothing about her by the end of the book, it strikes me as an unrealistic portrayal of that age group.
Every other character was boring, trite, and one-dimensional. Aside from their one personality trait, I couldn't tell you a single thing about anything of them other than Kelly, who for some reason was the only one allowed to have a personality trait AND a hobby. Why she got a hobby when the main character didn't I couldn't say, but there you go. Not only that, but the stereotypes were rampant in this novel. Jeff was such a cliched bully I rolled my eyes every time he graced us with his presence and Scott was such an outdated stereotypical teenage boy my face imploded from cringe whenever he appeared. It really felt like I was watching a terrible 90's Nickelodeon show
And, of course, the ending is super-saccharine sweet with (mostly) everyone getting pummeled with the Acceptance Stick and wanting what Melissa wants and all that jazz. Nevermind that the more bigoted characters, including her mom, blitzed right past the character development phase and was suddenly okay with Melissa despite showing just a few pages earlier that she wasn't. Whatever, silly things like character development and good writing don't matter as long as readers get a happy ending, am I right???
So, would I recommend this book? Honestly, I don't know. I'm glad that it's paved a path for more trans characters in middle grade books, but this is not the representation trans folks deserve. But as a cisgender female, my opinion probably doesn't matter a whole lot. If you want to read this, go for it, but I definitely think the trans community deserves better.
Prompt: read a banned LGBTQAI+ book
Okay folks, here's the deal: I'm not trans. I'm not ten years old. I can't fathom what it must be like being so young and sure about who you are, but be so scared to tell others. What I CAN tell you is that I'm a grown-ass adult with an BA in English Literature under her belt and can accurately tell when a book is poorly written or not. SPOILER ALERT, THIS ONE IS!!!
Actual Spoilers Ahead
I have read many books trying to be progressive, trying to discuss heavy/sensitive topics, and/or trying to offer representation to minorities and unfortunately this novel does what most books like these tend to do:
-use their main character as a mouthpiece and leave it at that.
-make all of the other characters one-dimensional and/or only exist to represent a group or idea.
-wrap up everything in a nice squeaky-clean bow, even if it doesn't feel earned or justified.
Let me tell you what I know about Melissa after reading this book: she wants to be a girl and be Charlotte in Charlotte's Web. That's it. I don't her hobbies, interests, favorite color, favorite food, whether she prefers tv to video games or neither, you get the picture. I make a big deal out of this because a) as mentioned before, since she lacks any defining feature outside of her desire to be a girl, she doesn't feel like an actual character. She feels like a mouthpiece for the author to promote their agenda and nothing else and b) she's ten years old and little kids will tell anyone who will listen anything about themselves and their interests. Since we as readers know next to nothing about her by the end of the book, it strikes me as an unrealistic portrayal of that age group.
Every other character was boring, trite, and one-dimensional. Aside from their one personality trait, I couldn't tell you a single thing about anything of them other than Kelly, who for some reason was the only one allowed to have a personality trait AND a hobby. Why she got a hobby when the main character didn't I couldn't say, but there you go. Not only that, but the stereotypes were rampant in this novel. Jeff was such a cliched bully I rolled my eyes every time he graced us with his presence and Scott was such an outdated stereotypical teenage boy my face imploded from cringe whenever he appeared. It really felt like I was watching a terrible 90's Nickelodeon show
And, of course, the ending is super-saccharine sweet with (mostly) everyone getting pummeled with the Acceptance Stick and wanting what Melissa wants and all that jazz. Nevermind that the more bigoted characters, including her mom, blitzed right past the character development phase and was suddenly okay with Melissa despite showing just a few pages earlier that she wasn't. Whatever, silly things like character development and good writing don't matter as long as readers get a happy ending, am I right???
So, would I recommend this book? Honestly, I don't know. I'm glad that it's paved a path for more trans characters in middle grade books, but this is not the representation trans folks deserve. But as a cisgender female, my opinion probably doesn't matter a whole lot. If you want to read this, go for it, but I definitely think the trans community deserves better.
leafblade's review against another edition
4.0
extremely cute and important, we do really need more trans children stories.
quiltyscientist's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
5.0
amandajeane's review against another edition
emotional
funny
hopeful
informative
inspiring
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.75
lfsalden's review against another edition
5.0
Wow.
Not one word could be changed.
So hard for me to read, so perfectly written.
There's a copy being donated to the church library as we speak.
Just.
Just buy the book. Buy three and give the extras to people. To libraries. To trans kids. To cis kids. To parents and school board members and police officers and teachers and allies. Just buy the book and read it and laugh and cry.
Not one word could be changed.
So hard for me to read, so perfectly written.
There's a copy being donated to the church library as we speak.
Just.
Just buy the book. Buy three and give the extras to people. To libraries. To trans kids. To cis kids. To parents and school board members and police officers and teachers and allies. Just buy the book and read it and laugh and cry.
katykelly's review against another edition
4.0
Uncomplicated gender feel-good story.
Born a boy, George knows she's really a girl, despite being a primary-aged student. In her head, that's who she is. Her parents, brother, best friend Kelly - none of them seem to suspect. And now her class is set to perform Charlotte's Web, George feels it might be time to begin to tell them - by auditioning for the role of Charlotte.
Of course, there's the obligatory class bully, who seems to instinctively know that George is a little different, and we have scenes of confession and the resulting fallout at home and school. But we also have a lovely accepting best friend and a heroine that exemplifies pluckiness (for those that need a role model) and models demonstrates the worries and internal battles (for those who've not thought about the issue) of a young person growing up feeling they aren't in the right body.
I always like the use of a novel within a story to compliment the plot - and the bravery of the spider here is well chosen. Kelly was my favourite character, the loyal and fierce best friend, though George is nicely conveyed as relatable to readers of either gender.
The story wraps up a little too neatly, on a bit of a high, where I felt the main events ait nd matters of interest are yet to come - I wanted to see what happened to George after the last page. There is more story untold. Though by that point it had raised and queried a lot of things that readers will want to think about, without delving into the complications of 'what came next'.
A good choice for 'transgender issues' discussions at schools for KS2-4 classes. Insightful and ripe for discussion.
Born a boy, George knows she's really a girl, despite being a primary-aged student. In her head, that's who she is. Her parents, brother, best friend Kelly - none of them seem to suspect. And now her class is set to perform Charlotte's Web, George feels it might be time to begin to tell them - by auditioning for the role of Charlotte.
Of course, there's the obligatory class bully, who seems to instinctively know that George is a little different, and we have scenes of confession and the resulting fallout at home and school. But we also have a lovely accepting best friend and a heroine that exemplifies pluckiness (for those that need a role model) and models demonstrates the worries and internal battles (for those who've not thought about the issue) of a young person growing up feeling they aren't in the right body.
I always like the use of a novel within a story to compliment the plot - and the bravery of the spider here is well chosen. Kelly was my favourite character, the loyal and fierce best friend, though George is nicely conveyed as relatable to readers of either gender.
The story wraps up a little too neatly, on a bit of a high, where I felt the main events ait nd matters of interest are yet to come - I wanted to see what happened to George after the last page. There is more story untold. Though by that point it had raised and queried a lot of things that readers will want to think about, without delving into the complications of 'what came next'.
A good choice for 'transgender issues' discussions at schools for KS2-4 classes. Insightful and ripe for discussion.
cosmo_junk's review against another edition
5.0
tw transphobia for kids
this was a heartwarming middle-grade story abt a young trans girl (not written by a cis person, which is a bonus).
despite being targeted at a younger age group, i found myself really (REALLY) enjoying this book, and i'm not even a trans girl! melissa made me remember what i was like as a little kid, and the depictions of dysphoria were really spot on. 10/10
this was a heartwarming middle-grade story abt a young trans girl (not written by a cis person, which is a bonus).
despite being targeted at a younger age group, i found myself really (REALLY) enjoying this book, and i'm not even a trans girl! melissa made me remember what i was like as a little kid, and the depictions of dysphoria were really spot on. 10/10