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A review by coldinaugust
Goblinheart by Brett Axel
5.0
At first glance, Goblinheart is just a fairy tale, albeit with fairies and goblins. In the book's fantasy world, the fairies have a certain set of physical characteristics and roles in the community, and the goblins have a different but complimentary set of characteristics and roles. Perhaps that sounds familiar, or perhaps not. Like The Story of Ferdinand, part of Goblinheart's brilliance is that it can be discussed as an allegory or simply appreciated as a fairy tale. As such, it is an ideal teaching resource that can open discussion about gender issues without being conspicuously controversial or threatening. Yet to those of us with such awareness, each part of Julep's journey to acceptance as a fairy-bodied goblin is apparent as a metaphor for transgender life events: Julep's realization of inner goblin-ness, despair at growing fairy wings, the awkwardness of first tries at passing, creation & usage of adaptive items of clothing for a more comfortable presentation, and the final glimmer of the hope of community acceptance at the book's end.
Impressively, throughout the book Axel masterfully avoids the use of gendered pronouns. Not only does this enable readers to relate themselves or others to the main character, but the fact that Goblinheart's avoidance of gendered pronouns does not read as clumsy or forced becomes even more appreciated when trying to discuss the book oneself! It's incredibly difficult in the English language to avoid gendered pronouns when speaking in third person, and certainly that is another item to which gender variant readers and their allies can relate.
Goblinheart's artwork is cleverly androgynous and evocative; the illustration of Julep looking back at the growth of wings so dreaded brought this reader to tears. Truly this book takes an important place in the slowly-growing genre of children's literature about transgender issues.
Impressively, throughout the book Axel masterfully avoids the use of gendered pronouns. Not only does this enable readers to relate themselves or others to the main character, but the fact that Goblinheart's avoidance of gendered pronouns does not read as clumsy or forced becomes even more appreciated when trying to discuss the book oneself! It's incredibly difficult in the English language to avoid gendered pronouns when speaking in third person, and certainly that is another item to which gender variant readers and their allies can relate.
Goblinheart's artwork is cleverly androgynous and evocative; the illustration of Julep looking back at the growth of wings so dreaded brought this reader to tears. Truly this book takes an important place in the slowly-growing genre of children's literature about transgender issues.