Transgender Middle School Boy Shines in New Book

A new middle-grade book about a transgender boy is a positive, hopeful story of coming of age and transitioning. Put this one on your reading list.

M.G. Hennessey’s debut novel, The Other Boy, is a first-person narrative from the perspective of Shane Woods, a 12-year-old, sixth-grade boy who likes making graphic novels, hanging out with his best friend Josh Choi, and being the star pitcher of his baseball team. He’s also transgender, but none of his friends know since he and his divorced mom moved to a new city just before he started fourth grade.

When a school bully learns he was known as a girl in his former school and starts telling people, Shane fears he will lose his friendship with Josh, his position on the team, and a burgeoning romance with a girl in his class. And while his mother has long been unfailingly supportive of Shane’s gender identity, his dad still struggles, and is reluctant to let Shane start taking the hormones that would allow him to develop physically along with the other boys his age who are starting to hit puberty.

Hennessey does a splendid job of showing, without being pedantic, that trans children and youth can and do have support from family, friends, and teachers. At the same time, she throws in enough realistic-seeming obstacles and fears to not appear pollyannaish. She also manages to blend in challenges that almost any young person of that age might encounter: first dates, embarrassing parents, bullies, and figuring out what it means to be—and have—a true friend.

The book may draw comparisons to Chris Beam’s I Am J, another great read about a trans boy. I Am J is aimed at somewhat older teens, however, and while it is ultimately positive, it also shows some of the darker challenges that some trans teens experience, like running away from home and seeking hormones through not-always-legal means. The Other Boy, in contrast, reflects perhaps the growing acceptance of trans youth in the five years since I Am J, and shows Shane with a solid family life and support from many places, even if he does not realize it at first. Both stories are necessary—but The Other Boy feels more comforting for the younger age it targets.

Hennessey also gives us a simply delightful book to read, with sparkling dialog and lively pacing that weaves in bits of Shane’s earlier life without slowing down the narrative. The sci-fi graphic novel that Shane is ostensibly writing is incorporated through illustrations by comic artist Sfé R. Monster, which provide a fun reflection on Shane’s journey.

This book deserves to be read not only by trans middle schoolers, but also by any middle schooler (and heck, high schoolers and adults) who might ever encounter a trans person—which, let’s face it, is pretty much all of them. Buy it for yourself or recommend it to your local school or library today.

I am a member of the Amazon Associates program, and get a small referral fee from all purchases made at Amazon.com via links on this site. You are under no obligation to purchase through them.