Fourth-grader Melissa knows she’s a girl, not a boy, although others don’t see her that way. She works with her best friend Kelly to try and get the part of Charlotte in her school’s production of Charlotte’s Web, and to help her mother see her as she really is. This is a thoughtful, sympathetic, and multiple award-winning story about a transgender youth. While it is an all-text chapter book, and not an early reader, Melissa’s age/grade make it suitable for the early end of the middle-grade book range.
This book was originally titled George, but author Alex Gino renamed it in 2021, explaining, “I made a mistake when I named my first published middle grade novel. A big mistake. I used a name for my main character that she doesn’t like for herself (i.e. George, the title of the book) instead of her actual name.” I am leaving the original title in parentheses (as Gino does on their own site) in order to help those who may be searching for it under the original name, but I urge readers to refer to it as Gino now does.
