Ten-year-old Caspar “Caz” Cadman loves baseball. After moving with his family to the Seattle suburbs from Toronto, he’s excited about trying out for the local summer team, the Redburn Ravens. What his teammates don’t know, however, is that Caz and his family moved because Caz was getting harassed when he transitioned as a transgender boy. Caz’s parents are supportive of his identity, although they, too, still occasionally misgender him. The denouement revolves around Caz finding strength even in the face of his “secret” being revealed by a bully.
Caz notes at one point that “I had nothing against girls. I just knew I was a boy,” which feels like a useful message to young readers. Yet when Caz reflects back to the co-ed team he’d played on in Toronto he says, “I hadn’t ever pitched in a game though. Had that been because I was the only girl?” That feels inconsistent with Caz’ view of his identity. Granted, Caz’ teammates had thought he was a girl—but changing the sentence to read, “Had that been because they saw me as the only girl?” would fit Caz’ true self-identity better.
While the story is overall an affirming portrayal of a trans youth, it leans perhaps a little too hard on the idea of transness being a big secret. Still, the story shows at least one of Caz’s new friends being supportive even after he learns Caz is trans. While this book, written by a cisgender author, doesn’t feel quite as authentic as some of those written by trans authors, it feels (to this admittedly cisgender reviewer) well-intentioned and ultimately positive, though trans readers may not like reading about the name-calling and deadnaming that Caz experiences.
