So...
If I Was Your Girl, a debut novel by Meredith Russo
I honestly only ordered this book from Amazon because it helped me qualify for free two-day shipping on another book that I needed for a school assignment. I don't usually read YA novels, which this undoubtedly is, but this one's premise, following a teen transgirl as she moves in with her estranged father and has to get settled into a new high school and new way of life in small town Tennessee, was different enough to catch my attention, and I ultimately decided it would be as good as any other book that would push me past that $25 mark.
Damn am I glad I made that decision. I'm no literary critic, so take my thoughts with the proverbial grain of salt, but this book was MOVING. I started reading it last night, fully intending to just read a chapter or two as I was settling down for bed, but I just couldn't put it down until I finished reading it at almost 03:30 local time, and then I was up for another good 45 minutes just thinking about what I'd read. The struggles, challenges, fears, and worries faced and expressed by the main character just seemed so real to me, and the joys and triumphs sprinkled throughout no less so. I felt like I, as a white American cisgender twenty-something, had been given a small but honest glimpse into what it's really like to be trans. Sure, the author admits that the portrayal is rather unrealistic in the sense of how well MC's transition went, how well she can pass, and how generally supportive the people around her ultimately turn out to be, but that in no way diminished the raw emotion I felt in this story. If anything it enhanced them for me, because I know that for most people in this situation it doesn't go nearly this well, and thus the fears and worries and concerns would be all the greater.
That said, I would really like to know if anyone else here on the forums, especially anyone who can more directly relate to the main character, has read this book, and if so, what are your thoughts on it? How is it accurate? How is it inaccurate? Is there anything else you would add to what's portrayed? Different feelings you wish were expressed?
And to those of you reading this post that haven't read the book, at this point I can't do anything but highly recommend it. As I've said, I was simply floored by reading this, and in all honesty I'm still kind of reeling from it. I can only hope that others will find it as challenging, enlightening, and enjoyable as I did.
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