If I Was Your Girl

As a book that could help transgender adolescents feel less alone or unwanted, If I Was Your Girl is an important resource. As a piece of literature that can appeal to readers of all ages, it falls just a little short. It feels at times like the author is trying to teach a course in Transgender 101 for cisgender readers. Also, Amanda's girlfriends at her new school are unlike any teens I've ever met - a diverse group that includes a lesbian, a conservative Christian and a popular fashionista, yet they all get along perfectly. They don't gossip, and they immediately take Amanda under their wing without a second thought. Maybe there's so much drama in the rest of Amanda's life that Meredith Russo decided to make this aspect uncharacteristically smooth, but it just doesn't ring true.

Having said that, I will admit that watching Amanda's father come to terms with his daughter's new identity is heartbreaking and rewarding. And I wanted Amanda's story to have a happy ending - or more appropriately for an 18 year old girl, a happy beginning. Meredith Russo is telling an important story; I just wish there had been a little more panache to the storytelling.