I decided to read George for the #ReadICT prompt "read a challenged book." Out of all the challenged books, why George? My state made headlines in 2017 when a school district refused to buy copies for its libraries even though the book was part of the William Allen White books list. This list is released yearly in Kansas and nearly all school districts buy every book on the list.
And my state made headlines once again in 2019 when a public library wanted to "change" how LGBTQ+ books were organized in its building. So of course I picked up a copy of George.
George is a girl. Her actual name is Melissa. She knows this to be a fact. So why do people tell her that she is a boy? Congratulations, Alex Gino. George is the first book to make my eyes water in 2021.
Gino does a phenomenal job explaining being transgender in a way that both children and adults can understand. As I read about Melissa's journey about being true to herself, coming out to her family, the bullying, the gender dysphoria, and the loneliness; as an adult I didn't feel like I needed to shield children from such topics. I felt that I needed to better understand issues like this so that I wouldn't ever unintentionally add to a child's hurt. People often forget that children are very intelligent and self-aware. When we belittle their concerns, they hide things from us. When we belittle others, they're there listening. Sometimes wondering, "is this what my parent will think of me?" I personally believe that it is best that we talk to them and create a healthy and safe place where they can process and understand what they're feeling. And just like Melissa's mother discovers, this often means getting out of our own comfort zones and educating ourselves in order to be better pillars of support. Well, you can't control who your children are, but you can certainly support them, am I right?
George by Alex Gino (pg. 160)
I remember reading a few comments about Melissa's coming out from fellow readers. "Just because a girl is a tomboy doesn't mean she wants to be trans." "Just because a boy plays with dolls doesn't mean he's trans." And I think they completely forgot the part in the book where Melissa and her best friend Kelly have this exact conversation. In Melissa's thoughts it's clear that this isn't what she's experiencing. Melissa is a girl. Melissa knows she's a girl. Melissa wants others to see what she sees when she looks in the mirror. I feel that we adults often forget our school years or block what doesn't fit the narrative we want others to see. But I believe that acknowledging those memories makes it easier to provide empathy and understanding to those younger than us. Adults want to support their children and protect them from harm. So it's important to reflect, listen to what children have to say (actually listen), and learn about experiences that are different from our own. As an adult, I feel fortunate that Alex Gino's George was able to remind me of that. My rating: ???? Amazon | Bookshop
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