George – A “Middle Grade” Book For All Ages

Hello guys! Last month I read George by Alex Gino, as part of #24in48 readathon (which is a reading marathon that goes on for a full weekend -48 hours- and the goal is to read 24 of those 48 hours!)

I stayed busy after that, so it took me a while to get this review up, but it’s here!

George
by Alex Gino
195 pages
Published: August 25, 2015.
Goodreads Rating: 3.98 stars (11,687 Ratings)

My Rating: 4.5 stars (⋆ ⋆ ⋆ ⋆ ⋆)

When people look at George, they see a boy. But George knows she’s a girl.

George thinks she’ll have to keep this a secret forever. Then her teacher announces that their class play is going to be Charlotte’s Web. George really, really, REALLY wants to play Charlotte. But the teacher says she can’t even try out for the part … because she’s a boy.

With the help of her best friend Kelly, George comes up with a plan. Not just so she can be Charlotte – but so everyone can know who she is, once and for all.

GEORGE is a candid, genuine, and heartwarming middle grade about a transgender  girl who is, to use Charlotte’s word, R-A-D-I-A-N-T!

This book is Contemporary + Middle Grade, which – if I’m not mistaken – is the first of it’s kind that I read, and on top of that, it’s diverse! #DoubleWin

George has the biological body of a boy, but she knows she’s a girl. When the fourth grade teacher announces that the class will have a theatrical adaptation of Charlotte’s Web, George wishes to play the part of Charlotte. The only problem? Charlotte is a girl’s part and no one will take George seriously, because everybody thinks she’s a boy!

Although George’s best friend, Kelly, is supportive of George wanting to play Charlotte, even she thinks that George is a boy!

“I still don’t see what the big deal is, so you want to play a girl onstage. It’s not like you want to be a girl.”

But no worries, George has a plan! George really wants that part and she will prove that she was born to play it, and her best friend Kelly will help her achieve it!

The author gives George female pronouns through the whole book, which makes it simple and powerful. You feel like you’re a girl? Then you ARE a girl. George is looking for acceptance through this whole book, and looking for a way to show the world who she really is. The story is so simple and yet emotional. You can feel George’s sadness and frustration.

“Still, her heart sank. She had genuinely started to believe that if people could see her onstage as Charlotte, maybe they would see that she was a girl offstage too.”

George uses the internet to find information of what she is feeling and discovers that it has a name! George is transgender, and this book does a great job bringing the topic up. I believe this is a great way to introduce kids to it. Whether is because they feel it, or because they should know about it to treat others with respect, this book is IMPORTANT!

“Sometimes transgender people don’t get rights.” George had read on the Internet about transgender people being treated unfairly.

Although the book made me emotional at times, it is not a depressing or sad book. It’s a book about a girl that knows and has accepted who she is, and wishes for the world to accept her as well. This book is important because there are Georges in the world, and the topic of transgenders is not one that parents like to discuss… kids need to know that it’s okay to be like George, and that there are people who will love and support you.

This book should be read by everyone! We’re all children, some more hidden than others, but if we want the world to progress and see each other as equals, books like George need to be spread around the world.

PS. I really would love to read a sequel to George where she is a teenager.
Can you make this happen Alex Gino?