George, which has since been renamed to Melissa, is a book written by genderqueer author Alex Gino in 2015. The story follows a young boy, George, who refers to himself as a female and uses she/her pronouns in secret. She identifies as transgender, though no one closest to her knows this. The story follows her struggles with her identity, emotional turmoil, and relentless bullying from classmates. She ultimately finds the courage to tell her best friend, Kelly, about her true identity, and Kelly is incredibly supportive. She also eventually tells her mother, who is dismissive of her feelings, and her brother, Scott, who offers to help her reveal her identity. Kelly is perhaps the most supportive, and she gives up her role as Charlotte in the school play, Charlotte's Web, so that Melissa can show her true self to the school and her family. Her mom ends up coming around in the end, and she supports her daughter in who she is. Melissa is finally able to be herself, and she and Kelly enjoy a day at the zoo, with Melissa wearing some of Kelly's clothing and fully presenting herself as the girl she knows she is.
While I did not read this book growing up, I think it would have been incredibly beneficial to have growing up. My husband's younger sibling is transgender, and they have struggled with their identity for as long as I have known them. They kept their identity a secret from everyone until they finally found the strength to share their true self with the world after finding encouragement from various forms of media. Reading this book made me think of them, as I think it would have been incredibly beneficial for them to have a book like this to read as they were growing up. I've seen this book be recommended for ages 8 - 12 years old, and that seems just about when they started having struggles with their identity. The LGBTQ+ community is still considered a diverse community, and having a title such as this in available in the library would have a positive impact on students who are going through the same struggles. One part of the story focused on Melissa realizing that her principal was accepting of transgender people because of a poster on the wall, and I hope that students seeing this title available in a library would give the same effect. I also think that renaming the book was a fantastic idea, and it promotes using a person's chosen name rather than their deadname. This is something that I know people struggle with, and the recognition of renaming the book just as the character renamed themselves is symbolic in a way!
Aside from being helpful to either students struggling with their own identities or those who may already know their identity, a title like this could also be helpful to students who still identify with their natural born gender. Reading about others' struggles can open students' eyes to issues that they may not have been previously exposed to. While I am not transgender myself, I do see a benefit in reading about what life is like for people who are. I feel as though it helps me to better understand what they may be going through and how I can be a helpful and supportive side character in their story. I hope other students would feel the same, and I would urge them to take a chance in reading this book to gain a better understanding of what a young, transgender student may be going through.
Overall, I would recommend a teacher or librarian to have this book available in their classroom or library. I think it's a wonderful way of promoting diversity that tends to be overlooked in the classroom! It's also an incredibly sweet story that touches on other aspects of a young child's life, including family relationships, friendships, and bullying. It was a wonderful, heartfelt read that would be a great, inclusive addition.
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