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10/09/2015

George - Alex Gino

George - Alex Gino 
"BE WHO YOU ARE.

When people look at George, they think they see a boy. But she knows she's not a boy. She 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." - Goodreads


I received this book from Scholastic in exchange for an honest review. 

George came in the post today (the book, not the person!), I opened it immediately and started reading it. I didn't put it down until I finished it. Okay, it wasn't that hard as it's a relatively short middle-grade book, but it still took a few hours to read! I enjoyed every part of it, it was such an adorable read, it made me frown and it made me smile and I loved all of it.

George as a character, is amazing. I loved everything about her and I honestly felt so many emotions for her, I can't imagine what it would be like to be a boy/girl and have no one see it. I felt her frustration, for a children's book, I was surprised at how much this book got to me. 

Yes, the writing is simplistic (it is a children's book, after all) and it's not the type of writing style that I would generally pick up, but it added so much to this book. The simplicity of it allows for the themes of the book to be the star of the show, and rightly so. There were no frills, there weren't any paragraphs and paragraphs of painful descriptions, it was as if Gino were telling our story about George in person. As if it were being said rather than written. I think it's an amazing book for introducing the concept of transgender people to children. 

I think George's mother was perfect. Not in the way she reacted when she was told that George was a girl, but in the way she was portrayed, it was incredibly realistic. I know that a lot of parents would have reacted a lot worse than she did, and I know that some would have reacted much better - but I think George's mother reacted in a way that balances them both out. Of course, anyone would have wanted her to be like 'oh okay cool that's great, love you xoxo' but realistically, that rarely happens. 

I loved the ending, I thought it was so cute and I love how Kelly took the news. She's like the perfect bestfriend, and I'm so happy that George had her there to support her. 

If anything, I want this book written more indepth and raw but that's just because I'm old and can't handle children's books in the right way anymore. I'll be happy with a sequel though? I rated this book 4* on Goodreads!   

6 comments:

  1. Amazing review! I definitely need to pick this one up!

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    1. Thanks! You really should, such a cute, quick read!:)

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  2. I've really been meaning to read this book for AWHILE now. I have quite a few transgender friends, and I think I'd end up just passing this book onto them.... Great review!

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  3. George sounds like a really great book... I love reading middle grade books as they tend to tackle some topics that adult books do, but in a much different light. I'll have to keep my eyes out for this one.

    All Things Bookish – Jade Louise

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