This book features on the CILIP Carnegie 2016 pre-longlist, and I’ve been trying to read as many of these titles as I can before going back to those that make the next stage. Some are definitely more appealing than others – and this was one that I was looking forward to reading.
This cover is pretty simple, but conveys clearly the key issue of the book. The latest issue of the book that I’ve seen has a more obscure cover, and I’m curious about the apparent change of focus.
Before you read this you are told that David Piper has, from a very young age, known he wants to be a girl. Every one of his peers seems to be aware of this, and yet only his two closest friends are meant to know for certain. David spends a lot of the book agonising out how to tell his parents that he is transgender, yet we are giving no clues in anything they do that this would be met with anything other than understanding. This minor gripe aside, David is a character that you support and want things to work out for.
When he is defended in school by the mysterious new boy, Leo, things get a little more interesting. We know Leo has a secret. Though we can clearly see after reading how this is set up, the moment where the secret is revealed comes as a real surprise.
While this will find fans amongst readers who may want to explore their own thoughts on this issue, for me the book was more about friendship and how we learn to accept ourselves as we grow away from our families.
This book was one I rattled through, and thoroughly enjoyed.