Shane Woods is focused on baseball, writing and illustrating a graphic novel, and balancing time between his best friend and his new maybe-girlfriend. He’s a typical twelve-year-old boy in most ways, but when one of the other kids at his school learns something that Shane has been trying to keep private, the safe life Shane has loved since moving to LA from San Francisco is threatened.

M. G. Hennessey has written an engrossing and enlightening story of a twelve-year-old boy who is trying to navigate the normal difficulties of sixth grade compounded by his efforts to keep his gender unquestioned.

Shane lives with his mother in LA, and she’s unquestionably supportive, while his father in San Francisco is loving but bewildered by his transgender son, and he still obviously holds out hope that his little girl will someday return. The other adults in Shane’s life are also largely supportive—albeit awkward and uncomfortable at times—and THE OTHER BOY is realistic without being gritty and sweet and hopeful without being saccharine.

I loved this book. I started it before cooking dinner, I read it while cooking dinner, I took a bit of a break to eat dinner and be social with the family, and then I finished it after dinner. And I’m tempted to start reading it again right now rather than start a new book.

I hope that there will be more books like THE OTHER BOY written so that trans kids have protagonists with whom they can identify, and so that their friends and family have an easy way to explore and learn a bit about some of the experiences—both good and bad—of transgender youth.

My thanks to the publisher for a advanced copy of the book in exchange for my unbiased review.