The Art of Being Normal

Product Information

I’m transgender myself and I work with transgender youth, so of course I’m bringing that to the table. I didn’t hate this book – in fact, I quite liked large parts of it, but there are a few issues that drag it down. One of them was that I don't feel like it was written with transgender people in mind as a part of the key audience, unless they're teenagers still trying to figure out even the most basic things. But at the same time, it's a bit of a narrow representation of transgender people. This is not true. Granny has bridge on Wednesday evenings and doesn’t miss it for anyone, especially her least-favorite grandchild. Livvy is Granny’s favorite. But then Livvy is everyone’s favorite. Homophobic Hate Crime: Leo is a trans boy who transferred schools because of a hate crime. A few people at his school led him into the woods, slashed his clothes, and tried to shred off his chest binder. Pet the Dog: Though Livvy's status as Kate's bratty younger sister is established pretty early on, she still gives her big sister a nice and thoughtful birthday present. Half-Identical Twins: An interesting case here: Amber and Leo were born a set of identical twin girls, but Leo (born Megan) never identified as such.

Have a Gay Old Time: Kate and Leo discuss the upcoming Christmas Ball. When Leo asks what it consists of exactly, Kate innocently asks him "You didn't have balls at Cloverdale?", causing Leo to snort. Doubles as very subtle foreshadowing when it turns out that Leo is trans.Despite having found each other, David and Leo’s lives are still hard, and they constantly fear being outed. By transferring to Eden Park, Leo hopes to start fresh. Since no one is aware that he has transitioned, no one will question his masculinity. We learn that Leo left his old school because some of his fellow classmates still thought of him as female and bullied him for transitioning. They lured Leo into the woods and slashed his clothes. Leo’s plan to stay under the radar at Eden Park succeeds until he falls for Alicia, the most popular girl in school. Alicia likes Leo too and pursues him, but when he tells her he is transgender, she abruptly stops. Her friends spread Leo’s secret all over the school, where transphobia becomes widespread. Mentor in Queerness: In a way, more experienced Leo is this to closeted Kate since he is the only other trans person she has ever met. It's not the perfect book, but it's heartbreakingly beautiful, and emotional, and heartfelt. It's outstanding. Pint-Sized Powerhouse: Leo's mother is "tiny, built like a sparrow" but beat up Annette Bonner who, according to Leo at least, looks like The Terminator.

Forced Out of the Closet: Leo comes out as trans to his crush Alicia, but she rejects him. Alicia's friends find out his secret and out him to the entire school. Fourteen-year-old David Piper has only told two people – his two best friends, Essie and Fox, who have both been incredibly supportive – that he has wanted, needed, to be a girl ever since he was a small child. David has written a letter to his parents explaining how he feels but cannot bring himself to give it to them. He already suspects that they think he's gay, but he's not ready tell them the whole story just yet. And he's certainly not going to tell anyone else at school – he's already being called a freak show. David meets newcomer Leo Denton on his first day at Eden Park School. He walks over to him even though Leo doesn't seem to want to talk to anyone at all, let alone make friends. When the school bully just won't leave David alone, Leo steps in, and now David just has to get to know him. But Leo's had to move schools for a reason and David's about to be the first one to discover why. The novel opens as 14-year-old David Piper recollects when he was eight years old and was asked to write about what he wished to be when he grew up. He remembers writing, “I want to be a girl.” Since then, David has hidden this desire from the world and struggled with his identity. He wishes to come out as a transgender girl and be called Kate. Although he has caring middle-class parents who seem to suspect that something is going on with their son, David imagines the pain and disappointment his confession will bring them and cannot bring himself to reveal his secret to them. I haven’t read this, but it was really interesting reading your review Chiara! The blurb made it sound like Kate was in the process of going through the transition, and wouldn’t be Kate until the end of the book, which doesn’t seem like the case. It features some serious and important themes, all of which were handled well, including of course sexuality and gender but also bullying, family relationships, poverty and abandonment... probably a few more too. But beyond the struggles of David and Leo it never felt 'heavy', if that's the right word. I certainly felt sad and angry, as well as happy and warm, but I enjoyed the whole journey.Cannot Spit It Out: Kate teeters on the edge of coming out to her parents multiple times, but simply cannot bring herself to do it. How: A copy of this novel was provided by Macmillan Children’s Publishing Group for review via Net Galley. Their First Time: Alicia attempts to initiate this between herself and Leo on Bonfire Night. Leo is then forced to come out to her. Leo, the second main character, is also trans, which I loved. A book with two trans characters front and centre was amazing. And the fact that they were there for each other was really nice to read about (although like I said a moment ago, Leo’s misgendering and use of David when talking to and referring to Kate irked me). Heroes Love Dogs: Applies to Leo, who momentarily drops the tough guy act when he meets Kate's dog Phil.

As David prepares to come out to his family and transition into life as a girl and Leo wrestles with figuring out how to deal with people who try to define him through his history, they find in each other the friendship and support they need to navigate life as transgender teens as well as the courage to decide for themselves what normal really means. The Cutie: Tia is a cheerful toddler who loves Disney princess movies, likes to wear fairy wings around the house, and adores her big brother.

Tenemos dos protagonistas que parecen muy diferentes y que al final resultan no serlo tanto. Ambos son personjes redondos, que nos sorprenden, nos emocionan y tienen muy buenos giros. David es el personaje más predecible, mientras que Leo guarda toda una sorpresa muy inesperada.

Nice Girl: Alicia Baker is not only beautiful but genuinely nice to Leo right from the get go. Though she does react rather negatively when Leo comes out to her, she keeps his secret to herself, and apologizes to him at the end of the book. David Piper has really never fit in. Apart from his two best friends, most of his fellow high school students ridicule him for being different. One of the school bullies has called him "Freak Show" since they were younger, but David is willing to wait him out until high school ends. His parents think he is gay, and are waiting for him to tell them.When Leo (voluntarily) comes out to Kate, he does this by partly undressing and showing her his binder. As if there is no other way you can let another person know you are trans, except for showing your body. I cannot believe for a second a trans person would rather show (fairly) intimate parts of their body, than just saying "hey I'm also trans". The Art of Being Normal: A Novel by Lisa Williamson is an uplifting story about two teenagers set in the modern day in the United Kingdom. The author was inspired to write this novel after working in England's national health service, in a department dedicated to helping teens who are questioning their gender identity. Platonic Life-Partners: Kate and Leo, while they grow very close, are more likely to become this than a couple.