Careful of the Title
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I bought this book after my daughter announced that she is a girl trapped in a boy's body, I was taken by the title and in the absence of an Amazon summary bought the book looking for information on the issues of being a "Trans - Parent" thinking the title explained the content. Unfortunately this was not the case and there are no parenting tips here.
The book is actually about a writer (Cris Beam) and how she becomes involved with a group of Trans kids in the worst American west coast environment as a voluntary teacher to them. It then covers how special relationships developed with some of them and she then tracks their lives (and their affect on her).
The book is a harrowing account of what can happen if you don't offer love and support to your child (even if at the time you personally also need some love and support) and is mitigated by the upbeat ending. Although it is a difficult book to put down, because of the intrinsic drama, it is at times hard reading "Her father discovered some... ...compromising photographs. In the photographs Lu looked feminine... ...her father gave her fifteen minutes to get out" Pg 95.
Although set in gang culture in America, the disease and prostitution is just as relevant on this side of the Atlantic and so the lessons can read for London, Manchester or Barcelona. Although I believe the title is intending to refer to the parenting that Cris and her partner Robin give to Christina, it is also referring to the `transparent' plight of transsexuals, a theme that runs through the book, who are out of the twin sex system and so are ignored and inadvertently abused by society.
The following is from the back of the book.
"Christina, Dominique, Foxxjazell, and Ariel's world is a dizzying mix of teenage cliques, crushes, and far less familiar challenges - such as how to morph your body on a few dollars a day. These transgender girls bravely struggle to reconcile the way they feel inside with the way the world sees them. Funny, defiant, and sometimes heartbreaking, Cris Beam's exceptional story of how these girls survive - and maybe even thrive - despite a world that wants to ignore them is a wonder of storytelling and passionate engagement."
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