Gr 4-6-Melissa is in fourth grade. She has a best friend named Kelly. Melissa loves fashion magazines and playing Mario Kart with her older brother, Scott. And, more than anything, she wants to play Charlotte in the school play, Charlotte's Web. Unfortunately, the world sees Melissa as George, not as the girl she is. Melissa doesn't wonder if she is transgender; she wonders how to explain that to the world. Reactions of those around Melissa range from Kelly's supportive friendship to her teacher's judgmental attitude. Well-meaning comments from her mother remind listeners of the impact of words. As Melissa struggles with bullying, listeners will find themselves championing her. While filling a niche in the middle-grade LGBTQ+ literary canon, this work transcends issues and stereotypes and speaks to friendship, kindness and acceptance. Melissa's story of self-advocacy demands a response from listeners. The honesty and straightforwardness of the text allows for everyone to find their own reflections in the novel. Providing an impetus for discussion, Melissa's journey demands growth from the listener-the most noble of all demands from a book. Jamie Clayton, an outstanding actress and voice in the trans community, delivers a sensitive reading. VERDICT This is a brave and necessary choice for the school library. Not only does this book fill a niche that is much needed, but it is an amazing story of friendship and a tribute to how we should be living our lives: authentically. ["A required purchase for any collection that serves a middle grade population": SLJ 7/15 starred review of the Scholastic book.]-Terri Perper, Olney Elementary School, MD © Copyright 2015. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.

Ginos middle-grade novel about a transgender girl named George (who secretly thinks of herself as Melissa) gets a remarkable reading from narrator Clayton, herself transgender. Georges desire to play Charlotte in her schools production of Charlottes Web is central to the books plot, which is, of course, also about her desire to stop performing as a boy for the world around her. Claytons rich alto voice is ideal for the texts rejection of a strict gender binary. She brings depth and emotion to Georges first-person narration, while also fully embracing the performance of other characters such as Georges sweet friend Kelly; her bro of a brother, Scott; her loving but conflicted mother; and everyone from the bully to the school principal. To paraphrase Charlotte, this is Some Audiobook! megan dowd lambert (c) Copyright 2016. The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.

PREPARE YOURSELF, Alex Gino: You'll be receiving lots of feedback when readers discover your timely, touching novel. School librarians will run to you at conferences, thanking you for writing a story that speaks to students like George. Irate parents will leave one-star reviews on Amazon, claiming your book has an agenda. And there will be children - you know, the actual intended audience for "George" - who will send you an email, politely demanding a sequel. You can't blame them for asking. The memorable central character of "George" is unlike almost any protagonist out there - even if others in the story are stock characters of middle-grade books. (A harried single mom, a macho older brother, a sassy best girlfriend - archetypes, I hasten to add, I've relied on in my own novels.) But "George" stands out for one contemporary twist: a fourth-grade production of "Charlotte's Web" in which George dreams of playing Charlotte, the female spider, rather than Wilbur, the male pig. It's not for political reasons; Charlotte is simply the role to which George most relates. With refreshingly little fanfare, Gino uses the "herself" pronoun to describe how George sees, well, herself - despite a birth certificate that says otherwise. "George" may be the most right-now book imaginable. How do you talk to children about Caitlyn Jenner? Give them "George" (and watch "I Am Cait" together). Also, trust that when you tell a contemporary child that some people are born into a body they don't identify with, most will blink, say, "O.K., cool," and ask what's for dinner. Gino beautifully describes how George thinks about holding the ladder for her best friend, Kelly, after Kelly gets cast in the high-flying role George wants: She "would be Charlotte's Charlotte, deeply hidden in the shadows." Elsewhere, Gino uses escalating variations on an everyday word - "Oh," then "Ohhh," then "Ohhhhhhhhh" - to brilliantly depict the dawning way George's older brother reacts to learning that his little bro is actually his kid sis. These moments are drawn with elegant restraint, even if other aspects of the book - like how George's mom watches soap operas and George's brother refers to "dirty magazines" - feel dated. Using the theater as a backdrop, however, is both age-old and inspired. If outcasts escape into the theater in order to "be" other people, the opposite is also the case: Theater is the only place some kids can be themselves. The "understudy must go on" theme is deployed to lovely effect as George steps into the arachnid role she was born to play. Gino's choice of "Charlotte's Web" resonates for another reason: Anyone who thinks children won't believe that a boy knows he's really a girl need only pick up "Charlotte" to be reminded that a barnful of talking animals never confused anyone. After reading "George," I pulled out my own dog-eared edition of E.B. White's beloved novel and read this line: "Wilbur felt queer to be outside his fence, with nothing between him and the big world." It brought to mind the ending of "George": Kelly lets Melissa (George's name for herself) ransack her wardrobe to get dolled up for a girls' day on the town. But unlike Wilbur, Melissa is thrilled to venture outside her fence, where she feels like her truest self. TIM FEDERLE'S first novel for young adults, "The Great American Whatever," will be published in March.