George (novel)


George is a children's novel about a young transgender girl written by American author Alex Gino. The novel tells the story of Melissa, a fourth-grade girl who is struggling to be herself to the rest of the world. The rest of the world sees Melissa as George, a boy. Melissa uses the class play Charlotte's Web to show her mom that she is a girl by switching roles with her best friend, and playing the part of Charlotte.
The novel has been subject to much literary analysis, including articles from the Journal of Children's Literature and the Lambda Literary Review. The articles discuss how Alex Gino uses their novel, George, to fill the void of transgender middle grade literature. Additionally, Gino has a positive impact on both transgender and youth literature.
Scholastic first published the novel on August 25, 2015. Jamie Clayton, a transgender actress, narrated the audio book. After a positive reception from literary sponsors prior to its release the number of copies to be printed was increased by 15,000.
Alex Gino received largely positive feedback for George, from sources such as the New York Times and the National Public Radio. However, the story's young transgender protagonist, Melissa, was controversial to parents and teachers, which led George to be listed on the American Library Association's list of the 10 Most Challenged Books of 2016, 2017, 2018 and 2019. It topped the list in 2018 and 2019. Two authors in the Journal of Children's Literature wrote that the book did not accurately represent the struggles of the transgender community because members of the transgender community are criticized for more than just their gender identity.

Background

Alex Gino wrote George because it "was a book wanted to read" growing up. This book is not exactly based on Gino's life because they are gender-queer, while Melissa is a girl. In addition, they grew up in different environments; unlike Gino, Melissa has access to the internet and more positive representations of the transgender community. Gino also wanted to write George because they noticed a lack of transgender middle-grade literature aimed for 3rd grade to 7th grade. They wanted to fill this need and teach children about these issues. George simultaneously teaches kids to be tolerant of trans people and shows children who are trans that there are other people going through similar experiences.
Gino started their work on George in 2003 before it was published on its August 2015 release date. They needed to make frequent draft revisions to adjust to the changing social environment towards trans people. In the future Gino wants George to become "historical fiction," meaning that in the future, people will wonder why people were opposed to trans people.
George was Gino's first published book. In September of 2019, they published You Don't Know Everything, Jilly P! which discusses the intersection of Deafness and Black Lives Matter movement. They were also featured in the anthologies Our Story Begins and How I Resist. They want to continue writing "progressive middle grade fiction," and address societal issues.

Plot

George by Alex Gino follows Melissa, a transgender girl who her family, and the rest of the world view as George. Melissa is in the fourth grade. Her class is about to begin their production of Charlotte's Web. Auditions are fast approaching, the class rules are that each girl will audition for the role of Charlotte and each boy will audition for the role of Wilbur, the pig. Melissa wants to audition for the role of Charlotte. When Melissa gets called out into the hall and does her audition as Charlotte, her teacher, Ms. Udell thinks Melissa is making a joke and tells Melissa that she cannot play the role of Charlotte because Ms. Udell sees Melissa as George. Since Melissa does not want to play a role other than Charlotte and Ms. Udell said that was not an option, Melissa takes a role in the stage crew. Meanwhile, at home, Melissa's mom finds her secret collection of female magazines. Melissa's mother views her actions as childish and says that she does not want to see Melissa wearing girl clothing, shoes, or going in her room at all. Back at school, Melissa is still upset with Ms. Udell's reaction to her audition. In addition, she feels distant from her friend Kelly because Kelly got the role of Charlotte. However, as the classes' efforts to prepare for the upcoming production increased, Melissa finds a way to become the "Charlotte" of the stage crew by playing a supportive role for her friend. Inspired by Charlotte's courage, she gains the confidence to tell Kelly that she is a girl. After processing this news, Kelly is supportive of her best friend Melissa, and her efforts to tell the world she is a girl. One afternoon, as the stage crew is working on the set, Jeff, the class bully, says that if he met a talking spider he would step on it. Melissa feels the instinct to protect Charlotte and paints "SOME JERK" on a piece of paper and drops it on Jeff's back, painting his sweatshirt with the words. After Jeff sees the damage, he punches Melissa to punish her for ruining his favorite sweatshirt, causing her to vomit on him. As a result of the fight, both Melissa and Jeff are in trouble with their teachers. However, in the process of getting punished, Melissa discovers that the Principal is sympathetic to transgender people.
Later in the evening, when Melissa's mom questions her about the magazines, Melissa reveals to her mom that she is a girl. Her mom disregards her feelings, crushing Melissa in the process. On the other hand, when Melissa tells her brother Scott that she is a girl, he thinks her feelings match her behavior, and he offers his help and understanding to her. The night before the performance, Kelly and Melissa devise a plan for Melissa to be Charlotte in the play, which will help show the world that she is a girl. Kelly will perform in the morning, and Melissa will perform at the evening show. Melissa does an excellent job performing as Charlotte and receives many compliments for her performance from classmates and the principal. Her mom is initially shocked at this performance but the performance later helps her become a more supportive and understanding mom to Melissa.
After the excitement of the performance, Melissa feels more comfortable with herself. When Kelly invites her to spend the day with her uncle at the zoo, Melissa takes this opportunity to show herself as she chooses because she will be surrounded by people who do not already know her as George. Dressed in Kelly's clothing, she and Kelly happily enjoy the day at the zoo.

Genre

George falls under several genres of literature. The intended reader for George is eight to twelve years old. George is a fictional novel that also falls under the genres of children and LGBTQ+ literature. This novel contributes to the small but growing repertoire of middle-grade literature about gender and sex identity.

Publication

Gino started their work on George in 2003, and the novel underwent several drafts before its August 2015 release. Gino worked closely with editors Jean Marie Stine and with David Levithan from Scholastic Corporation. One of the major edits to Gino's work was the title; the original title was Girl George, but Scholastic changed it to George during the editing process. Prior to George's commercial release, Scholastic sent over 10,000 copies to teachers in the United States which received mixed, but largely positive feedback. The teachers and librarians who opposed the novel argued that children are too young to be discussing these issues. However, the positive feedback convinced Scholastic to increase the first printing order from 35,000 to 50,000.
Scholastic Press and Scholastic UK prints copies of George in both hardcover and softcover. Translated copies can be found in English, Spanish, French, Catalan, Chinese Complex, Danish, Dutch, German, Italian, Japanese, Portuguese, Swedish and Vietnamese. Trans woman actress Jamie Clayton narrated the audio book for the novel. Clayton is best known for her starring role in Sense8. Gino felt it was important to have "trans voices to telling trans stories" to make the story feel genuine.

Reception

George has been received positively by many book critics since its publication. The School Library Journal, in a starred review, wrote that George is "a required purchase" for readers interested in middle-grade literature. In his 2015 New York Times review of George, children's author Tim Federle described the novel's depictions of the moments in which Melissa's family members and friends realize she is a girl as "refreshing" and "brilliant." Federle also stated that George stands out from other LGBTQ+ Children's literature due to the novel's inclusion of Charlotte's Web. If someone can not believe that someone can be transgender just has to remember that a farm of talking animals was believable. Mel Morrow strongly praised Alex Gino in her Lambda Literary book review, proclaiming George a "life-saving book" and commending it for encouraging acceptance among its readers through intimate glimpses into Melissa's struggle with coming out to her friends and family. In a National Public Radio review of George, doctoral student in transgender studies J Wallace Skelton praised Alex Gino for their refusal to let Melissa's bullies define her character. Wallace Skelton also said that George belongs among the ranks of the best children's literature for its skillful telling of the story of a young kid finding their place in the world. Gino points out that Melissa is not powerless when she faces her bullies, and that the novel as a whole "is a narrative about a young person who is very much trying to become who they are." Jennifer Laughran of the Andrea Brown Literacy Group referred to Gino's approach to gender issues in children's literature as "ground breaking". J
George has also been the subject of public criticism. In a 2019 article in the Journal of Children's Literature, authors and literacy scholars Jill M. Hermann-Wilmarth and Caitlin L. Ryan argued that George's focus on a white transgender character prevents the novel from accurately encapsulating the struggles of transgender people who are marginalized in more ways than just their gender identity. They also pointed out that Melissa expresses her identity as a girl in very traditionally feminine ways, like by wearing dresses and makeup, thereby shutting people who do not strictly fit into the gender binary out of the novel's representation of transgenderism. J Wallace Skelton criticized the book's title of George, arguing that it does not support Melissa's true identity as a female by deadnaming her
George has appeared on the American Library Association's Top Ten Most Challenged Book list every year since its publication. In 2016, it was listed at number three; in 2017 it was listed at number five, and in 2018, it was listed at number one. Parents and teachers challenge George because it features a transgender girl and her older brother's discussion of age inappropriate material. In response to the challenge against the brother, Gino believes that people are using the case against Scott to hide their underlying issues with the transgender girl.
George was selected to be one of 16 texts for the 2018-19 season of OBOB for elementary students. However, two school districts within Oregon withdrew their students from the competition as a result of the transgender protagonist and plot of the novel.

Analysis

Allyship is a major theme in George. Gino said in an interview at an Ann Arbor bookstore that they wrote George to guide family, friends, teachers and students alike in better sympathizing with the experiences of transgender children. In their 2019 article in the Journal of Children's Literature, Jill M. Hermann-Wilmarth and Caitlin L. Ryan contended that the novel instructs readers on how to be better allies for their transgender friends and peers through its focus on Melissa's interactions with other characters and the impact they have on her. How Melissa is either hurt or helped by these interactions in her coming-out process can help readers create safe spaces for transgender people to express their identities in real life. A book on the inclusion of queer adolescent literature in English Language Arts classes suggests the use of George in middle-level ELA classrooms as a means of promoting both allyship and critical discussion about how to remedy difference among their students.
Gender roles and how they define human interaction are also main themes in George. Hermann-Wilmarth and Ryan wrote that many of Melissa’s interactions with both her peers and superiors exemplify the struggle of transgender children to challenge the gender binary. When Melissa tells Mrs. Udell, for example, that she wants to play Charlotte in the school play, Mrs. Udell does not take her seriously and even “scowls” at the idea, a response that demonstrates her strong discomfort with such a forward challenge of gender roles. Kelly and Scott, Melissa’s best friend and brother, respectively, also have difficulty coming to terms with Melissa’s identity as a female, while other kids at school bully her for her girlishness. She challenges the cisnormative expectations of these characters, resulting in either pain and violence, as in the case of her bullies, or eventual acceptance and growth in the case of her family members and close friends. By providing these various examples of how gender expectations govern different interactions and relationships between characters, George pushes its cisgender readers to consider what it means to be excluded from binary gender roles and how to rid themselves of strict gender expectations.
In a 2015 article in The Conversation, PhD candidate in Children's Literature Rebecca Cierazek discussed how George provides transgender children with a relatable narrative. The dichotomy between who Melissa believes herself to be and who others take her as is representative of the identity struggle many transgender kids face that often goes unrecognized in children's literature. Cierazek suggested that by informing parents and kids about what it means to be transgender, George can help eliminate discrimination of LGBTQ children that often stems from fear and ignorance.

Mel Morrow in the Lambia Literary review writes about Alex Gino's George. Morrow writes, the problems that transgender children face both privately and publicly are addressed head-on by Alex Gino in George. During Melissa's transition period, Gino demonstrates these difficulties through Melissa's interaction with various characters. Through these interactions, Gino demonstrates diverse responses to Melissa's transition while gradually leading the characters to accept Mellisa's transition.
Morrow believes that the intended reader for George is eight to twelve years old. This age range intelligently removes "sexuality from the identity-formation equation." Melissa breaks the stigmatism that her family and readers may hold that gender expression goes side by side with sexuality.
Due to the scarcity of young adult transgender literature, George will have an integral role as the LGBTQ+ literature landscape develops. Gino's young adult novel provides a positive representation of the LGBTQ+ community to all readers whether they are questioning their gender or not. George will relate with all readers because even though no two humans share the same upbringing, everyone experienced childhood.

Accolades

Awards

  • 2016 Stonewall Book Award: Mike Morgan and Larry Romans Children's Literature Award
  • 2016 California Book Awards: Juvenile
  • 2016 Lambda Literary Award: LGBT Children's/Young Adult

    Nominations

  • 2016-2017 Dorothy Canfield Fisher Children's Book Award
  • 2016 E.B. White Read Aloud Award: Middle Reader
  • 2016-2017 Georgia Children's Book Awards: Other Worthwhile Books for Grades 4-8
  • 2015 Goodreads Choice Award: Best Middle Grade & Children's