Lisa's Reviews > Melissa

George by Alex Gino tells the story of a fourth grade student who was biologically born a boy, but identifies as a girl. I chose this book due to the reviews and recommendations by classmates in RLL 520. The story begins with George's internal struggle with who she really is. She knows that she is a girl, but she doesn't know how to communicate that with the people closest to her such as her mother, brother, and best friend Kelly. At school George's class begins working on the play Charlotte's Web. It is then that George decides that she wants to try out for the girl role of Charlotte. During the auditions, George is denied the role by his teacher because she is not a girl. George is left incredibly discouraged and reveals her true identity to her best friend Kelly who is very supportive. When Kelly gets the role of Charlotte, they team up together and secretly decide that George will be the one to actually go on stage to perform as Charlotte. George blows the audience away in her performance as Charlotte. However, his mother's emotions get the best of her as she struggles to see her son as a girl. As the story progresses, his mother eventually comes to terms with George’s true identity and agrees they should make steps forward by talking to a professional because she only wants the best for her child.

This book is the winner of a number of awards including the Lambda Literary Award for LGBT Children’s and Young adult Literature, the Stonewall Book Award, and the E.B. White Read Aloud Award. It has also been nominated for a variety of other awards. George reveals in the book that his girl name is Melissa. Therefore, The author has republished this book with the title Melissa and the expected publication date is April 5, 2022 by Scholastic press. I listened to the audiobook version of this text which was narrated by Jamie Clayton. The narrator brought authenticity to the story because she also identifies as a transgender woman who shared in many of the same struggles as George growing up.

George has a 790 Lexile reading level. However, due to the topics discussed, I would use this with 6th through 8th graders of a higher maturity level. In the reading setting, I would use this book to show how characters can change throughout the course of a story. The George we see in the beginning of the book is quiet, shy, and battling with herself internally. The Melissa we see at the end of the story is happy in her own skin and optimistic towards the future. I also would use this text to discuss diversity and inclusion, creating a space of classroom culture and acceptance.