Voice of Youth Advocates

Two Alexes live in one body. Born as both sexes, Alex was raised as a boy. Alex has always had a hard time fitting in because, although living life as a boy, she identifies as a girl. Alex decides to change schools so that she can live her life as a girl. Alex's mom tries to comprehend her feelings, but most of their interactions end up dissolving into fights and slammed doors. Alex finds an uneasy peace at her new school, makes friends, and even gets discovered as a model. Her newfound life, however, is hanging by a thread, and one appearance from boy Alex could bring it all crashing down around her.The topic of intersex individuals and those with gender identity issues is receiving much attention lately, in news as well as in young adult literature. Alex's story is certainly distressing, and teens need more resources on these topics. This novel, however, is overwrought and comes across as a cautionary tale of worst-case scenarios. Limiting the book to a few core issues would have made it more genuine and heartfelt. Sadly, it comes across as an afterschool special. Recommend this title to teens requesting books on gender identity issues only if they have read everything else in the collection.Morgan Brickey.

School Library Journal (Sat Nov 01 00:00:00 CDT 2014)

Gr 10 Up-Fifteen-year-old Alex Stringfellow has lived her entire life feeling like she's two people, male and female. Though previously identified as male, Alex decides to begin living as a female. What Alex doesn't know is that she was born intersex, and her parents had chosen not to tell her. To make her transition to living as a female easier, Alex enrolls in a new school where she quickly makes friends. While her adjustment is mostly smooth, Alex is concerned about how her friends will react if they find out she's a lesbian or if they find out about her "noodle." Her transition at home is less easy. After telling her parents, "I'm a girl," Alex's father leaves home and her mother struggles with Alex's gender identity and often handles it with fits, abuse, and attempts to control her child. Her absent father offers little support. Adding dimension to the teen's story are her internal conversations with the male and female sides of herself, and her mother's blog posts and the ensuing comments from readers. Brugman tackles a sensitive issue with grace and grit. The strong protagonist often acts with more maturity than her parents. This work is best suited for fans of problem novels, teens struggling with identity issues of all kinds, and readers looking for a good contemporary fiction title that has teeth. Adrienne L. Strock, Teen Library Manager, Nashville Public Library

ALA Booklist (Mon Dec 01 00:00:00 CST 2014)

This slim but thought-provoking Australian import follows a 14-year-old intersex teen (born with both male and female reproductive organs) making the transition to being a girl. Raised as a boy, Alex nonetheless has always felt like a girl; Brugman conveys this duality by having the two Alexes dialogue in her head. As Alex enrolls in a new school as a female, buys new clothes and makeup, and looks for a lawyer to help reassign her gender on her birth certificate, her hysterical mother copes poorly. Instead of communicating with Alex, she takes to posting her feelings on an online motherhood forum, where comments from others either support or criticize her parenting. While this provides a frame of reference for Alex's mother's unsympathetic behavior, and a way to explore how people think of sexuality and gender, it's the least successful part of an otherwise strong story. Alex narrates her predicament with likable casualness, and it's easy to root for her as she stands up for herself and finds another support system.