Love, Simon meets Bend It Like Beckham in this feel-good contemporary romance about a trans teen who must decide between standing up for his rights and staying stealth.
“A sharply observant and vividly drawn debut. I loved every minute I spent in this story, and I’ve never rooted harder for a jock in my life.” – New York Times bestselling author Becky Albertalli.
Fifteen-year-old Spencer Harris is a proud nerd, an awesome big brother, and a David Beckham in training. He’s also transgender. After transitioning at his old school leads to a year of isolation and bullying, Spencer gets a fresh start at Oakley, the most liberal private school in Ohio.
At Oakley, Spencer seems to have it all: more accepting classmates, a decent shot at a starting position on the boys’ soccer team, great new friends, and maybe even something more than friendship with one of his teammates. The problem is, no one at Oakley knows Spencer is trans—he’s passing.
But when a discriminatory law forces Spencer’s coach to bench him, Spencer has to make a choice: cheer his team on from the sidelines or publicly fight for his right to play, even though it would mean coming out to everyone—including the guy he’s falling for.
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Gr 9 Up–Spencer is a transgender student at a new school determined to pass by not letting anyone know he is trans. He left his old school after it went under lockdown when he received a death threat from a student after coming out. When an incident occurs during PE, Spencer is recruited to the boys soccer team, a sport that he loves but has not played since his transition. While his parents support his transition, they feel he is not ready to play on the boys team, so Spencer lies so he can participate. This novel deals with more than just Spencer’s journey into deciding whether to come out to his teammates and new school. His love interest, Justice, comes from a conservative Christian background and has to deal with parents who will not accept him for who he is. Spencer also has an autisic younger brother who is having difficulty getting settled in his new school as well. Spencer comes from an ideal situation of support, and flashbacks to experiences early on in his transition help readers understand how his parents came to accept him. Spencer is biracial (Black and white) and Justice is white. VERDICT An excellent addition to realistic fiction collections. Give to fans of Tobly McSmith’s Stay Gold and Bill Konigsberg’s Openly Straight.–Ashley Leffel, Griffin M.S., Frisco, TX
Gr 9 Up-Spencer is a transgender student at a new school determined to pass by not letting anyone know he is trans. He left his old school after it went under lockdown when he received a death threat from a student after coming out. When an incident occurs during PE, Spencer is recruited to the boys soccer team, a sport that he loves but has not played since his transition. While his parents support his transition, they feel he is not ready to play on the boys team, so Spencer lies so he can participate. This novel deals with more than just Spencer's journey into deciding whether to come out to his teammates and new school. His love interest, Justice, comes from a conservative Christian background and has to deal with parents who will not accept him for who he is. Spencer also has an autisic younger brother who is having difficulty getting settled in his new school as well. Spencer comes from an ideal situation of support, and flashbacks to experiences early on in his transition help readers understand how his parents came to accept him. Spencer is biracial (Black and white) and Justice is white. VERDICT An excellent addition to realistic fiction collections. Give to fans of Tobly McSmith's Stay Gold and Bill Konigsberg's Openly Straight.-Ashley Leffel, Griffin M.S., Frisco, TX