If I Was Your Girl in SpecFic Buddy Reads

Jan 30, 2016 Lindsay rated it it was amazing

Shelves: read-in-2016-favorites

An "idealized" story of a trans girl at a new school, how she copes and what happens when she's outed.

There's not much more to this than is in the blurb, so I won't summarize more than that. I will discuss this as an "idealized" version. I keep putting that in scare quotes because I can't help but despair at the plight of kids in these sort of situations, because while Amanda has a lot of things going for her that many trans kids lack, she still has a horrific backstory. The author acknowledges An "idealized" story of a trans girl at a new school, how she copes and what happens when she's outed.

There's not much more to this than is in the blurb, so I won't summarize more than that. I will discuss this as an "idealized" version. I keep putting that in scare quotes because I can't help but despair at the plight of kids in these sort of situations, because while Amanda has a lot of things going for her that many trans kids lack, she still has a horrific backstory. The author acknowledges Amanda's advantages in a powerful author note at the back of this book. She's very attractive and can "pass" (I know some trans people hate the term, sorry). She's also very smart and can get scholarships to go to parts of the country that are more accepting of trans people. Her parents are accepting and supportive (by the timeframe of the story anyway), and have been able to (unrealistically) afford the surgeries required to get her to her current state. She has access to understanding and helpful medical and psychological people and a fantastic support group. She's heterosexual and has a clear female gender identity. None of these things are typically given for trans people, and some of them are very unlikely.

Even with all that, Amanda's problems are profound. For example, early in the book she notices a couple of guys who clearly find her attractive:

My heart screamed that they knew, that the one with those piercing eyes was attracted to me for a moment and his friend was making fun of him for it. That was the kind of scenario that got girls like me killed. I had done the research. I knew how often things like that happened.

With all the other issues involved in being a teenager, having to make those sort of calculations on top of everything else?

Anyway, the reason that the author has given Amanda all these advantages is an important one. While she faces her challenges, the story is deliberately designed to be an uplifting one with clear pathways for Amanda to have the happy life her father initially thought was impossible, and the author seems to have been looking at ways to address a reasonable number of challenges in a single narrative. Real life is much more complicated and messy, of course.

Really good book and likely to be an important one going forward. ...more

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Jan 30, 2016 Justine rated it really liked it

Shelves: 2016-read

My heart screamed that they knew, that the one with those piercing eyes was attracted to me for a moment and his friend was making fun of him for it. That was the kind of scenario that got girls like me killed. I had done the research. I felt the scar over my ear and remembered that even now that I'd had my surgery, even now that nothing but some legal papers could reveal my past, I was never really safe.

I looked down at my lap and tried to will myself out of existence.

Being a teenage girl is ha ...more

16 likes · Like · see review

Jun 10, 2016 Robyn rated it really liked it

Shelves: 2016

I thought this was excellent; a story of what it's like to be a transgender girl living in the southern US. Even though Amanda passes easily and has (relatively) supportive parents, life is still full of anxiety, which Russo captures perfectly. What I liked about this story were the triumphs and supporting friends, and the sweet love story at the center. It may be wish fulfilment, but it's the best sort. ...more

12 likes · Like · see review

Apr 13, 2016 Amanda rated it really liked it · review of another edition

I have to think about this one a bit. Rating may change.

11 likes · Like · see review

Jun 16, 2016 Veronique rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: read2016

"It helps to think about things other'n yourself, imagine that there's a different way to be, I guess.”

Over the years, I’ve read a few LGBT books, all pretty good, but never from the point of view of a transgender person. If I was your girl rectifies this. The story follows Amanda, an 18-year-old teenager, who was born Andrew, and her struggles to find her place in the world.

Many people have labelled the book an ‘idealised’ tale, where Amanda not only looks like a girl, but is a pretty one, who ...more

6 likes · Like · see review