Play Book Tag discussion

Perfect for Nov's Literary Fiction tag!

Emotional book, family driven, topical, current events. A little TOO current given some recent events within the past week. Everyone who has any opinion on transgender rights- READ THIS NOW! Scratch that, everyone is a human- READ THIS NOW!

This book is about a family. Two parents, 5 boys. Until the youngest, Claude, decides he would rather be Poppy- ie opening up a conversation about identity. Every single one of the members of this family is built, revealed, has charm, their own personalities, you really feel immersed in the story. Now of course given the situation, there is a lot of sadness in this. I got angry for the situations, the ignorance, and the intolerance. I got emotional when the climax of the book happened. I really FELT everything that was happening. Plus add in the parents characters- I loved Rosie's logical approach to life, and Penn's whimsical storytelling. I cared about every single member of this family.

This subject has so much to cover. We get mentions of things here and there- the "bathroom issue", the coming out, the pros and cons of keeping secrets. There is so much MORE that could have been discussed, but time and length kept it relatively simple. A transgender story that is familiar enough to be literary fiction and approachable, but educational enough to show a reader who knows nothing about gender identity one story from this perspective. For this- I applaud.

Now this book isn't flawless. Things are put together a little too conveniently, even given the nuances of the situation, and the hardship the family and characters go through. Everything seemed to be too wrapped up in a nice little bow at the end. Even the relation of Poppy, and Claude-> Poppy felt forced. We could have had this amazing book without needing these things. But I don't care. This is 5 stars, and I will be recommending it everywhere.

Thanks for the review Joi. I'm definitely going to have to pick up a copy somewhere! Funnily enough, while I'm part of the LGBT community, I really haven't read too many LGBT themed books. Something I've realized fairly recently. I look forward to finding this one!

I swear I posted a comment on this earlier and now it is not here! So, posting again!

You solved my "what to read for November" dilemma. This. I am reading this. Not only is it my IRL bookclub selection, but it being Reese Witherspoon's bookclub pick piqued my interest.

Did you listen to it on audio? The queue at the library was forever long, so I just used an Audible credit on it!

I listened to this last night while working. The audio is very well done, and the story is really good. I agree with Joi- there are flaws, but it’s worth a read/listen.

Wonderful review Joi! It sounds like an interesting book. Intolerance and ignorance is not boding too well for this world anymore.