Publisher ‏ : ‎ Scholastic Inc.; Reissue edition (April 25, 2017)
Book Rating Review: https://tinyurl.com/2p9f7vn3
Florida Book Review: https://tinyurl.com/flca-novel-review-14
 
Rated Books thoughts:
Although not obscene, gender-identity indoctrination is harmful to minors because it leads to irreversible sterility, permanent sexual dysfunction, body mutilation, and often suicide. Smoking, another harmful practice, requires surgeon general warnings on every advertisement as well as ratings on movies and TVs alerting viewers that there will be smoking. This book is like handing a child a glamorized book of smokers with no warnings of the dangers that it could bring.
Nevertheless, the third book challenge was rejected.
Book challenge committee, "The committee did not view the book as a form of indoctrination."
Do you think the following is indoctrination:
George (the name of the book) is a fourth-grade biological boy who identifies as a girl, Melissa. Every page uses female nouns and pronouns to refer to a biological fourth-grade boy, George.
Pg 33 George thinks of kissing a boy, the thought gives her a tingle.
Pg 44 She immersed her body in the warm water and tried not to think about what was between her legs, but there it was, bobbing in front of her.
Pg 48 George had seen an interview on tv about a transgender....... A boy can become a girl and you can take hormones to change your body and get a bunch of surgeries if you have the money. It's called transgendering. You can take androgen blockers to prevent you from from turning man like.
Pg 141 In talking with his brother, " so you think you want to go all the way? His fingers gesturing in a scissor motio
Pg 176 Georges mother requests her to go slow with the changes. George decides with an accepting friend to go ahead and dress like a girl to an outing.
Pg 180 Even she was sometimes fooled by her body.
Pg 192 George uses a girls bathroom for the 1st time.
Pg 194 Seriously, until a few weeks ago I thought you were a boy. It's nice to have some girl time.
Parent reviews on Commonsense Media:
I do not feel it is a significant literary work. The author is careless in the use of language, throws around gender stereotypes and presents characters who are underdeveloped.
Even though the characters are 4th grade, they act much more like 6-7th graders.
 
My kids wouldn't be discussing sexuality at that age, be going out in public wearing makeup, reading Seventeen magazine, talking about tingling feelings when think of members of the opposite sex, etc.
 
It is a short book written with short sentences, so in that way it is easy to read. However, it also addresses hormone therapy and surgery for transgendered persons which really is a bit much for the middle grades to whom it is marketed.
I also felt that it portrayed a sexist "all boys are bullies" attitude.
The bodies looked the same to George. They were all girls' bodies. If George were there, she would fit right in. They would ask her name, And she would tell them, My name is Melissa. Melissa was the name she called herself in the mirror when no one was watching ..... The word man hit like a pile of rocks falling on George's skull. It was a hundred times worse than boy, and she couldn't breathe...... She put her head down on her desk and wished she were invisible. Playing a girl part wouldn't really be pretending, but George didn't know how to tell Kelly that. George thought for a moment about kissing a boy, and the idea made her tingle. She immersed her body in the warm water and tried not to think about what was between her legs, but there it was, bobbing in front of her. The interviewer said that Tina had been born a boy, then asked her whether she'd had the surgery. The woman replied that she was a transgender woman and that what she had between her legs was nobody's business but hers and her boyfriend's. “I'd never try to look up your skirt.” “Of course not. You're not a boy.” “Oh,right.” George laughed. Even she was sometimes fooled by her body. Kelly laughed too, and no one passing by the basement apartment would have ever suspected that there weren't two girls in the room below, bonding over clothes, boys, and whateve else it was girls gossiped about. held "It's just...I'm wearing boy's underpants.” Melissa felt the wide band of elastic around her waist that up her white boys' briefs. No one would be able to see them, but she would know all day that they were there. Seriously, until a few weeks ago, I thought you were a boy. It's nice to have some girl time.