My Thoughts:
As I was reading this book, I just kept thinking about those parents that have kids like River and wonder if this unhappiness and depression, the gender dysphoria is just a "phase" and do not grasp what gender dysphoria really feels like. How do parents, friends, educators step forward for young people who are in need of grace and patience, acceptance and non judgment for this very emotional personal journey to find some kind of inner peace? This book was a window and a sliding glass door for me to understand that this kind of peace takes years, so as an educator how can I not be judge and jury but advocate?
This story is painful and honest, funny and depressing at the same time. River, the Arab-American trans protagonist searches for the right metaphor to name their layers of identity. I continue to think about the aquarium, SeaPlanet, in the landlocked midwestern town, the dive into the shark tank, the empty tanks, the mermaid tank and the jellyfish, even the naming of the protagonist. It is a long coming of age journey toward freedom, release, and love. Stay with it. This book will teach us what we need to know.
From the Publisher:
Man o' wars are not jellyfish, and River McIntyre is not happy. River doesn't know why they're unhappy—though perhaps it has something to do with the way they relate more to captive marine life at the local acquarium than to the people around them. That is, until they have a run in with Indigo "Indy" Waits on the annual class field trip. Face-to-face with an affirmed queer person, River leaps out of the closet and into the shark tank. Literally. What follows is a wrenching journey of self-discovery that spans years and winds through layers of coming out, transition, and top surgery, promising a free life for River with so much more than happiness: A life that's full of trans joy and true love.
Publication information:
Author: Cory McCarthy
Publisher: Dutton Books for Young Readers, May 31, 2022
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