It's Not Me, It's You by Stephanie Kate Strohm

Pages: 275

Intended Audience: Teens and mature tweens

Genre: Romance / Humor

Notes for Parents: Some mature content

The Back Cover

There’s no suitable summary on the back cover so this is from the author’s website:

Avery Dennis is a high school senior and one of the most popular girls in her class. But a majorly public breakup with the guy she's been dating causes some disastrous waves. It is right before prom and Avery no longer has the perfect date. She runs the prom committee, how could she not show up with somebody?

Post-breakup, Avery gets to thinking about all of the guys that she has ever dated. How come none of those relationships ever worked out? Could it be her fault? Avery decides to investigate. In history class she's learning about this method of record-keeping called "oral history" and she has a report due. So Avery decides to go directly to the source. Avery tracks down all of the guys she's ever dated, and uses that information along with her friends, family, and even teachers’ thoughts, to compile a total account of her dating history. Avery discovers some surprises about herself and the guys she's spent time with just in time for prom night.

What the cover doesn’t tell you:

The story is written in an unconventional format, in what the author (or rather, the main character) describes as an oral history. It’s almost like a script (but with no description of action).

What’s good?

Avery Dennis is a surprise. At first she seems like the stereotypical dumb blonde or self-obsessed mean girl as she introduces an oral history project that focusses on – no surprise – herself! However, while Avery is popular, pretty, and rich, she is also driven, confident, smart, and nice to everyone (even her nemesis, Bizzy). After her breakup right before prom, she sets out on a journey of self-discovery and learns about herself through the observations of her friends, family, and teachers as they weigh in on her distinguished list of relationships. The plot itself is nothing new, but the format gives it a fresh feel, and the well-drawn characters are an absolute delight. The unusual format makes it easy to read, and the rich vocabulary and countless pop culture references makes it a ton of fun.

Best Part: The secondary characters are fantastic, especially Coco and Hutch.

What isn’t good?

I knew how it was going to end about 30 pages in. Character growth is definitely given more attention than plot development. But even so, there wasn’t much depth to the characters either. The main character, Avery, definitely goes through a transformation as the story progresses, but we don’t get a sense of her or anyone’s history beyond the superficial.

Worst part: All. The. Periods.

Recommendation ☺☺☺☻☻ (3/5)

It was cute. This is a light, humorous, romantic story. The writing is good, the characters are great, but the story is predictable. Tons of young adult novels are also great reads for adults, but this isn’t one of them. I think to appreciate the problems of this particular teenage girl, you probably have to be a teenager, so I’m going to highly recommend this to any teens looking for a quick and witty read.

Strohm, Stephanie Kate. It’s Not Me, It’s You. New York: Point, 2016.

George by Alex Gino

Pages: 195

Intended Audience: Tweens

Genre: Drama / LGBTQ+

Notes for Parents: Some mature content

The Back Cover

Be who you are. When people look at George, they think they see a boy. But she knows she’s not a boy. She knows she’s a girl.

George thinks she’ll have to keep this a secret forever. Then her teacher announces that their class play is going to be Charlotte’s Web. George really, really, REALLY wants to play Charlotte. But the teacher says she can’t even try out for the part…because she’s a boy.

With the help of her best friend, Kelly, George comes up with a plan. Not just so she can be Charlotte—but so everyone can know who she is, once and for all.

What the cover doesn’t tell you:

Author Alex Gino is transgender, more specifically genderqueer (a term used to describe a person who feels that his/her gender identity does not fit into the socially constructed "norms" associated with his/her biological sex. ~urbandictionary.com). The author wrote George to fill a hole in children’s literature.

In a September 24, 2015 interview with Kiera Parrott of School Library Journal, the author said: “When I started writing George, there wasn’t really mainstream trans literature for children of any age. The few gay and lesbian books that did exist were focused on picture books for children with LGB adults in their lives and young adult novels about high school students first coming out.”

What’s good?

The real charm of this story comes from the very simple style with which the author introduces the 10-year-old girl whom everyone else sees as a boy. The complex issue of being transgender is treated in an admirably uncomplicated way. George is not kicking and screaming about the world’s injustices, but rather lives with a quiet determination to get to know herself and eventually become that person. The adults of her world don’t seem ready to deal with George’s true self, and instead of making demands, she simply shows them how she feels. There is certainly a great irony in wanting to play a “girl” part when she feels like she’s been playing a “boy” part. It was interesting to realize how often gender comes up on a daily basis (using the bathroom, lining up for recess, trying out for a play). This was a fast, easy read with plenty of heart.

Best Part: Kelly and her dad.

What isn’t good?

I had a few issues with the use of gender stereotypes (all girls wear dresses and makeup). I can only guess that they were used to simplify George’s feelings and give Kelly a method of helping George experience her true self. I don’t think it was a harmful choice, but there are probably better choices out there.

Worst part: None.

Recommendation ☺☺☺☻☻ (3/5)

At its core, this is a sad story, but it’s hopeful and ultimately heartwarming to see George gain the confidence to acknowledge Melissa. While it’s easy to say “Be who you are,” it’s much more challenging when your authentic self is someone who doesn’t conform to society’s norms. George is about courage and honesty, and fortitude. 

Gino, Alex. George. New York: Scholastic, 2015. (hardcover)