
Melissa (previously published as GEORGE)
by Alex Gino
Identity, courage, and bathroom politics.
For you if
your kid is figuring out who they are and needs a story where someone gets to become who they actually are
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Melissa knows she’s a girl, even if the world insists she’s not. Gino’s groundbreaking novel invites young readers to witness one child’s quiet act of truth and bravery. Simple, tender, and revolutionary in its empathy — a story that proves being yourself is the bravest assignment there is.
Where This Book Lives
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Same pattern, different era
Different time, different place. The same thing keeps happening.
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✦ READ – REFLECT → RESIST
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For the grown-up bookshelf
Same idea, written for a grown-up. Good for the adult in the room, too.
All Boys Aren't Blue
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A Black queer memoir they tried to erase from schools
✦ READ – REFLECT → RESIST
The 57 Bus
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True story: a nonbinary teen, a Black teen, Oakland
✦ READ – REFLECT → RESIST
Blankets
Craig Thompson

The memoir that proved comics could break your heart.
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Different Seasons
Stephen King

How fascism finds the boy next door.
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