Almost Perfect-- Brian Katcher

Logan is an average guy living in a tiny town in middle America. He is trudging through his senior year of high school, trying to get over his ex-girlfriend, and thinking about the day he can move out of the trailer he shares with his mother.

When Sage shows up, everyone in Logan's high school notices. Sage loves colorful, homemade clothing, is taller than the average girl, and is distinctly feminine in a way Logan isn't used to. Although he is still wrestling with his feelings about his ex, Logan is totally sucked in by Sage's charisma, and develops true feelings for her. Although Sage is super flirty with him, when Logan tries to kiss her or hold her hand in public, she pulls away. Finally, after the hot-and-cold games start to drive both of them insane, Sage confesses a secret that changes the way Logan looks at the world forever: Although Sage identifies as, and is a totally convincing girl, she was born with boy parts and is still biologically male.

As a person who grew up in the Midwest, I know how deeply conservative thought can run. When generations of families have a singular perspective and then someone rocks the boat, that person is usually persecuted in some way. In Almost Perfect, I feel that Brian Katcher successfully captures what it would feel like to be Logan... a small town kid who doesn't even know a single gay person (so he thinks...) all of a sudden hooked up with a transgendered person... this is a big deal. Logan's voice and character are not extremely compelling, but his character almost works as a canvas onto which Sage's story is painted. There is nothing gratuitous in this book, and it could be recommended to younger teens in addition to older teens. Fans of Julie Anne Peter's Luna will enjoy this book.

Punkzilla-- Adam Rapp

Punkzilla is Jamie, a 14 year-old boy who lives the crustpunk, street kid life in Portland, OR. After his militant, homophobic father enrolls him in military school, small-for-his-age and androgynous looking Jamie runs away in hopes to find a better life for himself. He lives in abandoned warehouses in Portland with other kids, and writes letters to his gay and dying of cancer brother, Peter. Peter sends Jamie bus money, so he can come visit him in Tennessee before he dies. Most of this story is told through Jamie's unique letter writing style, as Jamie writes letters to Peter he never plans to send, describing his bus journey and what the life of a Punkzilla is like.

I have to say, this book was intriguing but a bit challenging to read. Adam Rapp really does a good job writing in Jamie's style. I truly felt like I was experiencing things through Jamie's perspective, and even though the lack of punctuation and made-up words were sometimes a stumbling block, they made the story richer. This isn't a feel-good story, and the content might be better suited for older teens, but its grittiness isn't over-the-top or inappropriate for the story Rapp was trying to tell. It's one of those books that will linger with you for a while, for better or worse.

Debbie Harry Sings in French-- Meagan Brothers

Debbie Harry Sings in French? What an awesome book title, wish I'd come up with it! ;-)

In this book, the main character, Johnny, is a recovering alcoholic... and he is still in High School. After his father dies, Johnny finds solace in bottle after bottle of booze. After he nearly overdoses on a lethal combo of drugs and alcohol, his mother sends him to rehab, and then on to live with his uncle. While in rehab, a girl give Johnny a Blondie mix tape... and Johnny becomes obsessed with Debbie Harry (lead singer of Blondie). She becomes his strength. Whenever he is tempted to take a drink of alcohol, he imagines that he is Debbie Harry-- strong, tough, hot, ass-kicking, confident, and beautiful in that hard rock-n-roll way. It's not that Johnny is in love with Debbie Harry... he wants to BE Debbie.

Johnny is adapting well to his new life with his uncle. He even falls for a girl, Maria, who encourages his Debbie preoccupation. For me, this is why the book is so good. Even though Johnny enjoys cross-dressing, his girlfriend is not threatened by this. Of course, there are times in the book where her faith wavers, but the main story this book tells is that just because a person explores gender roles, it does not mean they are gay. I really think this is a common misconception... many people assume that a man who is dressing like a woman is gay (or a woman dressing as a man). This often not the case. Cross-dressing is more about gender then it is about sexuality, and this book does an excellent job in clarifying that misconception while wrapping the "lesson" in a really compelling and engaging story.

Can you tell I really enjoyed this book? P.S. The non-book cover image is a photo of Blondie (Debbie is the hot blond of course) just so you can get a feel for the look Johnny is going for...

I would recommend this book to teens who enjoyed Julie Anne Peters' Luna or Ellen Wittlinger's Parrotfish.