IF I WAS YOUR GIRL

After surviving a brutal attack, Amanda starts school in a new town. She plans to stay focused and get through senior year, but kind, attractive Grant causes a distraction that wouldn’t be so bad if it weren’t for her deepest secret.

Russo has written a story that many trans teens—and adults—have been wanting: a sweet, believable romance that stokes the fires of hope without devolving into saccharine perfection or horrific tragedy. There is friction, from fear born of the violence Amanda has experienced, from dangers to girls that most boys don’t feel, but Russo hasn’t written yet another horror story that readers must endure along with its protagonist. There’s confusion, levity, awkwardness, like any teen’s story. There is friction from within Amanda. As her friend and transmother, or mentor, Virginia, says, she’s “won the genetic lottery when it comes to passing.” When they’re deciding how to spend an evening, Amanda notes that Virginia’s jaw is a little too strong, shoulders a little too wide to keep them both safe from detection. This is just one of many conflicting, confusing truths that help reflect some trans people's fear of violence and hostility in this moment in time—including the ones rightly called out when coming from others—such as the expectation of a perfect physical reflection of one's truest gender.

Above all, this is a necessary, universal story about feeling different and enduring prejudices, and it’s full of love, hope, engaging writing, and truth