Grayson lives with a huge secret - "he" really feels like she. After her parents died when she was young, she's been living with her aunt, uncle, and cousins. She hasn't really had friends since the 2nd grade. When the opportunity comes to try out for the school play, The Myth of Persephone, Grayson musters the courage to try for the lead. When she gets the part, Grayson faces a lot of backlash - from her aunt, classmates, and other kids parents.

This was first written almost 10 year ago. Since that time, we've progressed. It bothers me that Polonsky kept referring to Grayson as he throughout the book. I think if it were written now, this would be changed. It was interesting to see Grayson's uncle be accepting of her being trans but not her aunt. Overall, the book was a little slow and bittersweet. Poor Grayson experiences so much loss that it's hard to outweigh it by positives.

Thank you for the opportunity to review this book. I am sorry I did not get to read it before the archive date.

My sister read this. and she loved. This is the first LGBT friendly book that I have seen before, publishing became more accepting of LGBT.

Even though this book was published six years ago, it's still a vital issue for readers. Grayson knows he's different. He feels like a girl who is stuck inside a boy's body. Polonsky has done a wonderful job in making Grayson a complete and believable character. As transgender issues are in the forefront now, this book needs to be addeded to middle school collections.

This was a quick read, a great YA/middle grade book. I wasn't sure I would get into it as it is more a middle grade story and a debut novel. I really enjoyed this novel. The author takes us into the world of Grayson Sender who lost his parents in a car accident when he was in preschool. Living now with his Aunt, Uncle and two boy cousins Grayson has always found himself pretending and imagining himself as a girl. When Grayson decides to try out for the spring play he tries out for the lead role of Persephone, a female character. From here things spiral for Greyson between light and dark, hanging out with the girls and being tormented by a few of the boys in his class. I found myself really starting to feel real emotions for Greyson's character and found some of the ending I needed a tissue. Heartwarming, emotional this story will rope you in and show you how some kids feel and have to cope with being themselves in society. Being brave doesn't mean no fear.

This is a great novel for anyone grade 5+, even adults. I give this book a 4 out of 5 stars.

I did not read this book. I originally put this on my NetGalley list when I first started. I was super excited about reading ARCs and may have requested too many. I am now getting much better at picking the books that I am truly interested in reading and am trying my best to keep up with my reviews around the time when the book is coming out.