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| Book cover, courtesy of http://inthenextroom.blogspot.com |
For
the first quarter of "Almost Perfect", Logan, a teenager in a small
Missouri town, and the reader are puzzled with the mystery of a new girl in
town named Sage. Odd enough to Logan that she's new in town, but she's
attractive, funny, outgoing, and - almost as odd as being new in town -
interested in him! After finally managing to confront Sage about her secrecy,
Logan finally learns the truth about the new girl: she was born a boy. As Logan
struggles to reconcile his feelings for someone he was attracted to and the
potential stigma of being labeled "gay" by the rest of the small
town, the reader learns more and more about Sage's troubled past.
"Almost
Perfect" gives the reader a first-hand view how drastically negative
people can feel about something they don't understand, from Sage's desire to
simply be accepted as a girl to Logan's confusion over whether liking a
feminine transgendered person makes him homosexual to Sage's father's grief
over not being able to reconcile his desire to see his child be a normal son
and his desire for Sage to feel comfortable and loved. "Almost
Perfect" gives the reader an excellent idea how it feels to have everyone
around you either actively deny how you feel or be capable of violently
refusing to accept you for who you are.
For
the most part, this book is a very sad look into the life of a misunderstood
transgendered person. While it has its moments of humor (such as a fourth
wall-breaking "Missouri rain can be harsh, second only to (your state's
name), it is a tragic story about a lack of acceptance and support in a
person's life. Young readers may also want to be aware that this book contains
profanity and sexual scenes.
This book has won the following awards:
A Capitol Choice Noteworthy Book for 2010
A 2011 TAYSHASH (Texas) Reading List Book
2011 Stonewall Children’s and Young Adult Literature Award
Katcher, Brian, and Cathy Bobak. Almost Perfect. New York: Delacorte, 2009. Print.
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