None of the Above by I.W. Gregorio
On the night high school senior Kristin Lattimer is crowned homecoming queen, she decides the time is just right to become intimate with her boyfriend. As ready as she thought she was, however, nothing prepares her for the pain – both physical and mental – that follows. Finally convinced to visit the doctor, Kristin is shocked to learn that she’s intersex: her body has secrets she’s never realized, including not having a womb, which is why she’s never had her period – not because she’s a lean, honed track and field star.
After confiding in her two best friends, Kristin’s revelation somehow becomes major all-school news. Heartbreakingly, her once-adoring boyfriend proves to be the second worst of her judgmental, name-calling, bullying peers. The absolute worst, Kristin is convinced, is one of her best friends – the more volatile Vee who wasn’t too happy when Kristin was crowned queen, especially since the honor was assumed to be Vee’s. Somehow, Kristin will need to learn to accept her body, survive the purgatory fueled by her high school haters, and pick up the pieces of her pixilated heart.
First-time author (who’s also a surgeon!) I.W. Gregorio has crafted a sensitive, sensational, coming-of-age novel about a topic rarely seen in books for younger readers. If you choose to go aural, narrator Caitlin Davis does just the right blend of panic and resolve both.
Today’s youth, perhaps more than at any other time, are proving to be the most vocally gender-aware generation in history. Gregorio’s debut is an important, timely, welcome addition to LGBTQIA bookshelves; it’s also a title suitable for any young adult reader, regardless of orientation or identification. That said, we old folks, too, will surely benefit. The more we know, the more we can understand … and be understanding, most of all.
Readers: Young Adult
Published: 2015
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