Representation of Trans/NB/Gender Non-Conforming/Genderqueer Characters
It’s hard to say what makes trans representation “good” in a young adult or middle-grade novel. Authorship is important; the best stories often come from trans authors, or writers with deep ties to trans community beyond a single friend or family member (though I also don’t believe in hard and fast rules). Avoidance of tropes, cliché, and reductive stereotypes is also important. The titles selected here all go beyond cis-centered ideas of what a trans life can look like, beyond just struggling to come out, which will hopefully influence the trend moving forward.
– Kyle Lukoff