I am J by Cris Beam
"Hola, Jeni."J spun. His stomach clenched hard, as though he'd been hit. It was just the neighbor lady, Mercedes. J couldn't muster a hello back, not now; he didn't care that she'd tell his mom he'd been rude. She should know better. Nobody calls me Jeni anymore.J always felt different. He was certain that eventually everyone would understand who he really was: a boy mistakenly born as a girl. Yet as he grew up, his body began to betray him; eventually J stopped praying to wake up a "real boy" and started covering up his body, keeping himself invisible - from his family, from his friends...from the world. But after being deserted by the best friend he thought would always be by his side, J decides that he's done hiding - it's time to be who he really is. And this time he is determined not to give up, no matter the cost.An inspiring story of self-discovery, of choosing to stand up for yourself, and of finding your own path - readers will recognize a part of themselves in J's struggle to love his true self.
* " Easily the best book to date about the complicated condition of being a transsexual teen, not only sharing important information that is artfully woven into the plot but also creating, in J, a multilayered, absolutely believable character whose pain readers will sharePerhaps most importantly, the author brings clarity and charity to a state of being that has too long been misunderstood, ignored, and deplored." -- Booklist, starred review
Cris Beam is the author of Transparent, a Stonewall Honor Book and Lambda Literary Award winner. She has an MFA in writing from Columbia University and teaches creative writing at Columbia, New York University, and The New School. I Am J is her debut novel. While living in LA, Cris volunteered at Eagles, a high school for gay and transgender kids. During the 2.5 years Cris taught there, she became deeply involved with a complex but marginalized tribe of transgender teens who had nowhere to go but the streets, one of whom became her foster daughter.
| SKU | Unavailable |
| ISBN 13 | 9780316053617 |
| ISBN 10 | 0316053619 |
| Title | I am J |
| Author | Cris Beam |
| Condition | Unavailable |
| Publisher | Little, Brown & Company |
| Year published | 2011-03-01 |
| Number of pages | 320 |
| Prizes | Commended for Lambda Literary Awards (Children/Young Adult) 2012, Commended for Lambda Literary Awards (Transgender Fiction) 2012, Commended for Tayshas Reading 2012, Commended for Capitol Choices: Noteworthy Books for Children and Teens (Fourteen and Up) 2012, Short-listed for Rhode Island Teen Book Award 2013, Short-listed for Delaware Diamonds Award (High School) 2012 |
| Cover note | Book picture is for illustrative purposes only, actual binding, cover or edition may vary. |
| Note | Unavailable |