Zenobia July

Zenobia has recently moved to Maine to live with her aunt and her aunt’s wife. Zen had lived with her father after her mother had died when Zen was five. Her father had never accepted who Zen was because she had been born in a boy’s body. Now she will start at a new school where no one knows her or that she is transgender. Fortunately, her aunts are very supportive, and they have a good friend, a transvestite, take Zen clothes shopping to help her fit in better. At school, Zen finds a person who does not identify by gender at all, Arli, who has a small group of friends who, for one reason or another, don’t quite fit in. Someone hacks the school website making threats to some in the group. Zen, who happens to be a computer whiz, helps find the hacker.

Author Lisa Bunker has written a book that will be a welcome addition to the LGBTQ canon in middle schools. The characters are well-rounded and face problems that are very real and important. The writing is quite wonderful and the story compelling. This book deserves wide readership.