User:Dg954/George (novel)

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George is a children's novel about a young transgender girl written by American author Alex Gino. The novel tells the story of Melissa, a fourth-grade girl who is struggling to be herself to the rest of the world. The rest of the world sees Melissa as George, a boy. Melissa uses the class play, Charlotte's Web, to show her mom that she is a girl by switching roles with her best friend, and playing the part of Charlotte. Scholastic first published the novel on August 25, 2015 and George has had a mixed reaction due to its LGBT+ content.

George has received positive feedback from sources such as the New York Times and the National Public Radio for its inclusion of transgenderism. However, the book has remained controversial to some parents and teachers, leading George to be listed on the American Library Association's list of the 10 Most Challenged Books of 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019, and 2020 (topping the list in 2018, 2019, and 2020). Common reasons for challenging George include its sexual references and conflict with “traditional family structure,” with some saying schools and libraries should not “put books in a child’s hand that require discussion.” George ultimately became the fifth-most banned book between 2010 and 2020.

Background
Alex Gino wrote George because it "was a book [they] wanted to read" growing up. Gino also wanted to write George because they noticed a lack of transgender middle-grade literature aimed for 3rd grade to 7th grade, and they hoped the book would “help transgender children feel less alone.” They wanted to fill this need and teach children about these issues. George simultaneously is meant to teach non-transgender children to be tolerant of trans people and show children who are trans that there are other people like them going through similar experiences.

Gino started their work on George in 2003 and made frequent draft revisions prior to publication to adjust to the changing social environment towards trans people. It had an initial press run of 50,000 copies under Scholastic, and was sent out to over 10,000 teachers and children's’ librarians. In the future Gino wants George to become "historical fiction."

Reception
George has been received with mixed reactions since its publication. While the book has been routinely challenged for several years, it has also received various awards and praise for its content. The School Library Journal, in a starred review, wrote that George is "a required purchase" for readers interested in middle-grade literature. Ginos’ George was also commended in the form of a National Public Radio review, where doctoral student in transgender studies J. Wallace Skelton praised Alex Gino for their refusal to let Melissa's bullies define her character. Skelton expressed that George belongs among the ranks of the best children's literature for its skillful telling of the story of a young kid finding their place in the world. Skelton specifically admires how Gino points out that Melissa is not powerless when she faces her bullies, and that the novel as a whole "is a narrative about a young person who is very much trying to become who they are."

In his 2015 New York Times review of George, children's author Tim Federle described the novel's depictions of the moments in which Melissa's family members and friends realize she is a girl as "refreshing" and "brilliant." Federle also stated that George stands out from other LGBTQ+ Children's literature due to the novel's inclusion of Charlotte's Web. Federle stated "if someone can not believe that someone can be transgender just has to remember that a farm of talking animals was believable." Mel Morrow also strongly praised Alex Gino in her Lambda Literary book review, proclaiming George a "life-saving book" and commending it for encouraging acceptance among its readers through intimate glimpses into Melissa's struggle with coming out to her friends and family. Ginos’ George was given the 2015 Lambda Literary Award as a result.

Jennifer Laughran of the Andrea Brown Literacy Group also gave praise to George, referring to Gino's approach to gender issues in children's literature as "ground breaking." George was honored with the Stonewall Children’s Book award in 2016 for its positive depiction of LGBT+ content. That same year, the book also won the Children's Choice Book Award for a Debut Author, and the Gold Medal award for juvenile fiction in the California Book Awards.

Although the book has been widely praised and received various awards, George has also been the subject of public criticism. In a 2019 article in the Journal of Children's Literature, authors and literacy scholars Jill M. Hermann-Wilmarth and Caitlin L. Ryan argued that George's focus on a white transgender character prevents the novel from accurately encapsulating the struggles of transgender people who are marginalized in more ways than just their gender identity. They also pointed out that Melissa expresses her identity as a girl in very traditionally feminine ways, like by wearing dresses and makeup, thereby shutting people who do not strictly fit into the gender binary out of the novel's representation of transgenderism. Skelton also criticized the book's title of George, arguing that it does not support Melissa's true identity as a female by deadnaming her.

George has appeared on the American Library Association's Top Ten Most Challenged Book list every year since 2016, a year after its publication. In 2016, it was listed at number three; in 2017 it was listed at number five; and in 2018, 2019, and 2020, it was listed at number one. It became the fifth-most banned book between 2010 and 2020. Even though George has been challenged repeatedly, the reasons for this have changed. In 2016 and 2017, the book was challenged due to its inclusion of a transgender child whose "sexuality was not appropriate at elementary levels". In 2018, the book was challenged because it was believed to “encourage children to clear browser history and change their bodies using hormones".   In 2019, the piece was challenged for its LGBT+ content,  use of sexual references, and for conflicting “traditional family structure”. In 2020, it was challenged  for not reflecting “the values of our community".

Parents, teachers, and school districts have challenged George because it features a transgender girl, her older brother's discussion of age inappropriate material (i.e., sexual references), inclusion of LGBT+ content, as well as the book's conflict with a specific religious viewpoint and "traditional family structures". In response to the challenge concerning the protagonist’s brother, Scott, Gino believes that people are using the case against George's brother to hide their underlying issues with the transgender girl. Challengers state that schools and libraries should not "put books in a child's hand that require discussion". The book’s mention of “dirty magazines” is also a popular reason for it being challenged. A particular controversy surrounding George involved the Wichita, Kansas, public school system and its decision to ban the book from its district libraries in 2017. The justification used for this banning was that the book included sexual references and language considered to be inappropriate for children. The district’s supervisor of library media at the time, Gail Becker, obstructed district librarians’ efforts to include the book in their collections by withholding funds intended to purchase the book. In response to this challenge, Alex Ginos organized a Twitter campaign intended to raise money to purchase enough copies of their book so that each of the district’s 57 elementary and K-8 school libraries could have one. A separate controversy surrounding George took place a year later in King City, Oregon. This incident involved the Tigard-Tualatin School District’s decision to consider requiring a signed permission slip from parents before letting its elementary school students read Ginos’ George.