User:LivvySmithDMU/sandbox

Blurb: Meet Eric and Morgan. Born on the same day, at the same time, in the same place. They've always shared this one day together, but as they grow up they begin to go apart. Everyone expects Eric to get a football scholarship, but no one knows he's having second thoughts. Former quarterback Morgan feels utterly alone, as she wrestles with the difficult choice to live as her true self. Both of the struggling to be the person they know they are. Who better to help then your best friend?

summary
Two kids, Morgan and Eric, are bonded for life after being born on the same day at the same time. We meet them once a year on their shared birthday as they grow and change: as Eric figures out who he is and how he fits into the world, and as Morgan makes the difficult choice to live as her true self. Over the years, they will drift apart, come together, fight, make up, and break up—and ultimately, realize how inextricably they are a part of each other. 

Brief information
Birthday is a book written by Meredith Russo. The book was published on May 21th 2019 by Usborne Publishing in London, England. The candle cover image was done by Gabriel San Roman.

Plot
High school students Eric and Morgan are best friends. Born on the same day, at the same time, at the same place. Eric and Morgan celebrate their 13th birthday at the water park with their family. Jenny and Carson, Eric’s parents along with his brother Peyton and Morgan’s father Tyler. After two failed attempts to try and tell Eric about being a girl Morgan ends up going home after throwing up in a trashcan, feeling broken hearted. On the way home Eric debates what is going on with Morgan as he knows something is going on but doesn’t know exactly what although he has a feeling that Morgan might be gay. Either way he decides that he will accept whatever it is no matter what.

Upon returning home to their trailer, Morgan plays a video left by her deceased mother, Donna, responding to the questions her mother asks as if she were still there. Morgan contemplates telling her father and wondering if her mother would be okay with it. Morgan and her father Tyler have a birthday dinner while talking about the game and Eric’s oldest brother Isaac. The two then share a short awkward conversation about Morgan re-joining the football team that she left after her mother died.

Eric sits on the front porch playing the guitar that Donna brought him before she died. He reminisces over the memory of how she always saw how much music excited him above anything else. Eric and Isaac share a brotherly moment when Isaac gives Eric his first beer telling him he is a ‘man now’. Eric expresses his concern that he fears he and Morgan are drifting apart. Isaac reassures him that they are not before teasing him and going back to mowing the lawn. Eric takes a slice of birthday cake to Morgan’s so they can talk. Eric asks Morgan if his suspicions are true only for Morgan to tell him that her behaviour was to do with her mother. And the difficulties of watching the yearly tapes she had made for her. Morgan ends up crying and while Eric comforts her his thoughts go to an old memory of Morgan falling out of a tree. While Eric stood over her he remembers thinking that Morgan looked ‘like a girl. A really pretty girl’.

The story then skips to their fourteenth birthday. Morgan plans to go to the school game with her new friend Jasmine. She also reads a birthday letter her mother along with looking through pieces of artwork Donna left for her. Morgan and Jasmine go to the game. During the game Morgan finds herself comparing her body to the cheerleaders only for Jasmine to call her out on being a ‘horndog’. Jasmine then convinces Morgan to attend a party that her cousin is having for the team. Before they leave the game Morgan compliments Eric on his performance on the field while Tyler tries once again to convince her to try out. Morgan ends up being chased by a few members of the team after Eric leaves. Eric and his parents go to the waffle house to celebrate his victory in the game. Peyton works at the waffle house and Jenny and Eric try to silently apologize for Carson trying to embarrass him. After returning home Eric decides to sneak out to attend the party after Morgan sends him a picture. Eric gets Peyton to him by driving him there. Eric relieves another memory of when he walked in on Morgan getting changed and for a moment thought he had walked in on a girl getting dressed. Eric gets closer with his team mates. Morgan and Jasmine's friendship blooms after an awkward kiss and conversation that makes Morgan start to contemplate weather or not she is actually gay or transgender. Before the night is over Morgan has to deal with a drunk Eric while trying to process her ever growing emotions.

While on the way home Eric mentally comments about Morgan and ‘how weird it is that he’s a boy’ and begins to wonder if Morgan has realized that himself. Eric’s thought process shows this as a revelation. The two share a kiss that has them confused. Morgan lets Eric know that he isn’t gay and that ‘I know I’m not, like, normal. Believe me, I know. But if I ever figure out the specific way I'm fucked up, I’ll tell you.’

On their next birthday Morgan buys make-up for the first time. While Eric is dealing with trying to live up to his fathers expectations in football, his teammates tease him about Morgan. Eric decides not to defend Morgan this time as he can’t always play the ‘bodyguard’ and thinks his defensiveness will make things worse. Susan, a cheerleader, gives Eric a birthday cupcake as well as a kiss. Morgan attempts to follow a make-up tutorial and finally sees herself as a girl. During the revelation of finally being happy with her reflection, her father comes home and she panics to get the make-up off only to realise she forgot to buy make-up wipes. Morgan decides to rejoin sport as a way to reassure Tyler that she is okay, even when she isn’t. While hanging out with his teammates Eric ends up cutting his hair off for charity on a dare. Later that night Morgan finds out and gets Eric to cut her hair as well, as she goes back to trying to fight who she is.

By their sixteenth birthday Morgan throws herself into sports as a way to gain some form of control in her life. She has also started drinking throughout the day by adding Vodka to his bottles. Throughout the year Morgan’s relationship falters as they begin to separate while Eric’s relationship with Susan takes the next level. Eric finds out about Morgan’s new drinking habits but doesn’t say anything and cancels birthday plans in order to spend the night with his girlfriend. After losing the game Morgan ends up punching a locker until it comes off the hinges before starting a fight with William, a team mate. When she returns home Morgan reads her mothers letter before stealing a bottle of cheap wine from her dad's room. She ends up drinking and swallowing a mix of pills from the bathroom. Eric senses something is wrong and after taking Susan home he goes to Morgan’s only to find her passed out on the floor in a puddle of vomit and blood. He realises that she tried to kill herself and calls the ambulance since her skin started turning blue. Morgan wakes in the hospital and Tyler insists they start therapy the following week as well as quitting the team. Morgan ends up promising Tyler and Eric that she will tell them soon.

On their seventeenth birthday Eric is still dealing with Morgans attempted suicide the year prior and his parents getting a divorce. Susan breaks up with Eric when he decides to quit football and he starts to notice Morgan acting more feminine. The way she sits, laughs and the way her voice changes. Morgan goes to the support group she found in Nashville and gets a referral for a hormone clinic and a doctor. Morgan makes up her mind and plans to tell Eric later that day. Once returning home Morgan reads her annual birthday note from her mother and is gifted an old recipe book that her mother wrote for her. She ends up making a birthday cake for her and Eric before taking it to him so they can talk. Eric accepts that Morgan is transgender and asks questions about the effects the hormones will have to he understands it more. The two end up sharing a kiss and Eric’s father walks in. Carson punches Eric and calls Morgan ‘faggot’ while blaming her for the change in his son. Carson ends up telling them both to leave and the two go to an old hang out spot where Eric confesses his love for Morgan and they plan their future.

By their eighteenth birthday Eric moved in with his mother, Peyton and his girlfriend, Chelsea, in Miami. Morgan surprises Eric for their birthday with a trip to Florida. Throughout the year Morgan started her hormone treatment and Tyler pulled her out of school to graduate early, fearing that public school would be dangerous for her. Jasmine finds out about her being transgender and accepts it whole heartedly. Morgan flies to Miami as a surprise to Eric and reads her mothers letter, while on the plane. It's her last letter from her mother. When she arrives the two spend their birthday together listening to Eric playing the guitar while she thinks about their future together, the two sharing kisses between songs.

About Author
Meredith Russo is a transgender woman who transitioned in late 2013. Russo wrote 'Birthday' and 'if I was your girl' as a way to show the difficulties and challenges that come along with being trans. She specifically outlines the negative side of others responses to coming out as trans, through the character Morgan. Morgan is a transgender female who used to be a quarterback for her schools football team, she then has to face her fears of telling her parents as well as confessing her love for her best friend, Eric. Meredith Russo is also the best selling author of 'if I was your girl' which focuses on transgender as well. 

websites used

 * 1) https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/39863399-birthday#:~:text=Birthday%20by%20Meredith%20Russo%20is%20another%20introspection%20into,ending%20for%20the%20trans%20girl%20and%20clich%C3%A9%20phrases.