Realistic Fiction - almost perfect (Katcher)

   Logan's girlfriend of 3 years has just broken up with him. He's enduring his senior year at the small town Missouri high school that he attends, when a new girl shows up in his biology class. Sage is like no one Logan has know before. He really is attracted to her vivid, unconventional personality. He is shocked, disgusted, and angry when he learns that Sage was born a male (right after kissing her). The worse part is the worry that his own sexuality might be challenged. As he calms down he learns more about what Sage has gone through. From a very young age all she has wanted is to live as a girl. Logan realizes she needs a friend but he finds it hard to be there for her when she needs him.
   Almost Perfect is an honest look at the rarely explored subject of transgender issues (Luna by Julie Ann Peters is another good one). As one reviewer noted, it is a pretty "clean" book for one that deals with sexuality and identity. There are some funny parts mixed in all the angst. It is written by a school librarian, Brian Katcher. I liked it a lot and have nominated it for this year's James Cook award. Winner of this year's Stonewall Children's and Young Adult Literature Award. I'd recommend it for high school and progressive middle school libraries.
I'm not sure that I would book talk except to individuals and small groups or mature classes that I knew well enough to be feel they could handle the topic.