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If I Was Your Girl Essay

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If I was your girl – Book Review

At first glance, If I was Your Girl (author Meredith Russo’s debut novel) seemed like the typical basic, easy going holiday read; A girl named Amanda moves to a small American town to live with her dad, and meets a guy named Grant. In fact, I almost put it back on the shelf, if not for one key factor that caught my eye; Amanda was born a boy named Andrew. This alone set a great premise for the plot line, and I was not disappointed one bit. Even if the story dragged in places, this book is still a firm favourite of mine due to the well-developed characters and vivid language. A key factor to keep in mind is that Russo herself is in fact also transgender, which in turn means the novel reads true to her experiences. …show more content…

Russo’s description of the neighbourhood was so vivid and detailed that I could easily picture myself eating pancakes in the local diner, which alongside the rich language used aided my understanding of the plot. From the rusty school bus to the annoyingly curious neighbours, every aspect of the story was entirely believable. The one downside I noticed to If I was Your Girl is that the pacing of the plot varied, as while the middle of the novel was equally as interesting and well written as the rest, I found that some of the main events were rather spaced out which led to some chapters that were dragged out more than they should have been. In comparison, I found the important events near the end of the novel rushed, which left me wishing for more closure when I completed it. If I was Your Girl covers many sensitive issues, such as transgenderism (previously known as gender dysphoria) and suicide. However, the way these topics are dealt with makes it easy for readers to understand, and accompanied with a conversation with an adult afterwards, this book would help teenage readers understand these topics clearly. However, the author’s note is a must read, as she deals with the fact that not all transgender women pass (as female) as easily as Amanda. The fact that Russo included a second version for anyone who suspects they are/is transgender is a simple, yet important

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