Bibliographic Information
Publisher: Balzer + Bray
Publication year: 2015
ISBN: 978-0062335319
Reader’s Annotation
Kristin loves her life as homecoming queen, track star, and girlfriend to Sam, one of the most desired guys in school. But when she and Sam try to take the next step in their relationship with painful results, a visit to the doctor reveals something Kristin never suspected about her own body.
Plot Summary
Kristin Lattimer considers her life normal in every way. She has a steady boyfriend she’s crazy about, a passion for hurdles in track and field, great friends, and a place on her school’s homecoming court. She even thinks she and her boyfriend Sam might be ready to take that next step in their relationship. When the time finally comes, she experiences so much pain she knows something must be wrong. A visit to the doctor reveals that she is intersex, meaning that although she looks and feels female, she has male chromosomes and internal testicles. Following her diagnosis, she confides in her best friend and the news travels the whole school in just a few days. Sam, disgusted and uninterested in the truth, listens to ugly rumors and abandons her. With the help of a new friend from an online support group Kristin learns how to live with her diagnosis while preserving and enjoying her femininity.
Critical Evaluation
Gregorio used her medical knowledge expertly in the crafting of this novel. The medical facts of being intersex are explained on a level that all readers are able to understand, because Kristin has no knowledge of the condition. At times, Kristina’s character feels very wrapped up in what is means to be a boy or a girl, but the frequent reminder that the medical condition usually shows no outward signs is a reminder for the reader that she had no warning whatsoever; she suddenly feels that with this new information about her body, her life for the past 17 years has been a skewed reality. From the doctor explaining all the different forms being intersex can take in different people, to the information Kristina gains in online support groups and forums about maintaining her identity as a female even though she has “male” hormones, Gregorio presents the information in an accessible way that never feels too clinical.
Author Information
I. W. Gregorio is a practicing surgeon by day, masked avenging YA writer by night. After getting her MD, she did her residency at Stanford, where she met the intersex patient who inspired her debut novel, None of the Above (Balzer + Bray / HarperCollins), which is finalist for the 2016 Lambda Literary Award, a Spring 2015 Publishers Weekly Flying Start, an ALA Booklist Top Ten Sports Book for Youth, and a 2015 ABC Children’s Group Best Book for Young Readers. It was also named to the 2016 American Library Association Rainbow List and is under development as a TV series by Lifetime. She is a founding member of We Need Diverse Books™ and its former VP of Development. Her writing has appeared in The Washington Post, San Francisco Chronicle, San Jose Mercury News and Journal of General Internal Medicine. A recovering ice hockey player, she lives in Pennsylvania with her husband and two children.
Source: http://www.iwgregorio.com/about/
Genre
Fiction
Curriculum Ties
Health
Science
Booktalking Ideas
Briefly explain what it means to be intersex, and talk about how Kristin still identifies as female even though she has male chromosomes and “parts” inside. Read a passage detailing the ugly rumors circulating her school to emphasize that her friends used the information she confided incorrectly. Then give a rating from 1-5 and tell the audience why this is my rating, and take questions.
Reading Level/Interest Age
School Library Journal: Grade 9 up
Challenging Issues
Bullying
Language
LGBTQ+
Sexual Content and/or Nudity
Preparing for Potential Challenges
http://jeselynsminiyacollection.blogspot.com/p/preparing-for-potential-challenges.html
http://jeselynsminiyacollection.blogspot.com/p/preparing-for-specific-challenges-lgbtq.html
Why the Item Was Chosen
I included this book in my collection for several reasons. First, many of the books are ones I myself loved when I was an adolescent reader growing up in the 1990’s and early 2000’s. I stand by these choices as legitimate material for modern young adults, but it is also important to remember that current teens want to read current material. From the modern approach to intersexuality to the cyberbullying Kristin experiences at the hands of her ex-friends, None of the Above presents issues to which today’s teens will be able to relate. Second, intersexuality in all its forms is still swept under the rug or only briefly glossed over in a lot of sex education. Using this book as a conversation starter about what it means to be intersex, or have chromosomes that differ from the gender with which one identifies, could be invaluable in preventing an identity crisis like what Kristin experiences. Finally, representation in young adult literature is endlessly important. Being intersex is not common, but diagnoses do happen and the diagnosed often have no support system to fall back on. The library is a place where teens can gather information in a judgement-free environment. If a young adult patron experiences an unexpected diagnosis like Kristin does, I want them to be able to find at least one book in my collection that will let them know they are not alone.
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