Overview: This character-driven novel follows the Walsh-Adams family as they navigate the highs and lows of life, raising a family, and doing what is right for their child with gender dysphoria. While the story delves into the charming and unique characters of parents, Penn and Rosie, and all five children, it particularly focuses on the youngest child. Vibrant and sweet, when Claude is asked what he wants to be when he grows up, he wholeheartedly states he would like to be a girl. Consequentially, we follow Claude’s transition to Poppy as he becomes she, and the difficult decisions that ensue when community members are not as forward-thinking as the family had hoped.
Why We Love It: Society needs more books that focus on characters identifying as LGBTQ+ and we were delighted to find such an incredibly well-written and entertaining novel that explores the lives of members of this underrepresented community. Although a fictional novel, readers can speculate that many of the adversities that this family faces are rooted in reality as the author herself, Laurie Frankel, has a transgender daughter. You will fall in love with the characters and family dynamics in this novel. Hilarious and imperfectly perfect, each member of the Walsh-Adams family is truly charming. This is a story of triumph, heartbreak, and the incredible strength it takes to be your authentic self in a narrow-minded society. All the stars!
