Just Happy to Be Here

October 23, 2023
A transgender teen views a secret society as her path to acceptance in this earnest novel by Kanakia (We Are Totally Normal). Tara Rituveni, 15, is the first trans student at all-girls Ainsley Academy. Her Indian immigrant parents are hesitantly supportive but oppose hormone therapy, and worry that potential retaliation from Virginia’s increasingly anti-trans government could threaten their precarious immigration status. Tara hopes that if she’s chosen as one of two students to join the illustrious Sibyls—a society that offers hefty scholarship dollars financially backed by Ainsley’s most successful alumna, Evnangeline Beaumont—she’ll feel less out of place. Evangeline’s nephew Liam, a trans student at Ainsley’s all-boys counterpart school, warns Tara that his aunt is transphobic, and that seems to prove true when Tara’s eligibility for Sibyls is questioned. Older student Felicity, Tara’s new friend and crush, soon concocts a plan to sneak Tara into the society’s membership interviews, which has unexpected consequences. While the jam-packed plot can occasionally feel a bit woolly, Kanakia’s exploration of the spaces between social and medical transition is heartfelt and necessary, and Tara’s complex and realistically contradictory emotions around her experiences are effectively conveyed. Supporting characters read as white. Ages 14–up.

November 1, 2023
A trans teen girl in Virginia faces discrimination. Tara Rituveni, an Indian American student at St. George's Preparatory Academy for Boys, was granted permission to attend its all-girl sister school, Ainsley Academy. Now she has her sights set on the Sibyls, a secret society offering access to a hefty, much-needed scholarship. However, Angel Beaumont, the benefactor of the Sibyls, doesn't want to award the scholarship to a trans girl, and the controversy could draw the attention of Child Protective Services to Tara's parents, who are supportive of her transition. Tara is a complex character, full of very human contrasts. She admits that she wishes she were cis and confesses "that when I thought of myself in a girl's body, I imagined being white." She struggles to envision life beyond transition and dismisses attempts by Liam (her friend who's a trans boy) to belong, though they are the mirror image of her own. Meanwhile, people seem to be saying that in order to be embraced, Tara must be better than other girls. The book itself contains a similar duality: honest, perceptive, and readable, although the writing is sometimes unpolished and some elements are confusing. Nevertheless, the story thoughtfully explores the desire for acceptance, the difficulty of living under laws targeting trans youth, and the tension of seeking access to an oppressive system, rather than sacrificing your own well-being to fight it. Insightful characterization and relatable moments make this story worth reading. (author's note) (Fiction. 13-17)

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December 1, 2023
Grades 10-12 After Tara comes out to her parents as trans, she's able to switch from her private, DC-area, all-boys school to its sister campus, Ainsley Academy. The bad news is that she lives in Virginia and can't access transition-related medical care; worse still, her parents worry about losing their visas and being deported back to India if the state presses child abuse charges. At Ainsley, Tara struggles with both internal and external transphobia and transmisogyny, repeatedly bemoans looking man-ish, and desperately wants to join the sisterhood of the Sibyls, a quasi-secretive organization on campus that nurtures ambitious career aspirations and offers a significant college scholarship. This is Kanakia's third book (Enter Title Here, 206; We Are Totally Normal, 2019), though the first she's published under the name Naomi, and she includes an extensive author's note. While the writing quality is somewhat uneven, teens interested in messy realistic fiction with a sapphic or trans element may enjoy this book.

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March 29, 2024

Gr 7 Up-Kanakia's novel shares the struggle of a trans teen just trying to be a girl at school, instead of "the trans girl." Tara is finally at an all-girls school, after transitioning and leaving her all-boys school up the hill. She is slowly finding her people when a chance to join an exclusive club, the Sibyls, opens up. Tara loves everything the group stands for and finally feels like she truly fits somewhere. However, once her eligibility is questioned, everyone else starts fighting for her trans rights, but she never asked for that. In fact, the drama stemming from the situation leads to her anti-trans state government coming and questioning her. Can Tara balance this new attention while figuring out who her real friends are? Readers may find the cover confusing, as Tara does not mention having facial hair at any point in the book. Tara is a trans girl and person of color, and her friends also include a trans boy, a queer girl, and other people of color. The book's exclusive club, the Sibyls, centers around ancient mythology; meaning in addition to various passages included, multiple characters have both a real name and an ancient nickname for the club. This content can be rather choppy and difficult to follow when weaved into the story. Otherwise, some of the main plot points feel reminiscent of If I Was Your Girl by Meredith Russo, which may draw fans, but ultimately the writing caliber falls short. VERDICT Though we all need more trans books on the shelf, this one can be hard to follow at times. An additional purchase.-Elizabeth Portillo

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