Parrotfish
by Ellen Wittlinger

    PARROTFISH by Ellen Wittlinger
    Category:  Contemporary
    Age Recommendation:  Grades 9+
    Release Date:  7/10/07
    Publisher:  Simon & Schuster
    Reviewed by:  Jennifer Wardrip, aka "The Genius"
    Rating:  5 Stars


    Angela Katz-McNair isn't your typical teenage girl.  She is, in fact, a boy.  Sure, she may have the body parts
    that science uses to dictate her gender, but, in this case at least, science has gotten it all wrong.  

    Shortly before Christmas, Angela announces to her family that she's decided to act on the issue of being a boy
    trapped in the body of a girl.  Her name is now Grady.  She's cut her hair short and she's wearing boy's clothes.  
    Grady is determined to make the change permanent, and as complete as he possibly can.

    He starts by announcing his decisions to his family, which is met with assorted reactions.  His dad seems to take
    the news in stride; after all, Grady was always a tomboy who did "guy stuff" with him anyway.  His sister, Laura,
    is sure that Grady is out to ruin her life, and her high school experience.  His younger brother, Charlie, doesn't
    care all that much, as long as the news doesn't affect his video game playing.  And his mother, well, his mother
    isn't at all sure what to think, how to act, or what to do.

    Since Grady is determined, he doesn't just turn into a transgendered person at home.  He makes his intentions
    known at school, too, and you can probably guess what some of the consequences are.  Friends are no longer
    friends; indifferent acquaintances become outright enemies.  But there are also bright moments in Grady's new
    life:  he makes a new best friend, Sebastian, who introduces him to the scientific wonder of the parrotfish, an
    ocean fish who can, and does, change gender.  He also finds allies in Russ and Kita, a powerhouse high school
    super-couple who raise new questions in Grady's mind when he starts falling for Kita himself.

    PARROTFISH is a wonderful, emotional novel dealing with the issues of identity and transgenderism.  
    Previously, the only other book I've read on the matter is Julie Anne Peter's LUNA, in which a girl was born in
    the body of a boy.  I have to say that both novels are wonderful, and for teens questioning their own identity, are
    more than just a good read.  Ms. Wittlinger has also included resources in the back of PARROTFISH for help
    and support.  Overall, this is a great work of fiction, but it's also a great story dealing with one teen's struggle to
    find himself outside of society's norm.