Lily and Dunkin
Gephart, D.
(2016). Lily and Dunkin. New York:
Delacorte.
Lily and Dunkin is
a self-discovery novel about two teens who are trying to survive eighth grade
while expressing who they really are inside. Lily (who was born male) is trying
to convince her parents that she needs hormone blockers to stop her development
as a male. She longs to let her female self out to shine, but is terrified of
the what the “Neanderthals” at school will do and say to her. Her best friend
Dare is all she has until she meets the new boy in town. Norbert has just moved
to Florida and is dealing with leaving his home, what has happened to his
father and his own mental disorders. Norbert hates his name and Lily decides to
call him Dunkin after his favorite place to eat. Dunkin also hates his body: he
is too tall, too hairy and very uncoordinated. With tons of determination, he
manages to get on the basketball team with the “Neanderthals” and while at
school, he ignores Lily. He has not been taking his medicine and during a
basketball game, Dunkin has a mental break and needs to be hospitalized. Lily
is slowly making strides with her family and her dad is slowly accepting what
she needs and she starts getting hormone therapy. Once Dunkin is released from
the hospital, he and Lily realize a sense of trust and her is very accepting of
the boy he knew as Tim, is now his friend Lily.
Lily and Dunkin is
a contemporary realistic fictional novel dealing with the issues of transgender
teens and mental illness. Lily and Dunkin initially seem like an unlikely pair,
but as they both travel the road of acceptance, from others and themselves, they
form a unique friendship. Accepting yourself for who you are and accepting others
as themselves is an ongoing theme throughout the novel. Dunkin struggles with how to fit in at his new
school and does not always make the best decisions because he wants so much to
be accepted. As Lily realizes that she has to force the issue of her desire to
be female, her mother and sister rally around her. This story spotlights very
support family members for both Lily and Dunkin. Lily’s father has a hard time
with his acceptance, but it does happen.
Awards
YALSA Best Fiction for Young Adults (2017)
ALA Rainbow Book List (2017)
Interesting Links:
No comments:
Post a Comment