Gracefully Grayson

Gracefully Grayson

YA fiction
"At home my track pants and basketball pants hang in my closet,
silky and shiny in a row of bright yellow, black, gray, silver, and
gold. But they're only pants to me now. My too-long T-shirts don't
look like dresses. Without them, I'm nobody, and the idea takes shape
in my mind. It takes shape and floats into my mouth, and it waits
there.
...I ask the question: "Can I try out for Persephone?"
Ami Polansky's Gracefully Grayson is a bright shining star in
the still far too small galaxy of books with non gender conforming
protagonists.
Grayson's humanities class is discussing the Holocaust. Finn,
the teacher, steers the conversation toward people who rescued Jews
from the Nazis. He asks Grayson what he would do if he had a
dangerous secret to hide. Grayson says he'd stay away from people so
he wouldn't accidentally reveal it.
Grayson knows what he's talking about. He has a secret that,
while not life threatening like helping Jews in Nazi Germany, seems
pretty dangerous. He deep down inside wants to wear sparkly dresses
and colorful jewelery, draw princesses, and be chums with his female
classmates. Basically he feels like a girl person trapped in a boy
body. He eats lunch in the library rather than risk the cafeteria.
He hasn't had a close friend since second grade.
One day all that subterfuge gets to be too much for Grayson.
For the first time he tries out for a school play. He gets the female
lead. Not everyone is crazy about the idea. His aunt (he lives with
her family because his parents are dead) tries to talk him out of it,
fearful he's setting himself up to be bullied. His cousin is
embarassed. Some parents question whether director Finn should be
teaching.
But Grayson is coming into her own now. She likes how that feels.
On a personal note, I had the most magical, enchanted, amazing
Christmas possible. Katie opened gifts with Eugene, Joey cat, and
me. In the afternoon there was the family get together. All my
children and their cousins were there. Times like these are precious
beyond measure.
A great big shout out goes out to my three amazing children and my
awesome niece and nephew.
jules hathaway


Sent from my iPod