Bibliographic Information: Wittlinger, E. (2007). Parrotfish. New York, NY: Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers. ISBN: 9781416916222
Plot Summary: Angela Katz-McNair is a junior in high school. Angela has always felt that she was a boy inside a girl's body. She decides to change her name to Grady and live her life as a boy. Grady wraps an ace bandage around his chest, buys boys' clothes and shoes and prepares to tell the world he is transgendered. Little does Grady know how kids at his school would make his life miserable. Grady's former best friend, Eve, turns away from him and becomes friends with a group of "mean girls". His younger sister, Laura, is repelled and extremely embarrassed by his coming out.
Luckily, Grady makes a few new friends and allies at school. Sebastian, a nerdy genius, befriends Grady and he makes a wonderful friend. When working on a research paper, Sebastian explains to Grady that Parrotfish change gender when they need to and therefore being transgendered is not abnormal. Grady's gym teacher, Ms. Ungr, goes to bat for him by letting him change in her private bathroom and she gets horrible Danya suspended for three days by trying to pull an embarrassing prank on Grady. Grady becomes close and "falls for" one of the most beautiful girls in school, Kita. Even though in the end Kita gets back together with her boyfriend, she has shown Grady kindness and she even kissed him. The story is set against the backdrop of the Katz-McNair annual epic Christmas tradition: extravagant decorations and a Christmas Eve performance, costumes and all, performed by family members.
Critical Evaluation: Parrotfish is a wonderful novel that addresses a subject, gender issues, with great sensitivity and a dose of humor. The novel enlightens the reader between differences of gender and sex. It is a story of self discovery and acceptance of oneself and others who may be "different" than the norm. Parrotfish brings the reader to the realization of how important having even one good friend may make all the difference to someone's life.
Annotation: Angela has always felt that inside she was really a boy. She changes her name to Grady, changes her appearance like a boy and faces some tough times being accepted by others.
About the Author: Ellen Wittlinger was born in 1948 in Belleville, Illinois. She is a young adult author and has written many notable young adult books. Her novel, Hard Love, won the Printz Honor. Wittlinger received her bachelor's degree from Millikin University in Illinois and a Master of Fine Arts degree from the University of Iowa. Wittlinger loved to write plays but she says that getting plays produced is extremely difficult. On her website Ellen says that "It wasn't until I had two children of my own, and a job as a children's librarian, that it occurred to me to try to write for young adults." Ellen started reading young adult novels and realized how much she enjoyed them. Her first novel, Lombardo's Law, "was published in 1993 and I've never looked back".
Genre: Young Adult Fiction/ Transexuals/Identity/Family Problems
Curriculum Ties: Psychology/ Mental Health
Talking Points: What would it feel like to be trapped in the wrong body? How would it feel to change genders and have to tell your family and friends? How would you handle being treated like you were a freak?
Reading Level & Interest Age: 14 and up
Challenge Issues: There are probably some that may be uncomfortable with transexuals or people who feel they are in the wrong gender, but Wittlinger writes about the subject with great sensitivity.
Reason for Inclusion: Parrotfish is an excellent and entertaining way to introduce readers to gender issues.
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