Davis,
Tanita S. Happy Families. Alfred A
Knopf, New York, 2012. 234 pages. Tr. $16.99
ISBN 9780375869662
Plot
Description:
Teenage twins Ysabel and Justin think they are from
a happy, normal family, until they discover that their father is transgender
and has been living a secret life as a woman named Christine. After being discovered, Ysabel and Justin’s
father moves out of the house for a time, leaving the twins to deal with the
knowledge of Christine on their own. The
twins haven’t seen much of their father in the past few months, but thanks to
their mother’s decree they are about to spend their entire spring break with
the father they thought they knew. If
spending their spring break with their dad in a town where they have no friends
wasn’t bad enough, their father is making them go to family therapy every day
and socialize with other transgender families.
Will Ysabel and Justin learn to accept their father and his new
identity? Will they ever be a happy
family again?
Review:
Author Tanita Davis does a marvelous job telling the
story of a family coming to terms with the knowledge that their father is
transgender. Ysabel and Justin and
understandably upset at finding out about Christine, especially since their
father was not the one to tell them and after being discovered he immediately
left town. During the time the twins
spend with their father on spring break Davis explains to readers through the
course of the narrative what it means to be transgender and demonstrates that
transgender people are the same as everyone else. Davis’s Happy
Families is a realistic and poignant story of one family’s challenge to
trust each other again. In the end the
twins realize that Christine is still their father and whether he wears male or
female cloths doesn’t affect how much he cares for them and their mom.
Genre:
Realistic Fiction
GLBTQ
Reading
Level/Interest Level:
Grades 7-12
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Author’s
Website:
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