Growing Up Trans In Our Own Words

A glorious collection of poems, essays, humour and visual art, Growing up Trans In Our Own Words edited by Dr. Lindsay Herriot and Kate Fry is an incredible gift to youth and their families.

Each chapter of this book begins with guiding questions to help readers connect to the pieces they will see and read. Each chapter ends with a guide titled “What Can I Do?”, full of tips and guidance for readers to support allyship and critical thinking. The authors have also included a reading list at the end of each chapter broken down by category and includes picture books, teen and YA readers, readings for general audiences as well as memoirs so readers can further explore the topics addressed within the pages.

Dr. Lindsay Herriot and Kate Fry have used their privilege as cis, white women to invite trans and non binary teens and scholars to share their experiences in the world. By amplifying their voices, Growing Up Trans is a powerful text and one that all readers should access, regardless of gender identity. On Trans Day of Visibility, these are the texts that will make the biggest impact in the lives of trans and non binary youth.

Ciel in All Directions

Ciel and their friends are back in a new tale about life in high school in Ciel in All Directions by Sophie Labelle.

Ciel has found their rhythm in high school. They hang with their friends Stephie and Liam, has joined the Gender and Sexuality Alliance at school and even spends time at the Montreal LGBT+ Centre. Their YouTube channel Ciel is Bored is really taking off, thanks to Dolores Von Tragic, aka Virgil and they are pretty content after all of the anxiety over the start of high school. They even take on a new platform, to become the CoPresident of the Gender and Sexuality Alliance at school.

The Ciel stories are so fantastic because they are really fun reads. Sophie Labelle writes about regular teenage stuff in her novels. Yes there is the added layer that many of these teenagers are trans, non-binary, queer or questioning but at their heart her stories are about the teenage experience with all of it’s anxiety and awkward, cringy moments. Of course there are moments in the story that only trans folx would experience, they serve to highlight the work still to be done to support trans teens but do not dominate the story. It’s so wonderful for readers to have a book that reflects their experiences and celebrates them.

Sophie Labelle makes sure to include many moments in the story that will leave readers thinking critically about the experiences of trans teens. Perhaps you are an ally or a trans person yourself. It’s powerful to read about other experiences and the way other people want to deal with these experiences. There is no black and white answer to these events, such as being refused access to a washroom because a barista has their own ideas of your gender. Each person navigates these experiences in a different way and it's amazing for teenage readers to have these stories as reflections of their own lives.