1. A Book Review - George (recently renamed Melissa) by Alex Gino. 2. BRAVE Books is bringing Kirk Cameron to The Woodlands!!
1. A Book Review - George (recently renamed Melissa) by Alex Gino. 2. BRAVE Books is bringing Kirk Cameron to The Woodlands!!
This is a book about a young boy named George who believes he is a girl. Scroll to the end of this post for details about the next Brave Books story hour with KIRK CAMERON!!!
This book can be found in the following libraries in Montgomery County:
FOUR Montgomery County Memorial Libraries: Central Library - Conroe, South Regional Library - The Woodlands, Tullis Library - New Caney, Mitchell Library - West Woodlands
ELEVEN Conroe ISD Libraries: Bozman Intermediate, Mitchell Intermediate, Veterans Memorial Intermediate, Irons Junior High School, Knox Junior High School, Peet Junior High School, Stockton Junior High School, Caney Creek High School, Grand Oaks High School, The Woodlands College Park High School, and The Woodlands High School
The Review
(Note: I will use pronouns that match biological gender. If this bothers you, don’t read. This substack isn’t for you. Here is a helpful statement from Rosaria Champagne about why she no longer uses preferred pronouns.)
The book George follows a young fourth grade boy who believes he’s a girl. He hasn’t told anyone this yet as the book begins. As the book progresses, he begins to share with his friend and family.
George collects teen girl magazines and imagines if he were one of them. George wants to be Melissa. Here he is reminiscing while looking at the magazine pictures of groups of girls having fun:
George’s class is reading Charlotte’s Web and George is touched and cries. His teacher encourages him but upsets him unintentionally.
A transgender identifying child is terrified of growing up to be the grownup version of their biological gender. This is common thread in these books.
Many of these books are instructive with all the various possibilities in transitioning. Interestingly enough, the author mentions medical transition which is illegal for minors in Texas.
George’s grade is producing a Charlotte’s Web play for the school and parents. George decided to audition for the part of Charlotte, but his teacher explains that too many girls want the part, so she cannot cast him. His best friend Kelly, a girl, is cast in his place.
He explains to Kelly that he believes he is a girl, and she has had time to process this at this point in the book.
This is another interesting common theme in these books, instructions to cover your tracks and hide your internet searches from your parents.
Later George’s mom finds his teen girl magazines:
George’s mother assumes George is gay, and when he tries to explain that he believes he’s a girl, she laughs it off, and makes a good point:
"Is that what this is about? Oh, Gee, I was there when you were born. I changed your diapers, and I promise you, you are one hundred percent boy.
Besides, you're only ten years old. You don't know how you'll feel in a few years."
Later, Kelly and George agree to secretly change places so George can play Charlotte (the spider in Charlotte’s Web) during the second performance.
After the performance the principal approaches George and his mom.
Hmmmm….if we go back in time, you might understand better. In chapter 8 George was in the principal’s office and sees her wall:
Remember that “safe” means everyone agrees with you. Jumping back to chapter 10, here is what came next.
Remember that people who believe in this ideology do not see this as grooming. In their eyes, this teacher is possibly saving this child from an abusive mom. Not accepting her son’s identity is abusive. Some states are removing children from homes of families who do not affirm their child’s gender identity.
Later on, Kelly invites George to come to the zoo with her, secretly as a girl. Her Uncle who offered to take her and a friend, has never met George and might not realize he’s a boy. This is all a big secret of course.
Meanwhile, mom decides to take advice from the experts and go to a gender-affirming therapist.
There is a long Q&A at the end for the author to educate the reader. Here is a quote from this section:
Notice the raving reviews from the literary journals below. These are the literary journals our library system uses to choose books.
This completes my review of George (Melissa) by Alex Gino. Please subscribe for more updates. Share this post with friends so they can also be aware.
Finally, we have details about the next BRAVE Books Story Hour!!
YES, Kirk Cameron is coming! You won’t want to miss this one!
Date/time: September 23rd @ 9am
Location: South Regional Library; 2101 Lake Robins Dr.; The Woodlands, TX 77380
Brave Books announced the event Saturday on the following post about the ALA President’s comments at a recent Marxist Conference:
You can also find footage of the content from by the journalist Karlyn Borysenko, who broke the story on our social media. Here is her substack post:
Kirk Cameron will be reading The Island of Free Ice Cream by Jack Posobiec, which warns of the dangers of communism. This book is EXCELLENT, and we look forward to hearing from Kirk Cameron about this important topic.