George by Alex Gino

The story takes places in New York City

Main Characters

• George/ Melissa is a 10 year old girl. She is on a journey of self discover. This means understanding who she is and being comfortable enough to share that with the world.
• Kelley is Melissa's best friend. She is supportive and embrasses Melissa throughout her journey.

George is about a 4th grade student who was assigned male at birth, but is female. This follows her journey of finding herself and being comfortable in her own skin.

Gender
One of the main focuses of this book is gender and gender roles. An example of this from the book is when Mellisa wanted to play charlotte in the play. This was seen as a girl part and because of her biology she wasn't given an equal opportunity. Throughout the book Melissa struggles with how society sees her and how she feels.

Culture
When it comes to culture this book brings awareness to the LGBTQ+ community as well as those against it. An example of this from the book is when Melissa is in the principal's office. She sees a poster with the word transgender on it and wonders if there are other girls like her.

Similarities
I related to Mellisa on a few different levels. Growing up I liked legos, playing in the mud, and video games. These are typically hobbies were seen as "boyish". Another reason I relate to her is because I had bullies in elementary school too. No matter what I did they wouldn't leave me alone. Lastly I also had one friend who was always there for me. Thick and thin she was there for me and I will always do the same for her.

Differences
When it comes to differences I honestly don't feel I have many except for not being transgender myself. I think Melissa is more of a relatable character for everyone than anything. However in my elementary school it didn't matter what gender the characters were in a play, we just choose the role we wanted to play.

Melissa's Mom
Although Melissa's mom may come across as unaccepting, this is imporant for the readers in my opinion. I think the author made this choice because sometimes things don't turn out the way we want them to and somethings just need time. At the end of the day this is her child and she will accept Melissa in her own time.

Principle Maldonado
This by far is the most supportive adult in this story. She ensures Melissa gets to finish the play as well as congratulating her on her performance. She makes a comment about Melissa's mom being supportive; “Well, you can’t control who your children are, but you can certainly support them, am I right?”

Gino, Alex. George (Scholastic Gold) (p. 160). Scholastic Inc.. Kindle Edition.

Ms.Udell
The adult I think had the most negative impact on Melissa is her teacher. She was cold and cruel to her student. Instead of being excited or encouraging she shut Melissa down time and time again. As teachers we should give students equal opportunities and be supportive.

Connections to Course
The first thing that came to mind was when we talked about privilege in week 4. The reason I thought of this was because in my book it talks about how Melissa felt when she had to think about what bathroom to use. This is something most people take for granted. Transgender people struggle with small decisions like this everyday. The video of the students taking steps forward and backward based on their privilege showed them just how different society can treat them. I think it could be interesting to do this with an LGBTQ+ version.

Connections to Course
Another thing we have talked about in class is microaggressions. Some microaggressions for transgender people are "You'll never be a REAL women", "When are you REALLY going to transition?". These are hurtful and harmful things to say whether we realize it or not. For more information follow the link:
https://www.glaad.org/blog/glaad-launches-trans-microaggressions-photo-proj...