Almost perfect

Format:

Book

Title:

Almost perfect

Author:

Katcher, Brian.

ISBN:

9780385736640

9780385906203

9780375893797

9780385736657

Edition:

1st ed.

Publication Information:

Physical Description:

360 pages ; 22 cm

Number in series:

2011.

General Note:

"Book design by Cathy Bobak"--Title page verso

Summary:

With his mother working long hours and in pain from a romantic break-up, eighteen-year-old Logan feels alone and unloved until a zany new student arrives at his small-town Missouri high school, keeping a big secret.

Program Information:

Accelerated Reader UG 4.5 13.

Reading Counts High School 4.5 21.

Subject(s):

Dating (Social customs) -- Juvenile fiction.

High schools -- Juvenile fiction.

Schools -- Juvenile fiction.

Friendship -- Juvenile fiction.

Identity (Philosophical concept) -- Juvenile fiction.

Transgender people -- Juvenile fiction.

Single-parent families -- Juvenile fiction.

Dating (Social customs) -- Fiction.

High schools -- Fiction.

Schools -- Fiction.

Friendship -- Fiction.

Identity -- Fiction.

Transgender people -- Fiction.

Single-parent families -- Fiction.

Missouri -- Juvenile fiction.

Missouri -- Fiction.

Geographic Term:

Missouri -- Juvenile fiction.

Genre:

Added Author:

Added Corporate Author:

Delacorte Press.

Holds:

Available:*

Library	Call Number	Status
Searching... Jefferson Public Library	TEEN KATCHER, B.	Searching... Unknown
Searching... Woodburn Public Library	Katcher	Searching... Unknown

Bound With These Titles

On Order

Summary

Whether you're trans, gay, lesbian, bi, queer, questioning, or straight, this winner of the Stonewall Children's & Young Adult Literature Award will make you marvel at the beauty of human connection and the irrepressible nature of love.

Everyone has that one line they swear they'll never cross, the one thing they say they'll never do. We draw the line. Maybe we even believe it.

Sage Hendricks was my line.

Logan Witherspoon befriends Sage Hendricks at a time when he no longer trusts or believes in people. As time goes on, he finds himself drawn to Sage, pulled in by her deep, but sexy feminine voice and her constant smile. Eventually Logan's feelings for Sage grow so strong that he can't resist kissing her. Moments later, he wishes he never had. Sage finally discloses her big secret: she was born a boy. Enraged, frightened, and feeling betrayed, Logan lashes out at Sage. Once his anger has cooled, however, his regrets lead him to attempt to rekindle their friendship. But it's hard to replace something that's been broken--and it's even harder to find your way back to friendship when you began with love.

***

"Tackles issues of homophobia, hate crimes and stereotyping with humor and grace in an accessible tone that will resonate with teens." - Kirkus Reviews

"It is Sage's story that is truly important." - SLJ

"Teens--both those familiar with transgender issues and those who are not--will welcome the honest take on a rarely explored subject." - Booklist

"A sensitive examination of the seldom treated subject of transgender teens." - VOYA

Author Notes

Brian Katcher is the author of Playing with Matches, and a school librarian. He lives in Missouri with his wife and daughter. You can visit him on the Web at www.briankatcher.com .

Reviews (3)

School Library Journal Review

Gr 8 Up-Logan Witherspoon is nursing a broken heart after finding out that his girlfriend of three years cheated on him. Sage, the quirky new girl in his biology class-a true novelty in a small town where he has known nearly all his classmates since kindergarten-provides a welcome distraction. Sage is clever and cute and, Logan is stunned to learn, biologically male. The challenges faced by transgender teens are revealed through Sage's experiences and reflected via Logan's "every guy" perspective. His struggles with conflicting emotions about Sage are skillfully explored in Brian Katcher's Stonewall award-winning prose (Delacorte, 2009). Kirby Heyborne brings the first-person narration to life, complete with gentle shifts in voice to denote different speakers and to clearly indicate whether Logan is speaking aloud or as an aside to listeners. The realistic characters speak like real-life teenagers, including occasional cursing. Sexual situations are described with minimal detail, primarily occurring "off-page." A sensitive exploration of a topic underrepresented in YA literature, this candid novel is recommended for high school and public libraries.-Beth Gallego, Los Angeles Public Library, CA (c) Copyright 2012. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.

Kirkus Review

Katcher flawlessly channels the worried and confused voice of a straight teenage boy in this honest and uncompromising take on transgender love. High-school senior Logan is stunned when outgoing new girl Sage reveals she is biologically a boy after they kiss for the first time. Logan realistically cycles through denial, anger and anxiety, finally reaching acceptance but constantly wondering whether he is brave enough to shrug off the deeply ingrained conventions of his rural upbringing. Sage is just as candidly drawn, struggling to balance her fear of being found out with her need to be seen as a "normal" girl. Domestic drama and personal tragedy ensue, and while the ending is not necessarily a happy one, both characters come full circle and begin to better understand both themselves and each other. The author tackles issues of homophobia, hate crimes and stereotyping with humor and grace in an accessible tone that will resonate with teens who may not have encountered the issue of transgender identity before. An excellent companion piece to Ellen Wittlinger's Parrotfish (2007) and Jean Ferris's Eight Seconds (2000). (Fiction. 14 up) Copyright Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.

Booklist Review

Transsexuality is the issue in this candid novel told from the viewpoint of Logan, a high-school senior in a small Missouri town. The story quickly moves from Logan's attraction to Sage, a cute, strange new girl at school, to his shock at the discovery that Sage was born male and is in transition to become a female. More than anything, Logan worries that once Sage's identity is revealed, people will think that he is gay for being attracted to a boy. Then Sage attempts suicide, and Logan feels guilty about failing her. Unlike Sage's brutal father, though, Logan never denies that Sage is a she. The story is long and repetitive, and the messages are overt, but many teens both those familiar with transgender issues and those who are not will welcome the honest take on a rarely explored subject. The biological facts about hormones and Sage's changing body are woven in, and Katcher clearly dramatizes the characters' secrets, lies, shame, and denial, as well as the cruel prejudice they experience with family and friends.--Rochman, Hazel Copyright 2010 Booklist