In Transition

April 15, 2024
Corbett, editor of the International Journal of Young Adult Literature, debuts with an enlightening study of how depictions of trans characters in YA novels have changed since the early 2000s. The first wave of trans YA literature consisted of what Corbett calls “problem novels,” which tended to be written by cisgender authors who portrayed “transgender identity as a problem to be overcome in a cisnormative society.” The 2010s saw a rise in novels written by trans authors, but, according to Corbett, marketing materials continued to prioritize cis readers. For instance, Corbett suggests that the descriptive copy for trans author Meredith Russo’s If I Was Your Girl (2016) treats the protagonist’s trans identity as an “exciting reveal” designed to “capitalize on the intrigue of cisgender consumers.” Elsewhere, Corbett posits that portrayals of trans children’s relationships with their cis parents in such books as Aiden Thomas’s Cemetery Boys (2020) upend traditional notions of parental authority by depicting trans children as experts on their “identities, experiences, and stories.” Corbett’s encyclopedic knowledge of trans YA literature buoys her close readings of C.B. Lee’s Not Your Villain (2017), Akwaeke Emezi’s Pet (2019), and other works, providing an incisive overview of trends in trans representation over the past 20 years. This perceptive inquiry enthralls.

July 12, 2024

An exploration of early and contemporary trans narratives in YA literature that discusses a variety of topics and concerns regarding marketing, memoirs, and more. Issues investigated include the prioritization of the education and comfort of cisgender readers over the inclusion of trans audience members, the unfortunate tendency of authors to problematize trans identity, and speculative fiction as a reliable vehicle for trans narratives. A section highlighting the significance of digital storytelling as disseminated by online trans content creators is relevant but awkwardly placed in the larger narrative. Peritextual content is highly focused upon but is not adequately defined for readers. Corbett additionally places high importance in overtly naming a character's trans identity to ensure findability for researchers, but in doing so fails to sufficiently acknowledge the nuances that exist in the large expanses of the queer experience. As trans narratives continue to be a primary target for censors, the impact of these challenges on publication and marketing is barely discussed. Overall, this text has value for research purposes but lacks a distinctive voice and readability. Extensive notes, a bibliography, and an index are provided. VERDICT An additional purchase where trans literary analyses are in high use.-Ingrid Conley-Abrams

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