I Am J    by Cris Beam Order:  USA  Can Little, Brown & Co., 2011 (2011) Hardcover Read an Excerpt      Reviewed by Ricki Marking-Camuto Many YA novels tackle tough issues that teens face - topics that range from first lovers and break-ups to the more emotional divorce or death of a loved one. And some face more difficult issues head-on – issues such as drugs, alcohol, teen pregnancy, suicide. While more and more YA books are cropping up that focus on teens coming to terms with their own sexuality, I Am J is the first I have ever seen for teens with a main character who is transgendered. At its core, though, Cris Beam has written a story that any teen can relate to – figuring out who you really are. Growing up, J Silver always knew something was wrong. Not with him, but with other people. Everyone called him a girl when he knew he was a boy. It was not until he got older that he learned that, physically, he was a girl. But J knows he is a boy, and wants the whole world to know too. In order to succeed, he has to look and act the part of a boy. But to do so, he feels he has to keep it a secret. Everyone from his life, his parents and best friend included, think he is a lesbian, so J becomes determined to start a new life. First, he begins skipping school, binding his chest, and going to the Village where he meets a girl. When his parents find out about his missing school, he tries to run away. He eventually winds up at a hostel for GLBT youth where he discovers there is a high school for others like him. For once, J realizes he is not in this alone, but he still has a long way to go to become the man he wants to be. The beginning of I Am J is very melancholy, and I found myself disliking J's choices and wanting to scream at him. Very rarely does a character elicit this type of response from me. I also felt very distanced from him, especially since his life was almost the complete opposite of mine. As the story progressed, though, I began to see J more as a real person than a character in a book, and began to see more of the teenagers I know, as well as some of myself in him. It was at this point that I realized why it was written in third person instead of first person as the title would suggest: J is a modern Everyman (or maybe Everyteen would be more accurate). Beam did an amazing job in creating such a complex, unique, yet universal character. As I was reading I Am J, I was reminded of a non-fiction piece I reviewed a few years ago called Transparent, which was about transgirls in LA. I Am J was very similar except it was fictional, the main character was a transboy, and it took place in NYC. It was not until I read the Author's Note at the end that I realized that the same person wrote both. It states that Beam wanted to bring the world of transguys to light in a form geared towards teens – and I Am J does exactly that. Note: Opinions expressed in reviews and articles on this site are those of the author(s) and not necessarily those of BookLoons. Find more Teens books on our Shelves or in our book Reviews