Beautiful Music for Ugly Children by Kristin Cronn-Mills
by Sam Arnold-Boyd on Oct.27, 2014, under Bullying, Multicultural Fiction, Sam's Reviews
Review by Samrarian
Who would like this book? People interested in the transgender experience and music would appreciate this book. Its content makes it best for 8th grade and up.
The goods on this book: Gabe narrates his own story about transitioning to being the guy that he knows he is even though he was born as a girl and is known to all but his family and best friend as “Liz.” Gabe is counting the days to graduation from high school, when he feels that he can move and establish himself in his new identity. Meanwhile, his friendship with his hip grandfather-type neighbor nourishes his love of music and gains him a gig at spinning discs at the local radio station on Friday nights. Gabe calls his show “Beautiful Music for Ugly Children” and is able to be “Gabe” during this show, gaining a fan club called the Ugly Children Brigade that do his bidding. The narrative pushes toward an inevitable crisis climax that works because of the careful character development that has come before. Gabe’s story is significant to read, and Cronn-Mills includes a helpful explanation of vocabulary related to the transgender experience as an afterword.
The details: 271 pages; 2012 Review by Samrarian
