02 May 2015

None of the Above

None of the Above by I.W. Gregorio is a coming of age book with a twist.

Kristin Latimer has everything going for her. She is the captain of the track team. She is dating a football player whom she loves. And she is going to Homecoming tonight with her boyfriend, her two best friends since before she could walk, and their dates. But after tonight her world will change.

Krissy has decided that homecoming night will be the night that she and Sam finally go all the way. However, after a painful attempt, she makes an appointment with an ob/gyn to make sure everything is alright. What the doctor finds, surprises them both.

Kristen has Androgen Insensitivity Syndrome, or AIS, which is an intersex condition. She was born with the external genitalia of a female, but some of her insides are male.

While Kristin and her father see other doctors and try to process the news, Kristen tells one friend. When she gets back to school the following Monday, everyone knows - or knows a distorted versions of the truth. She is called a man and harassed. The friends who would stick by her and/or hear her side before deciding are lost in the crowd.

Gregorio has written a great book about an eighteen year old girl questioning herself and trying to figure out what her diagnosis means for her life. This is a great and important book written beautifully and with compassion. Read it.

Gregorio, I.W. (2015). None of the Above. New York: Balzer and Bray.



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