And She Was
Publisher
Point
Publication Year
2018
ISBN
9781338150537
Pages
353 pages
Genre
realism
Format
novel
Item Type
Fiction
Annotation
When Dara finds her birth certificate, she is puzzled to find two strange names on it, but when her mother, Mellie, reveals that she is transgender and transitioned when Dara's biological mother died soon after Dara's birth, Dara is stunned and angry--and she sets off with her friend Sam, in search of the grandparents she never knew existed (and who may be able to fund her tennis career), and the family secrets she can only guess at.
Grade Level
6-8; 9-12
Diversity Topics
Family Relationships; LGBTQ (Gender and Sexuality); Disability and Health; Single parent; Family member death; Family violence; Transgender; Mental illness; single parent; single mother; death of a parent; death of a mother; family tragedy; accident; loss; abuse; violence; abusive parent; abusive mother; abusive father; violent parent; rage; transgender; transgender parent; transgender mother; transgender female; boy to girl; depression; suicidal thoughts and/or tendencies; therapy
Main Character
female teenager
Race/Ethnicities
White
Family Formation
single mother
LGBTQ+
transgender female
Keywords
tennis; teen angst; roadtrip; estranged grandparents; secrets; birth certificate; biological mother and father; running away
Diversity Impact
direct
STARS Citation
Verdi, Jessica, "And She Was" (2018). Diverse Families. 1486.
https://stars.library.ucf.edu/diversefamilies/1486