Middle grade books are outside of my milieu, but Alex Gino’s work caught my attention. When Banned Book Week rolled around, Melissa was very proudly displayed. Book Riot’s censorship correspondent Kelly Jensen encourages readers to borrow controversial books from the library, as a show of support. As I’d already followed her other suggestion to contact my government representatives, Melissa found its way into my bag.

Melissa is a young girl who’s fresh from figuring out she’s transgender. She knows she wants to tell her friends and family, but struggles with how to articulate herself. When her teacher announces a class production of Melissa’s favorite book Charlotte’s Web, Melissa realizes that playing Charlotte will be fun, rewarding, and may help articulate her girlhood to others. Her best friend Kelly is so down with this plan.

Melissa is an incredibly wholesome, cute story. The coming out arc has some realistic struggles, but nothing too intense for a young middle schooler to read. I think people who struggle to understand gender euphoria (feeling supreme joy about one’s gender) will especially find Melissa helpful. Though contentious gender journeys are often the focus of big-budget narratives, being trans is also about the joy. This book made me point-blank happy, and all the happier because of Melissa’s bright future ahead. Good times!