Wednesday, April 27, 2016

About A Girl - 'Astronomy Meets Mythology' in this Teen Novel Where Love and Identity Transcend Gender


About A Girl by Sarah McCarry

Eighteen-year-old Tally is absolutely sure of everything: her genius, the love of her adoptive family, the loyalty of her best friend, Shane, and her future career as a Nobel prize-winning astronomer. There's no room in her tidy world for heartbreak or uncertainty or the charismatic, troubled mother who abandoned her soon after she was born. But when a sudden discovery upends her fiercely ordered world, Tally sets out on an unexpected quest to seek out the reclusive musician who may hold the key to her past and instead finds Maddy, an enigmatic and beautiful girl who will unlock the door to her future. The deeper she falls in love with Maddy, the more Tally begins to realize that the universe is bigger and more complicated than she ever imagined. Can Tally face the truth about her family and find her way home in time to save herself from its consequences?


This YA novel, the final book in the author's Metamorphoses trilogy, has been nominated for the 2016 Lambda Literary Award. It's also on the 2016 Rainbow List put out by the ALA, which is where the 'Astronomy meets mythology' quote comes from. 

Add your review of "About A Girl" in comments!

3 comments:

Alyssa said...

Hi!

I read About a Girl, and the main character is actually canonically bisexual/pansexual, not lesbian. I don't remember what word, if any, she uses to identify herself, but she's attracted to/falls in love with both male and female characters in the book.

Also, her best guy friend, Shane, is trans--more representation, yay!

~Alyssa

Lee Wind, M.Ed. said...

Hi Alyssa,
thanks so much for clarifying - I've made the correction.
And yes, Hurray for more representation all around!
Lee

Dana Lawrence said...

Shane was born female but transitioned to male, and Tally was in love with him for much of their lives together, both prior to and after transition. Maddy is, of course, female, and perhaps monster. :-)

The book was wonderful in the most basic meaning of the word, full of wonder. An amazing read, which goes nowhere you think it will. I finished it today (May5, and how coincidental I find this linked here as well!