This is How It Always Is was emotional, touching and at times a bit saccharine but I loved every page!

This is a story of love, family and acceptance. It is also the story of young Claude who has gender dysphoria. Claude is the youngest of Rosie & Penn's five children and the result of their final attempt at having a daughter after 4 boys. Claude was a special child and a perfect addition to the family. He walked and talked at 9 months and was baking 3-tier cakes and writing and illustrating mysteries at age 3. By the time Claude was 5, what he wanted more than anything was to "grow up and become a little girl".

"You can't tell people what to be, I'm afraid. You can only love and support who they already are."

Rosie and Penn's lives had never been what would be considered "traditional" by most people. They saw that Claude's desire to wear a dress wasn't a curiosity or a passing fancy. Together the entire family forges ahead on the emotionally wrought path to support Claude as he becomes Poppy.

Although Frankel chose to make the family almost overly accepting (thus my comment about it being saccharine at times) the story was balanced by the honest confusion, fears and emotion displayed. It wasn't easy - the decisions made were fraught with worry from both Penn & Rosie, Poppy and even the other children. We see heartbreak and prejudice and mistakes made along the way.

There were lessons to be learned within the pages of this story. I applaud Frankel for not shying away from them but for presenting them with love and honesty. Frankel herself has a transgender child and you can clearly see this story was an honest work written from her heart and rooted in personal experience.

I leave you with one final thought made by Laurie Frankel in the Author's note:"I wish for my child, for all our children, a world where they can be who they are and become their most loved, blessed, appreciated selves." Me too, Laurie! Me too!