Nicely written story about a young trans girl (I think she's about ten?) coming out to her friends and community. It's overall pretty positive, though there are some realistic bumps in the road - particularly the mother's ongoing reactions, though she does come around somewhat at the end. The supportive older brother was a pleasant surprise, though, and Melissa's best friend Kelly was clearly going to be a major ally from the get go. The focus on Charlotte's Web as a way of exploring identity was one designed to appeal to fans of that book - which I am - though again, it was fairly obvious the way that storyline would turn out.

I think the thing I liked best here, though, was the childish tone. I haven't read a lot of coming-out fiction, and what I have read has tended towards older characters. All the kids here are very young, though, so even though the subject matter could be challenging, it was leavened with a lot of entertaining commentary. Melissa's worried about how her family will react, yes, but there's also the disgusted delight at the kid who throws up macaroni in PE and the possibility of dealing with bullies by being a "vomiting machine gun," which very much cements this as a children's book - Melissa very much feels like a young girl, and not a ten year old masquerading as an older teen. It's a quick, enjoyable read, and the optimistic ending is appreciated.