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readwithrhys 's review for:
The Passing Playbook
by Isaac Fitzsimons
I went into The Passing Playbook expecting a love story between two teenage boys who play soccer (which is the basic plot line). I knew going in one of them was transgender, but I was surprised at how MUCH I relate to Spencer. I’m trans like him, and his mom is such a great portrayal of how my mom is (sometimes!).
This book shows what it’s like to be transgender. It shows the hardships that some people have to live with (ex: transphobia, not being able to change your sex marker on a birth certificate, possibly being outed, and so much more). Not a lot of people realize how hard being trans is sometimes, and Spencer really shows that in this book. This is not some light fluffy contemporary read, it is about a trans guy living a normal life (as normal as one can be when trans).
While parents can be accepting, they sometimes don’t realize what small things can feel like you’re being invalidated. For Spencer, that came in the way of his parents not allowing him to try out for the boys soccer team at Oakley (the school he now attends) because they are worried that he isn’t able to keep up with the other boys. This may seem like an insignificant thing to cisgender people, but trust me, that is like a knife to the heart. By the time I came out as trans, I had quit sports. But just knowing the possibility of having to live through something like Spencer, it’s heart wrenching. In the end, however, parents do listen to their trans kids and start to realize that small, insignificant things to them are meaningful to trans kids.
The Passing Playbook is something that will forever stick with me. If my parents ever asked for a book recommendation that could further help them understand me and what it means to be transgender, this would be the first book that comes to mind. I think a lot of cisgender people could learn from this book about what not to say to a trans person. I’m not trying to throw shade, I get it, you don’t have to live through the hardships I do. But I allow for people to change, and I think this book could really help.
This book shows what it’s like to be transgender. It shows the hardships that some people have to live with (ex: transphobia, not being able to change your sex marker on a birth certificate, possibly being outed, and so much more). Not a lot of people realize how hard being trans is sometimes, and Spencer really shows that in this book. This is not some light fluffy contemporary read, it is about a trans guy living a normal life (as normal as one can be when trans).
While parents can be accepting, they sometimes don’t realize what small things can feel like you’re being invalidated. For Spencer, that came in the way of his parents not allowing him to try out for the boys soccer team at Oakley (the school he now attends) because they are worried that he isn’t able to keep up with the other boys. This may seem like an insignificant thing to cisgender people, but trust me, that is like a knife to the heart. By the time I came out as trans, I had quit sports. But just knowing the possibility of having to live through something like Spencer, it’s heart wrenching. In the end, however, parents do listen to their trans kids and start to realize that small, insignificant things to them are meaningful to trans kids.
The Passing Playbook is something that will forever stick with me. If my parents ever asked for a book recommendation that could further help them understand me and what it means to be transgender, this would be the first book that comes to mind. I think a lot of cisgender people could learn from this book about what not to say to a trans person. I’m not trying to throw shade, I get it, you don’t have to live through the hardships I do. But I allow for people to change, and I think this book could really help.