i haven't read it...

...but i think i should.

i'm talking about choir boy. i'm shamelessly stealing the bitch summertime book review of it because it's too tasty to skip.

Choir Boy
Charlie Anders
{Soft Skull Press}

Like most coming-of-age novels, Choir Boy is a story about growing pains, and finding the strength and courage it takes to be yourself. But the premise of Charlie Anders’s first novel is as unusual as its oddball protagonist, “the cutest choir boy this side of Vienna,” 12-year-old Berry Sanchez.

Berry’s greatest - and only - aspiration is to remain in his noble cassock and hit the high notes forever like the male sopranos he’s read about. After a failed attempt at self-made castratidom and a serendipitous turn of events, Berry decides to preserve his angelic voice by modern-day means: testosterone-inhibiting hormones.

With the help of flamboyant transsexual Maura, who sees a burgeoning t-girl to take under her wing, Berry eagerly ingests the pills that will save his vocal chords from going to hell in a handbasket. But little does he realize that they are also designed to make him into a full-fledged girl in the process. Soon he’s budding B-cups to rival those of his choir girl crush, and his best friend is wondering why Berry wants to go girl all of a sudden.

More of a misfit than ever, Berry and his or her gender becomes one big question mark. Searching for the answer, Berry seeks advice from a peculiar array of sources and is caught up in a whirlwind of adventures, including a makeover by a teen-magazine editor and a run-in with a band of hedonists.

i'm stepping in now also to note that the author's magazine, which rocks, isn't technically other (as you are about to read) but is rather [check] other - it has a big checkmark in a box before the word "other" and it's clearly intended to have this specific meaning. its contents are definitely in line with the story of this book, for example.

and pick up a copy of [check] other when you get a chance - it's zine-y but interesting, and most issues are "doubled" - two covers with opposing issues (boy v. girl, self v. other, etc.).

Anders, editor of Other magazine, author of The Lazy Crossdresser, and a former choirboy, steers clear of maudlin characterizations of victimized trannies (though the threat of violence and fear of discovery is constant). She tells her story of a choirboy with a voice box of gold in a dispassionate third-person narrative peppered with wry wit.

Berry (“like the fruit”) is not a trans saint or martyr, but a resilient, quirky, ambiguously gendered kid with an unconventional dream. Although the episodic novel sometimes jumps with made-for-TV cuts that string mini-scenes together, and relies too much on action and dialogue to carry the weight of the story, Berry’s twists of fate and the wacky cast of characters encountered along the way make the book’s rough spots easier to ignore.

you can read the conclusion of the review here.

sounds like a great summer read to me! ... now, if it weren't for all this extracurricular work i've been doing for w4d, maybe i'd be able to take a break and read some fiction.

whew, i'm sweating again. hard work.