Out of Blue Comes Green

Gr 9 Up–Seventeen-year-old high school senior and trans boy Kinkade longs to be accepted. He is the frontman of his band, Blue, and when he cuts his hair and performs in front of his classmates, the bullying starts. In addition, he is dealing with his crush on his classmate Christine, the recent death of his beloved dog Sasha, and his mother’s refusal to accept him. He struggles with being masculine “enough” and finding a place in his high school where classmates and teachers support trans youth. Once he finds a job at an area animal shelter, meets a new girl who shows a romantic interest in him, and has hope his band will play prom, his life starts to turn around. With so much going on in Kinkade’s life, it feels like the novel doesn’t fully explore any of the storylines. In addition, the lack of any LGBTQIA+ programming at an urban school feels more realistic for a narrative set in the 1990s than in 2024.