The book follows the story of transgender identities and the gender stereotypes that lead to discrimination. The narrator of the story, Logan Witherspoon, finds himself falling in love with a trans student called Sage Hendricks. Sage is a newly admitted student in Logan’s school. Her parents have warned her against dating or revealing her true gender due to the backlash she might experience. However, Sage seems to have fallen in love with Logan defying her parents’ advice. When Logan kisses her, Sage informs him about her true gender. The revelation instigates Sage’s trouble.
The gender discourse explored through this story reflects real-life experiences endured by transgender individuals. Sage suffers at the hands of the people she considers friends. Logan severs ties with Sage because she has identified herself as transgender. The author portrays Logan as Sage’s lover who turns out to be a bully after gender revelation. Sexist slurs featured in the book reflect insults imperiled to young females in a patriarchal society. For instance, Logan claims Brenda didn’t turn heads and she was lucky to have someone like him. Such statements are demeaning to women.
The physical descriptions of young women in the book are disparaging. For example, the depiction of Tanya as a fat girl with big breasts indicates that the plot was set in a gender nonconforming society. When Logan breaks up with Brenda, he evaluates her negatively. Similarly, Logan uses transphobic slurs when he falls out with Sage. The painful experiences endured by most characters in the novel reflect agonizing moments suffered by young persons. However, such challenges among young persons can only be addressed through literature canons.
