Almost Perfect by Brian Katcher

To my knowledge, their are very few books written for teens with transgender characters. I have read Luna by Julie Anne Peters, told by the sister of a M to F girl and Parrotfish by Ellen Wittlinger, from the point of view of a F to M guy, and appreciated both, for their excellent writing and the authors' willingness to break new ground and tell the stories of people we haven't before met on the page. Brian Katcher continues this work, introducing us to high school senior Sage, a girl with a big secret, and Logan, her classmate and friend who falls for her.


This is Logan's story, as he struggles with his complicated relationship with Sage. Living in a small Missouri town, Logan has recently been betrayed and dumped after a three year relationship, and is wary of females. Then Sage shows up in his biology class. She is living as pretty, fun-filled girl, and no one, Logan included, has any idea that she was born biologically male. He likes her and then hopes to date her. After Sage reveals her secret to Logan, he struggles with the truth. What does his attraction to Sage say about him? Can he continue to be her friend and lend her support when her parents won't? Could Logan and Sage possibly still be more than friends? And what if her secret is discovered by others?

Katcher has created characters that you enjoy one minute and want to shake the next, but that you always care about. In Sage, he shows the courage that transgender people must have just to live their lives being true to who they are. Though Sage's road is rough and sometimes dangerous and Logan is shaken out his comfort zone, they continue to grow. They work through issues of trust, love, honesty and beginning anew in this bittersweet novel.