At the age of five, Jazz Jennings’s transition to life as a girl put her in the public spotlight after she shared her story on national television. She’s since become one of the most recognizable and prominent advocates for transgender teens, through her TV show, interviews, and social media.
Jazz’s openness has led to bullying and mistreatment from those who don’t understand her choices. She’s fought for the right to use the girls’ bathroom and to play on a girls’ soccer team, paving the way for others. And in this book, Jazz faces an even greater struggle—dealing with the physical and social stresses of being a teen. But being on the front lines of trans activism doesn't stop Jazz from experiencing the joys of growing up, from day camp to first dates.
Jazz Jennings is one of the youngest and most prominent voices in the national discussion about gender identity. This remarkable memoir is a testament to the power of accepting yourself, learning to live an authentic life, and helping everyone to embrace their own truths.
@therefugeofbooks and @thelivebookproject both guessed one of the book covers correctly (the opposite ones to each other, too). Here are your (semi-)randomized recommendations!
Salvage/Keren David
Being Jazz: My Life As a Transgender Teen/Jazz Jennings (I especially recommend the audiobook)
Being Jazz: My Life as a (Transgender) Teen || Jazz Jennings || 256 pages
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Top 3 Genres: Non-Fiction / Memoir / GLBTQA
Synopsis: Jazz Jennings is one of the youngest and most prominent voices in the national discussion about gender identity. At the age of five, Jazz transitioned to life as a girl, with the support of her parents. A year later, her parents allowed her to share her incredible journey in her first Barbara Walters interview, aired at a time when the public was much less knowledgeable or accepting of the transgender community. This groundbreaking interview was followed over the years by other high-profile interviews, a documentary, the launch of her YouTube channel, a picture book, and her own reality TV series—I Am Jazz—making her one of the most recognizable activists for transgender teens, children, and adults.
In her remarkable memoir, Jazz reflects on these very public experiences and how they have helped shape the mainstream attitude toward the transgender community. But it hasn’t all been easy. Jazz has faced many challenges, bullying, discrimination, and rejection, yet she perseveres as she educates others about her life as a transgender teen. Through it all, her family has been beside her on this journey, standing together against those who don't understand the true meaning of tolerance and unconditional love. Now Jazz must learn to navigate the physical, social, and emotional upheavals of adolescence—particularly high school—complicated by the unique challenges of being a transgender teen. Making the journey from girl to woman is never easy—especially when you began your life in a boy’s body.
Being Jazz: My Life as a (Transgender) Teen || Jazz Jennings || 256 pages
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Top 3 Genres: Non-Fiction / Memoir / GLBTQA
Synopsis: Jazz Jennings is one of the youngest and most prominent voices in the national discussion about gender identity. At the age of five, Jazz transitioned to life as a girl, with the support of her parents. A year later, her parents allowed her to share her incredible journey in her first Barbara Walters interview, aired at a time when the public was much less knowledgeable or accepting of the transgender community. This groundbreaking interview was followed over the years by other high-profile interviews, a documentary, the launch of her YouTube channel, a picture book, and her own reality TV series—I Am Jazz—making her one of the most recognizable activists for transgender teens, children, and adults.
In her remarkable memoir, Jazz reflects on these very public experiences and how they have helped shape the mainstream attitude toward the transgender community. But it hasn’t all been easy. Jazz has faced many challenges, bullying, discrimination, and rejection, yet she perseveres as she educates others about her life as a transgender teen. Through it all, her family has been beside her on this journey, standing together against those who don't understand the true meaning of tolerance and unconditional love. Now Jazz must learn to navigate the physical, social, and emotional upheavals of adolescence—particularly high school—complicated by the unique challenges of being a transgender teen. Making the journey from girl to woman is never easy—especially when you began your life in a boy’s body.
Finished: March 30th, 2017.
Progress: 6 / 50. 12% complete.
My Rating: ★★★★★. [5/5]
My Review: [Under the read more - SPOILER FREE]
I finished this book a couple days back, and I'm having a really, really hard time articulating just WHY it was so damned good.
I mean. Just the fact that it's excellent exposure and representation of trans people told in own voices - *particularly* about transitioning at a young age - is enough reason to praise this book to the ends of the earth and back.
Case in point: two different people who saw me reading this book at work were like "Wow, she transitioned at FIVE? I would have never let my child do that, I'd tell them 'you're too young you don't know what you want yet!' haha!", while seeming to completely forget that we let young girls fawn over boys and think toddler kisses are cute and dress baby boys in "ladies' man" t-shirts and the like all the time. And THOSE children are never told "you're too young you don't know what you want yet." *coughheteronormativitycough*
Children know EXACTLY what they want. It's up to us as adults to check our pride and expectations at the door and *let them be.* Identity issues aren't reserved for those whose age is in the double digits.
THAT is probably my personal favorite thing to come of this book, and of Jazz's advocacy in general - to prove that this whole business can (and often does) start very, very young.
Trans representation and exposure are very close seconds. This is a FANTASTIC book for cisgender people (people identifying as the gender they were born as; even though the book never uses or explains that term) to read as an introduction to what being transgender is, and it has several little asides throughout that explain certain do's and don't's in terms of what to say and how to act when interacting with trans people or trying to learn more about them. It is SUCH a good place to start with educating yourself. The resources section in the back of the book helps SPECTACULARLY with this as well.
Generally - I think everyone should pick this book up (and others like it), even if activism and advocacy aren't your thing. It's part of integrating yourself into what society *is* (and has been since humans were humans), and understanding and accepting your fellow human beings without being a shithole about it.
Educate yourself. Learn. Listen. Be better.
And this book is an excellent place to start.
(Might I add Jazz sounds like such a wonderful person and I would greatly enjoy having her or someone like her as a close friend of mine - regardless of the fact that she's ten years younger than me. I need people like her in my life.)
Jazz Jennings is one of the youngest and most prominent voices in the national discussion about gender identity. At the age of five, Jazz transitioned to life as a girl, with the support of her parents. A year later, her parents allowed her to share her incredible journey in her first Barbara Walters interview, aired at a time when the public was much less knowledgeable or accepting of the transgender community. This groundbreaking interview was followed over the years by other high-profile interviews, a documentary, the launch of her YouTube channel, a picture book, and her own reality TV series—I Am Jazz—making her one of the most recognizable activists for transgender teens, children, and adults.
In her remarkable memoir, Jazz reflects on these very public experiences and how they have helped shape the mainstream attitude toward the transgender community. But it hasn't all been easy. Jazz has faced many challenges, bullying, discrimination, and rejection, yet she perseveres as she educates others about her life as a transgender teen. Through it all, her family has been beside her on this journey, standing together against those who don't understand the true meaning of tolerance and unconditional love. Now Jazz must learn to navigate the physical, social, and emotional upheavals of adolescence—particularly high school—complicated by the unique challenges of being a transgender teen. Making the journey from girl to woman is never easy—especially when you began your life in a boy's body.
Mod opinion: I haven't read this memoir yet, but I do find it important that this memoir exists and I remember that just seeing it in stores made me smile when it first came out as it was one of the first books dealing with trans kids that I encountered.
A memoir written—and performed—by a teenager and a traditional text novel by a well known comics writer join forces to prove to teen listeners that becoming your best self isn’t just a matter of luck. Jazz Jennings’s BEING JAZZ takes listeners into the world of a young woman who was aware of her gender identity and willing and supported to acknowledge it early in life; her memoir is a good beginning point for any listener who isn’t sure what exactly “transgender” means, or who has been, up to now, too sure that they are alone in feeling out of place in their gender assignment. She’s warm, smart, and aware that not only is she breaking outmoded limitations with her identity, but she also has work to do as an activist in the field of transgender youth civil rights.
Mariko Tamaki became a well-known name in publishing when she and her cousin Jillian Tamaki won well-deserved awards from many quarters for their graphic novel This One Summer. Both cousins have published other titles as well, with cartoonist Jillian now a picture book author as well, and writer Mariko scripting Hulk comics and more. With SAVING MONTGOMERY SOLE, Mariko Tamaki pushes past the comics writer identity to publish a teen novel in traditional text format. Rebecca Lowman, a narrator distinguished for her ability to work with all kinds of books, including adult and young adult fiction, genre fiction, and nonfiction, as well as participating in full cast productions and as a single voice performer, brings this novel off the page, showing the storytelling prowess Mariko Tamaki produces with words alone. The story here, too, is of yet another young woman who is caught in that very teenaged torture of feeling out of place and not fitting into the social world she sees around her. Tamaki allows her heroine to discover her own self-awareness and get past those limitations she’s put in place with her earlier uncertainty.
Titles chosen for AudiobookSYNC are intended to entertain as well as offer insights, support, and/or awareness. Certainly both these Listening Library audiobooks fulfill all those potentials, and each gives listening readers a new friend with a story about pushing past unhelpful boundaries. ~Francisca
Wow, looks like this was a week of review posts! I didn’t even notice until writing up this weekly update!
In case you missed it, here are this week’s blog posts:
Review: All American Boys by Jason Reynolds & Brendan Kiely
Review: Let It Snow by John Green, Maureen Johnson, & Lauren Myracle
Top Ten Tuesday: Books I Really Liked But Hardly Remember
Review: Prince Player by BB Hamel
Review: Being Jazz by Jazz Jennings
Review: Axl by Riley Rollins
Here’s what I’ve been reading:
At the Stroke of Midnight by Tara Sivec
Scrappy Little Nobody by Anna Kendrick
These Things I’ve Done by Rebecca Philips
Between the World and Me by Ta-Nehisi Coates
One Of Us Is Lying by Karen McManus
Recently acquired:
Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine by Gail Honeyman (library hold)
Five things this week:
My mom and I live a thousand miles apart, and since we both work full-time jobs, it can be kind of hard to find time to see each other. We’re thinking about taking a trip to Nashville this spring. Have you been there? (Do you live there?!) Anything you’d recommend that we do or any hotels where we should stay?
I don’t know when I’m going to find the time (I have nine books waiting on reviews right now plus the two I’m currently reading) but I really really really want to read this week’s Riveted pick, At the Edge of the Universe by Shaun David Hutchinson. I wish I could take a personal day to sit at home and read.
Have you ever thought that you knew somebody and they just turned around did the absolute worst thing? Definitely happened this week at work when one of our doctors went from being nice and reasonable to accusing us of spying on his personal life and putting in his resignation. The drama of it all!!!
I’ve decided that I’m going to make a concerted effort this year to read more nonfiction. As you may have noticed, I don’t normally read a lot of nonfiction. But I’ve recently realized the vast library of audiobooks offered by my library, so why the heck not? I might as well learn something while I clean the house and do the dishes! (And hopefully, it’ll give me something reasonable to discuss with the more ~cultured~ people in my life.)
Ta-Nehisi Coates’ Between the World and Me is a great book. I’ll expand on this more in my eventual review, but suffice it to say (for now) that I was so entranced with the audiobook that I nearly cut my finger off while cleaning up from dinner. It was a rather grisly scene in my kitchen, and I’m kind of doing everything one-handed right now, but all my limbs are intact and I think I’ll live.
