Opting Out

Gr 5-7–Saachi is just beginning seventh grade when several life transitions start. Her family, with her sister and even her Indian aunties, start to get on her nerves, her first menstruation hits, and crushes are sweeping the school. There is a plethora of material for her journal, but none more so than her thoughts about her gender identity. This title is a to-the-point narrative where Saachi expresses her thoughts and feelings through these diary entries and out loud. As she grapples with questions of identity and learns to think for herself, she becomes a stand-in for tweens facing similar uncertainties in their own lives. Through her questions and reactions, Saachi is a character in which many readers will recognize themselves. The dialogue and art are more similar in style to graphic memoirs, even though this has some idealized support lines that feel contrived. While much of the first half focuses on Saachi’s frustrations, she bounces back with renewed optimism, especially as she discovers her storytelling prowess.