Gino, Alex. Green. Scholastic, 2023. 978-1-33877-614-0. $17.99. 224 p. Grades 3-6.

Green Gibson, a non binary student at Jung Middle School, is excited about the upcoming musical The Wizard of Oz.  The students in Spectrum, the LGBTQIA+ club, have even convinced the director to cast the roles without regard to gender to give more students a chance. Green is thrilled to be part of the stage crew, especially when they find out their crush Ronnie is also on the crew. Green and Ronnie have a blast when they hang out together in Spectrum and at play rehearsals, but Green thinks Ronnie identifies as straight, and Green is not exactly sure how to broach that subject. While Green is trying to figure out Ronnie, their body is going through its own changes, and Green isn’t sure how they feel about them. These are changes that typically happen to females, but Green doesn’t identify as either gender, so it sometimes feels like their body is betraying them. Green has to figure out where they stand with Ronnie while also embracing the complexity of puberty and the challenges that brings to a nonbinary tween.

THOUGHTS: Fans of Gino’s Melissa and Rick will enjoy revisiting the same characters found in those two books. Green’s internal dialogue can sometimes feel a little forced, but it is still a feel-good story. Gino handles the topic of gender identity with gentle care and without any graphic details.

Realistic Fiction