3.5 stars, really. I am resisting the urge to give it 4 or 5 stars because it would only be in comparison to the other horrible clunkers I (tried to) read recently, [b:I am J|8140535|I am J|Cris Beam|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1305820681s/8140535.jpg|12936997] and [b:Parrotfish|522782|Parrotfish|Ellen Wittlinger|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1348477148s/522782.jpg|510662]. I didn't make it more than ten pages into either of those books, and they happen to be Beautiful Music's main competition in the trans subset of YA Issue Books.

Beautiful Music for Ugly Children builds some lovable characters and interesting, complicated relationships. Cronn-Mills doesn't spend much time with Gabe's parents, but their reactions are contradictory, pained, confused, and loving, in a way that feels realistic. Gabe and Paige's relationship explores all kinds of new territory for them and resists resolution. Gabe and John, Gabe and Mara, John and Gabe's family---I could go on, but they all resist easy categories and they're all interesting.

The issues Gabe runs into around being trans are handled very well (yay!!), even if it dips into melodrama sometimes. Beautiful Music for Ugly Children mostly succeeds at being a book about a person who has other interests and other things going on in his life, and also happens to be trans. I hope other books will do it even better in the future, but this is, so far, the cream of the crop. ( )

Original de: El Blog del Gato - El Extraño Gato del Cuento

Me encantaría decir que amé Beautifull Music for Ugly Children de principio a fin, no fue asi, aunque tiene varios puntos importantes que quizá te animen a elegir este libro para una futura lectura.

Primero, creo que es mi primer libro donde quién narra la historia tiene más que decidido que el género con el que nació no es el adecuado y esta haciendo todo lo posible para que su familia y sus pocos amigos acepten quién es. Esa idea, además del curioso titulo, fue lo que llamó mi curiosidad.

¿Obtuve lo que esperaba? ¿O fue una historia que solo llamaba a la controversia?



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"Readers first meet Gabe as he DJs his first community-radio show, Beautiful Music for Ugly Children.

It is only after hearing Gabe's friend and neighbor John, a fellow music lover who worked as a DJ for forty years, use Gabe's birth name that readers learn that Gabe is transgender. Being trans, Gabe opines, is like being a 45 record with an A side and a B side. When the story opens, only a few people know about Gabe's B side; the rest see him as a girl. When Gabe's radio show becomes an underground hit, generating a difficult-to-believe-but-pleasing-to-imagine cadre of fans calling themselves the Ugly Children Brigade, Gabe's B side is pushed further into public view. There are dates failed and successful, a forcible outing, a heartfelt but refreshingly easy coming-out talk with John, and a pair of increasingly violent, threatening and genuinely scary enemies. While Gabe's coming-out process figures heavily into the story, it is, refreshingly, only one aspect of his experience. The show-stealer here is John, a unique, well-conceived, funny and loving figure whose enthusiasm for music and endless support for Gabe provides solidity and warmth amid the many changes Gabe experiences.

A kind and satisfyingly executed portrait of a music-loving teen coming out as transgender. (Fiction. 12 & up)" www.kirkusreviews.com

Finally found a book I can recommend to a few who asked specifically about books with a trans protagonist.
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A gorgeous and powerful book. I plan to attempt to talk my teen book club into reading this and, fortunately, I don't think I will have to try very hard. Young people today are much more open and accepting and willing to put themselves out there than my generation. One of my book club members is trans* and I know another young man who is going through much of what the main character did in the book. I thought this book was important enough that I bought a copy for him. Maybe he can talk his parents into reading it. Maybe that will help. Maybe not but regardless, this book has a powerful message that needs to be heard. ( )