Some people assume Melissa is a gay boy; she says she doesn't "know who she liked, really, boys or girls." Book deals with gender identity, but no sexual activity. Older brother Scott mentions looking at porn and "dirty" magazines as something boys do. Young readers who don't know what word "porn" means may be inclined to look it up. Reference to Melissa's private parts during a bath: "She immersed her body in the warm water and tried not to think about what was between her legs, but there it was, bobbing in front of her." Scott asks, in a kid-like way, if Melissa wants gender reassignment surgery: "So, like, do you want to" -- he made a gesture with two fingers like a pair of scissors -- "go all the way?" Melissa squeezed her legs together. "Maybe someday," she said.
Did you know you can flag iffy content? Adjust limits for Sex, Romance & Nudity in your kid's entertainment guide.
Parents and teachers can use this book to talk about a wide variety of topics, including what it means to be transgender and how to stand up for someone being bullied. The author is genderqueer and uses the gender-neutral pronoun "they" rather than "he" or "she"; parents may need to explain this.
Positive Messages
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Be true to yourself. Be tolerant of others, even if they're different in a way that's hard for you to understand.
Positive Role Models
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Melissa finds many supportive advocates, but her greatest ally is her best friend, Kelly, who even shares her starring role and lends her clothes so that she can spend the day as Melissa. Melissa learns to increasingly be herself and to tell others about her secret. Her older brother is supportive and accepting.
Diverse Representations
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Main character is a transgender girl in fourth grade. She experiences bullying at school but is supported by her friend and her brother and comes out to her mom.
Parents need to know that Melissa isa novel about a transgender fourth grader called George who increasingly learns to be herself and to tell others about her secret. Along the way, she finds many supportive advocates, but her greatest ally is her best friend, Kelly. Some kids taunt Melissa, and she's called a freak and gets punched by a bullying student. Some people, such as Melissa's older brother Scott, assume that Melissa is a gay boy, but she says she doesn't "know who she liked, really, boys or girls." The book was formerly titled George, but in 2021, at the author's request, it was retitled and republished as Melissa, to respect the main character's identity. The novel deals with gender identity, but there's no sexual activity. Scott mentions looking at porn and "dirty" magazines as something boys do. Young readers who don't know what the word "porn" means may be inclined to look it up. Parents and teachers can use this book to talk about a wide variety of topics, including what it means to be transgender and to how to stand up for someone being bullied. Editor's note: In the story, Melissa's older brother shows her how to clear the browsing history after using their mom's computer. Melissa then does this after searching the internet for transgender information. In the Common Sense K–12 Digital Citizenship Curriculum we advise families and educators to empower kids to think critically about the websites they visit. However, families may choose to review their kids' browsing history to make sure they're making safe choices online.
My daughter may end up being transgender. A lot of the signs are there. She’s 9 years old and in the same grade as the main character, George/Melissa. She brought this book home from school this week. I’m
sure someone from the school staff gave it to her. Initially, I was shocked and a little frightened that she was reading this book so I decided to read it too.
I’m not sure that she understood everything she read. All the parts that other reviewers said were inappropriate for a 9 year old probably went over her head but I’m sure she got the gist of it. She probably gets that some people are born the wrong gender and they can change into the one they were meant to be, especially if the people around them support them. I’m glad she knows that now.
As for me, I was rooting for the kid in the story to be able to be who she was inside the whole time. I thought it was beautiful when she was free to be herself. If it’s right for a character in a book, it’s right for my kid. It’s seems more complicated than that but maybe it’s not. George helped me to understand that I’ve got to support my kid no matter what.
I work with 4th graders. This book is NOT for 4th graders
The poorly-written characters in this book act like pre-teen/teenagers.
Teaching how to clear internet history.
Talk of pornographic magazines.
Discussions of feelings of sexuality.
Confusing (and inaccurate) medical explanations.
These kids are reading books about babysitting and building forts . Why on Earth would an author think these subjects are appropriate for that age group?
Regardless of your beliefs on the main subject - I advise parents to read this book first .
What's the Story?
MELISSA is about a transgender fourth grader. She may have been named George at birth in a boy's body, but she knows she's really a girl. For example, when her class stages Charlotte's Web, she wants to audition for Charlotte, not a boy's part. She gets teased by boys in class ("You're such a freak. You're a freak. Freak. Freak"), but finds amazing support in her best friend, Kelly, and in her older brother. But what will her mother say when she gets the courage to tell her she's a girl named Melissa?
Alex Gino's simply and tenderly written story will help kids -- and parents -- understand what it feels like to be transgender. Melissa hates the body she was born with, gets teased at school, and worries her mother won't accept her if she learns her big secret. Readers will quickly understand that the fourth grader called George is really a girl and cheer her growing ability to live as herself.
There's not a lot of new territory covered here, but there are some simple and lovely moments, such as when Melissa's older brother says, "Weird. But it makes sense," when he hears her secret, or when her supportive friend Kelly helps her pick an outfit so that she can spend a day as Melissa.
Talk to Your Kids About ...
Families can talk about what it means to be transgender, as portrayed in Melissa. What would it feel like to be born into the wrong physical body?
Is it getting easier for kids today to let their true selves shine through?
Melissa gets bullied and even gets into a physical fight. What would you do if you saw one of your classmates being picked on?
Research shows a connection between kids' healthy self-esteem and positive portrayals in media. That's why we've added a new "Diverse Representations" section to our reviews that will be rolling out on an ongoing basis. You can help us help kids by
suggesting a diversity update.
Common Sense Media's unbiased ratings are created by expert reviewers and aren't influenced by the product's creators or by any of our funders, affiliates, or partners.
By Kate Pavao
,
based on child development research. How do we rate?
