I was shocked the last time I went into a bookstore for my usual ‘take pictures of books I want to read in the hopes that I can find them at the library’ time. In my usual search for queer looking young adult fiction, I came across a book called None of the Above by I.W. Gregorio. The title seemed promising for a book about an outcast if not a queer person, so I turned the book around.
“What if everything you knew about yourself changed in an instant? 
When Kristin Lattimer is voted homecoming queen, it seems like another piece of her ideal life has fallen into place. She’s a champion hurdler with a full scholarship to college and she’s madly in love with her boyfriend. In fact, she’s decided that she’s ready to take things to the next level with him.
But Kristin’s first time isn’t the perfect moment she’s planned—something is very wrong. A visit to the doctor reveals the truth: Kristin is intersex, which means that though she outwardly looks like a girl, she has male chromosomes, not to mention boy “parts.”
Dealing with her body is difficult enough, but when her diagnosis is leaked to the whole school, Kristin’s entire identity is thrown into question. As her world unravels, can she come to terms with her new self?”
Well whattya know, a young adult fiction book about a teen who is intersex! It was certainly the first time I’d come across one, and I immediately put myself on the library waitlist for the book.
Intersex is a term that some people may be encountering for the first time. Intersex is the the acceptable and politically correct of the defunct term ‘hermaphrodite.’ It’s an umbrella term that refers to a person born with a reproductive or sexual anatomy that doesn’t seem to fit the typical definitions of female or male. The Intersex Society of North America can give you a far more broad definition of the term, as well as a lot of information and education regarding the particular issues faced by people who are intersex. (http://www.isna.org/)
I tend to be skeptical of books that are some of ‘the first’ to deal with certain topics. Often, in order to be sold, they need to conform to certain stereotypes or predictable plot lines that feel comfortable for readers who are encountering characters and issues for the very first time. I was pleasantly surprised to find, that while the story could lean towards to over dramatic and occasionally technical, it was incredibly well researched (written by a surgeon who was compelled to write the book as a result of her experience interacting with young people who are intersex) and seemed to truly be written with the intent of exploring (as opposed to exploiting) a human story.
Now, as someone who is not intersex (nor, for that matter, a teenager), there are other people far more qualified to accurately review the book. That said, as someone always interested in educating myself in ways that are engaging, insightful and accurate, this book seemed to fit the bill.
I can only hope that this book will lead to many others featuring a variety of characters with multiple experiences/identities/opinions about a subject that has been ignored and stigmatized in literature (and in our society) for far too long.
Happy Reading!
Live, Love, Learn,