Miscast

by Charmaine Kendal

This is the story of Cathryn who, when she is 12, announces that her name is now Caleb. He feels himself to have been cast in the wrong role, and now has to cope with the unwanted biological changes happening to his body. Told in the first person by Caleb, the book traces his journey through adolescence and his search for acceptance.

148 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2015

Reviews

[Katie Luder]

I'm still formulating and thinking about this book. It's from a small South African press, and its one of the first, if not only, representation of trans characters in young adult literature there. Of course there is not much of this population represented in United State YA lit either. This was one of IBBY's (International Board of Books for Young People) Honour list recipients for 2016. It looks at some of the issues and challenges facing a young transboy as he enters high school. He is surrounded by supportive family members that engage in research and advocate as much as possible for Caleb in school, and getting him counseling and support. This is the Kendal's first novel and at times it lacks depth. It is very informative as well, which makes sense as Caleb and his family explore being transgender. Overall it's a pretty good book, but it makes clear that there's a lot of work still to be done for transgender representation.