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First Year Out: A Transition Story

Sabrina Symington

3.68 · Rating details · 406 ratings · 91 reviews

This intimate and striking graphic novel follows Lily, as she transitions from male to female. Depicting her experiences from coming out right through to gender reassignment surgery, Lily's story provides vital advice on the social, emotional and medical aspects of transitioning and will empower anyone questioning their gender.

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Hardcover, 100 pages

Published November 2017 by Singing Dragon

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Average rating 3.68 ·

Rating details

· 406 ratings · 91 reviews

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May 06, 2018 David Schaafsma rated it liked it

Shelves: gn-glbt

This graphic novel depicts the journey from Darren to Lily, who has always known she is a girl. It is mainly informational than novelistic, as the title suggests, focusing on this one (important, all-encompassing, of course) aspect of her life. I am guessing this is drawn from aspects of the author's life, but it feels a bit like a best-case-scenario fairy tale where she has a very supportive mom and cis-gendered best friend, a surgery that goes perfectly and a first boyfriend who says only perf ...more

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Nov 23, 2017 [Shai] Bibliophage rated it liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: graphic-novels

The title of this graphic novel piqued my interest, thus I checked out on what this about. The story is about the transition period of the transgender woman Lily up to her SRS, or sex reassignment surgery.

The experiences of the transgenders were discussed throughout the story. People will learn a lot from reading this. I recommend that those who have preconceived opinion about the LGBT should try to read this.

Thanks to Jessica Kingsley Publisher for the ARC of this graphic novel. ...more

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Apr 02, 2018 Brooke rated it it was ok

Shelves: 2018, lgbtq, apl, non-fiction, graphic-novel

2 disappointing stars

I can't help but feel this was written with the cisgender population in mind- an account of how Lily feels (that she always was a girl) & the emotions accompanied with that, how people treated her when it came to friendships & dating, how her mom didn't understand & eventually started to accept her, etc. It goes right up to when Lily is getting her SRS (sex reassignment surgery) & the starting of her relationship with her boyfriend, but I would have liked to see more of the ...more

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Feb 18, 2018 Jade Walters rated it really liked it

Shelves: trans

3.5. Good for people learning about transness for the sake of a transitioning friend or family member, or for those taking their first tentative steps towards transitioning themselves.

While i’m glad this representation exists, I wonder when trans people will have more than a single story— the transition metamorphosis— to draw upon in popular representation. In the public consciousness, a story about a transgender person has come to mean that person’s transition story, and while this story is va ...more

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Apr 04, 2019 Rachel (TheShadesofOrange) rated it really liked it

Shelves: graphic-novels, general-fiction-contemporary

4.0 Stars
This was a full colour graphic novel that aimed to normalize the transperson experience to cis readers who may not have much exposure to the trans community. Much of the graphic novel involved explanations of various trans terms, which was quite informative for readers like myself. The story was generally very positive in tone and could also serve as a hopeful for other transpersons. While this was written as fiction, this #ownvoices story was largely inspired by the author’s own transi ...more

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Feb 21, 2018 Stewart Tame rated it really liked it

This graphic novel tells the story of Lily, formerly Darren, and her transition from identifying as male to female. While I was generally familiar with the concept, I really knew little about the process. Symington combines her own experience with that of others to craft this story, and the result is engrossing and rich in observed detail, both emotional and physical. Not everyone is accepting of Lily at first, but it all goes relatively smoothly. The most major conflicts are strictly mental. Th ...more

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Feb 10, 2019 Kate rated it really liked it

This is a graphic novel telling the story of Lily’s transition from Male to Female. It depicts some of the challenges she faced, such as social stigma, support from friends and family members, and gender affirmation surgery. It is set in Canada.

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Jan 12, 2019 Jen rated it it was amazing

What a sweet story! This is a great book for anyone needing an introduction to trans/transitioning issues.

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Aug 05, 2018 Katja rated it it was ok

Shelves: read-in-english, lgbtq

This book was okay but a bit... simple? That might not be a right word for it because being trans is anything but simple but the story is very "let's make sure we check all the issue boxes". It's great it's a positive story though.

I guess this was made to be a sort of informative, easy to get into piece on what kind of experience transitioning can be. And it does it job alright but it's not super engaging as a whole. It's quick to read though, so if you are at all interested, it won't take much ...more

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May 18, 2018 Scott Robins rated it it was ok

Shelves: gn, lgbtq

Symington's graphic novel contains a lot of great information about gender transition but it's not seamlessly woven into the narrative here. Story lacks nuance and narrative detail and felt like a list of trans issues were being checked off as I moved to the end of the book. Worth a read but not outstanding.

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Dec 04, 2018 Jennifer rated it it was amazing

A wonderful, eye-opening read.

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Jul 11, 2020 Owen Townend rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Being a cisgendered male, I have little to no prior experience with what transitioning involves. Fortunately for me, there was a graphic novel to aid my learning.

Using Lily as an example, Symington leads you through initial Hormone Replacement Therapy all the way to Sex Reassignment Surgery. We see Lily's thought process vocalised from her early days 'flight into hyper-masculinity' to low romantic moments to sharing experiences of 'coming out' with friends, all explained with precise erudition. ...more

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Aug 12, 2018 Elizabeth rated it really liked it

Shelves: middle-grade, graphic-novels-or-comics, lgbtq-stories-and-authors, young-adult, canadian-authors-or-literature, women-writers

First Year Out appears to be a novelised adaptation of the author's own experiences. I thought the way she addressed medical and social issues that trans people experience while transitioning was interesting and informative. While the character did experience negative events throughout, it was a very uplifting tale overall, which was refreshing. The art did its job but was not really my preference.

I thought the story was a solid vehicle for anyone looking to get a better understanding of the tr ...more

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Feb 27, 2018 Vikki rated it it was amazing

Excellent. Book, super illustrations. As a cis-gender person, I felt this book gave a good insight to what trans people go through.

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Feb 03, 2020 J rated it really liked it

Shelves: adult-books, graphic-novels, biographies-memoirs, lgbtqia, friendship, family

This book was a real eye-opener to some of the challenges that some transgender individuals experience. The more I read about the LGBTQ community the more I learn and can better support my students.

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May 02, 2018 Danika at The Lesbrary rated it liked it

Shelves: non-lesbian

This seems like it would be a great intro for someone wanting to learn about trans issues

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Mar 31, 2019 Rachel rated it really liked it

Shelves: lgbt, comics-graphic-novels

This definitely seems written for a cisgender audience, to provide basic information as well as guidance on respectful treatment of transgender people. Includes some medical/surgical info and can fit in #GraphicMedicine collections.

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Jul 24, 2018 Don rated it really liked it

In my reading for Equity work, and in particular children's and young adult books in that vein, I ran across a mention of Symington's "First Year Out" and asked for it to be ordered for the collection at my public library. I hope it gets the attention it deserves and causes a "stir" if need be.

Symington is an accomplished graphic artist and author; this book is about her story as a trans woman. Walking us through her experiences from coming out until her reassignment surgery. I learned so much a ...more

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Mar 24, 2020 Rebecca Burridge rated it it was amazing

Loved it. Great art and lovely synopsis of coming out and making those first scary steps to live full time as a woman.

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Apr 05, 2018 Max rated it it was ok

Shelves: comics

I picked this up because I assumed it was a graphic memoir, akin to a trans woman's version of Fun Home. It does have memoir elements, but is more a composite of the experiences of this author and others she knows. In general that's not an issue, but it may be why the trans woman experience depicted here feels rather one dimensional and Trans 101. Lily has known all her life she's a girl, and she finally has the courage to live her life true to herself. The book follows her through various proce I picked this up because I assumed it was a graphic memoir, akin to a trans woman's version of Fun Home. It does have memoir elements, but is more a composite of the experiences of this author and others she knows. In general that's not an issue, but it may be why the trans woman experience depicted here feels rather one dimensional and Trans 101. Lily has known all her life she's a girl, and she finally has the courage to live her life true to herself. The book follows her through various procedures from laser hair removal to gender confirmation surgery, as well as touching on the difficulties of dating as a trans woman and mentioning things like TERFs and voice training.

I think the audience of this book is definitely intended to be cis rather than trans people, as it often feels like various aspects of the trans experience are name checked and described briefly without going into a whole lot of detail. One of my big disappointments is that the story starts with Lily already on HRT, without going into real detail on the progression of its effects over time or the process she went through to acquire the treatment. Obviously, this stuff is rather personal, but then again the book discusses Lily's sex life and other fairly personal details, and I feel like it would be rather significant for young and/or inexperienced trans woman readers.

Also, while TERFs and non-binary people are discussed a little, neither of these topics are gone into in enough detail to really explain them properly. I was especially frustrated that the experience of the trans woman detailed here is pretty much entirely heterosexual, as many of the trans women I have encountered are gay or bisexual and it does a disservice to not at least briefly acknowledge them. Furthermore, I think this book would definitely benefit from listing further resources for readers to look into, and I'm a bit surprised the author has neither a foreword nor afterword. On a more narrative note, the treatment of Lily's relationship with her boyfriend is strange because it feels like it's meant to be fairly serious after we only see them go on one date. In general, given the title emphasizing this is about Lily's first year proudly out, it would've been nice to have some indication of how much time is passing between segments of the story. (Also, I found the art a bit lacking and ideosyncratic, and in some ways it felt a little iffy at times given the difficult subject matter being discussed.)

Overall, this isn't the worst book out there, and I certainly think it could be a good introduction for cis relatives of trans people, but only in certain cases. There's a lot more that can and should be discussed beyond this book, and again it's very intro level, but in some ways it's useful to have. I just feel like this book has a number of shortcomings and that there are certainly better resources out there, especially for young trans women trying to understand who they are for the first time. ...more

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Oct 05, 2017 Sally rated it really liked it

Shelves: transgender, comic-manga, biography

Frank and often painful First Year Out: A Transition Story is a graphic novel like no other. Following Lily's journey from laser hair removal right through gender reassignment surgery, it deals with a variety of topics, including coming out, self-identity, family acceptance, voice training, hormones, dating, and more.

In tracing this year of Lily's life, Sabrina Symington manages to talk openly and honestly about transgender issues without coming across as preachy or heavy-handed. Everything she Frank and often painful First Year Out: A Transition Story is a graphic novel like no other. Following Lily's journey from laser hair removal right through gender reassignment surgery, it deals with a variety of topics, including coming out, self-identity, family acceptance, voice training, hormones, dating, and more.

In tracing this year of Lily's life, Sabrina Symington manages to talk openly and honestly about transgender issues without coming across as preachy or heavy-handed. Everything she documents is in the context of a young woman's journey, and Lily is so likeable, and so easy to relate to, that we care about this issues as much for her as we do ourselves.

I loved how the artwork pulls no punches - in fact, the first time we see Lily, the image we are presented with is that of a woman horrified by her own facial hair. The need to let it grow between laser treatments is a very real part of the process, but it is softened by the understanding of a cisgender laser technician who admits to undergoing the same treatments. Similarly, while we see what kind of a physical and emotional transformation she undergoes with the addition of makeup and a wig, we also see how the simple act of removing that wig can change what others see in her.

As for the story, I loved how Lily surrounded herself with people who share some element of her experience, even if it is not always in the exact same context. From her cisgender best friend, to the pair of transsexual mentors who transitioned later in life, to the non-binary/genderqueer new friend who walks a similar path, Lily has a strong support system that understands and appreciates what she is going through. Many of their conversations are a bit heavy for the average reader, getting deep into gender politics and the transgender experience, but are necessary to fully appreciating Lily's journey.

Beautifully draw, well-told, and full of enough joys to overcome the sorrows, First Year Out: A Transition Story is a wonderful read for anyone questioning their own gender, as well as for everyone who loves them.

As reviewed by Sally at Bending the Bookshelf ...more

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Dec 08, 2018 Michelle Nogales rated it liked it

First Year Out is a thinly-veiled primer on what it’s like to be a trans person. It’s about a trans woman, Lily, and her struggles and triumphs during her first year “out” as her true gender. She spends a lot of time explaining things to her mother, who has all the struggles with Lily’s gender one would expect a loving but pretty clueless parent to have; she experiences dysphoria as she has to deal with getting rid of facial hair; she goes on dates and talks to friends.

Throughout, the dialog is ...more

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Jun 24, 2018 honeybean rated it it was amazing

Shelves: graphic-novels, non-fiction, lgbtqia

I LOVE this graphic novel. It's beautiful in every way

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Jan 04, 2020 Natalie Cannon rated it it was amazing

Shelves: comics, image-indie-comics

First Year Out: A Transition Story was an impulse borrow from the library. I haven't read or heard of Sabrina Symington before, and after reading, I'm interested in investigating her other work. Her patient, empathetic style and feeling illustrations made for an engrossing read.

A blend of Symington's personal experience and other trans women's, First Year Out tells Lily's transition story, yes, but it is clearly designed to educate cis people and trans folk looking for more information on transi First Year Out: A Transition Story was an impulse borrow from the library. I haven't read or heard of Sabrina Symington before, and after reading, I'm interested in investigating her other work. Her patient, empathetic style and feeling illustrations made for an engrossing read.

A blend of Symington's personal experience and other trans women's, First Year Out tells Lily's transition story, yes, but it is clearly designed to educate cis people and trans folk looking for more information on transition. Newly out, Lily wants a body that has been traditionally seen as female. This process demands a complete overhaul of her physical self and her social relationships. Like any other coming out, it's a long, ongoing process. Her relationship to her parents, her friendships, and her dating life change drastically. Her father refuses to speak with Lily and refers to her by her deadname. Her mom starts with outrage, confusion, and a brief foray into TERF ideology, before finally accepting her daughter. Her cis friends slip up a few times, but overall remain staunch allies. The local trans community and support group have their own stories and offer history and perspective. First Year Out is ultimately a tale of triumph. Though the journey is ongoing, Lily's growing happiness is wonderful to witness.

While I've read other transition stories, I think the greatest thing First Year Out impressed upon me is how many aspects are involved in transitioning. From laser hair removal appointments, wig shopping, and voice lessons to avoiding chasers, fighting job discrimination, and coming out to even casual partners, it is a lot. I knew in my head all these things happened individually, but to see them all at once was...wow. And Lily's neurotypical, middle-class, and white!

Some of the interactions felt pre-determined or canned, but I chalked that up to the educational part of the comic. Symington clearly wanted to provide a guide on how to respond to transphobes, or dismantle the reader's prejudice. It's effective.

Overall, I recommend First Year Out to anyone looking to learn more about transition. That is the author's intent, and she fulfills her goal well. The comic is educational, first and foremost. ...more

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Aug 02, 2018 Alexis Sara rated it really liked it

First Year Out is a transisition tale that helps explain so much of what being trans is like while also managing to be an extremely personal tale. Bria puts a ton of heart into the deeply emotional story of hope and suffering with ones reality. It does a lot of educating while making it really feel like it is in character for Lilly and is helping the reader who might be cis learn while not flowing down to give you a lesson.

The art is very expressive and Bria's style of political cartoon actuall ...more

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Jun 03, 2019 Abby rated it it was ok

Shelves: comix, glbtq, ownvoices

2.5 stars. I think it's important for books like this one -- a transition narrative written and illustrated by a trans woman -- to exist and I'm glad it was published. It is a candid, straightforward fictional account of one woman's transition that I think will be eye-opening and educational for cisgender folks who are beginning to learn how to be trans allies, and I'm sure that some trans women will find that it reflects and validates their experiences.

However, as a work of comics fiction I fo ...more

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Jul 11, 2018 Julia rated it really liked it

Really great comic book story of a fictionalized year in the life of Lily, a trans woman going through transition, hormones, and gender confirmation surgery, while navigating support group, new and old friends, family troubles, dating challenges, and more.

This isn't technically a memoir, but Symington based the book on the experiences of herself and her friends. It's really text-heavy for a comic, but that works well, as Lily explains her experiences and some of the basics of being a good ally, ...more

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Jun 03, 2020 Garrett rated it liked it

I first want to say, that I love that trans people are getting representation in literature!

With that in mind, I think this is geared towards a specific audience. If you are just becoming aware of the transgender community or if you're looking to learn the basics, this is a pretty good place to start. I appreciate that the author took the time to explain different situations and how they can be harmful to trans people.

Because of that, it seemed like a guide to being trans/accepting trans people ...more

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Aug 20, 2017 Laura rated it really liked it

Shelves: graphic-novels, lgbtq

**Received ARC from publisher**

There are so many stories that need to be depicted in graphic novel form so I'm just happy this one exists.

Symington has several characters in the book that are in different stages and experiencing different outcomes but Lily is having great success.

She's not feeling perfect by the end because she's just completed another piece of the journey and there is more to come. She passes for cis and finds support and love along the way so it's a very hopeful story, though ...more

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Oct 27, 2018 James rated it really liked it

Great teaching tool for people who want to know more about trans women's experiences, but really don't want to read anything academic or overly long.

Some aspects are oversimplified. Most women aren't able to get surgery that soon. Many experience a lot more discrimination and harassment. It's got a rosy glow, you know? But then, why can't something in the trans experience be like that?

That said, the book is an easy, personal, warm introduction to the topic.

Overall, well worth the time invested t ...more

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