Almost Perfect

by Brian Katcher

You only hurt the ones you love.

Logan Witherspoon recently discovered that his girlfriend of three years cheated on him. But things start to look up when a new student breezes through the halls of his small-town high school. Sage Hendricks befriends Logan at a time when he no longer trusts or believes in people. Sage has been homeschooled for a number of years and her parents have forbidden her to date anyone, but she won't tell Logan why. One day, Logan acts on his growing feelings for Sage. Moments later, he wishes he never had. Sage finally discloses her big secret: she was born a boy. Enraged, frightened, and feeling betrayed, Logan lashes out at Sage and disowns her. But once Logan comes to terms with what happened, he reaches out to Sage in an attempt to understand her situation. But Logan has no idea how rocky the road back to friendship will be.

Genres: Young Adult, LGBT, Romance, Fiction, Contemporary, Banned Books, Queer

368 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 2009

Reviews

[John Egbert · Rating 2 out of 5]

So a few months ago I wrote an Almost Perfect review. It was really long, really confusing and the worst part: really, really fucking boring. So after careful consideration I've decided to re-write it. So let's get this party started!



First -- Logan.

Logan is our narrator. Logan is a jock.

Logan is also a fucking prick.



In fact, if it wasn't for Logan I may have given this book four stars. If you had been watching my Goodreads ratings a few months ago you would see that I did, at least for a little while. But then I remembered Logan.

For god's sake the entire premise of the fucking story is Logan acting like a prick. And I know this. But yet I am still surprised with how much of a prick he really was. His prickness went sort of in a cycle, like this:

1. Logan pursues Sage.

2. Sage tries to tell Logan that he probably doesn't want her.

3. Logan pursues Sage anyway...

4. Sage gives in and Logan finds out (or remembers) that she's really a boy and freaks out. (Logan's thought process: "OMG IF SAGE IZ A BOY THAT MAKES ME A FAAAAGGGGG!! NOOOO!" -- I told you he's a prick.)

5. Sage's heart gets broken.

6. Sage and Logan make up and decide to just be friends.

AAAAAND REPEAT.



He just keeps doing that. Treating Sage that way. And it fucking bothers me.

Sure, one could say I'm being judgmental. One could say that Logan was just lost, just confused, just hurt like Sage was. One could say that if it was me in Logan's position I would act the same way.

And I could say that the person saying those things is wrong. I don't give a fuck how "confused" or "lost" you are. If you are a fucking prick you are a fucking prick and you should not get away with it. And no, unlike Logan, my momma raised me so I actually don't make a habit of treating people like crap.

And it isn't like Logan's just shocked. He gets outright angry at Sage. From what I remember, he even punches her in the face. He throws her Christmas present back at her feet. He makes her fucking miserable. I can not sympathize with someone like that.

I could not stand being in Logan's head. I wanted to rip my hair out every time he made cries of "IT WAS A TRAAAAPPPPPP! SAGE'S REALLY A NASTY HAIRY MAN AND HE MADE ME A FAAAGGGG! I'M A HOMO! A GAY! OH NO! MY LIFE IS OVER, MY LIFE IS OVER HELP ME MOMMY!" If you had been there while I was reading the book you would have seen me gripping a pen tightly between my fingers. I wasn't quite sure what I would do with this pen at the time, scribble over the pages to black out Logan's stupidity or stab my own fucking eyeballs out.

Don't even get me started on how he treats his other male friends. Seriously, is this guy a fucking sociopath? DOES HE HAVE ANY REMOTE FEELINGS FOR OTHER HUMAN BEINGS WHAT SO EVER?

(I'm sorry, sociopaths reading this. That was wrong. I shouldn't have compared you to Logan.)

...*deep breath*

As you can see, I don't like Logan. *chuckles*

Well, let's move on before I go into another rant.

So. Sage.

Hm. I like her. In fact, she's the only reason I read the book to end (well it sure as fuck wasn't Logan). You see...she's actually a character you can sympathize with. Well, mostly.

The only thing I found fault with was how easily she was willing to kill herself because she couldn't get her way. Well, that was a terrible way of wording it, wasn't it? It's not like she's just a spoiled child. I mean, this is her gender we're talking about here. But that's not what I mean.

Sage's sister, Tamara. Right? I can't exactly remember her name right now. Regardless, her sister. Her sister loves her, has stuck up for her when her parents were being dicks and has supported her for her entire life. And Sage is so willing to take her own life without a single thought of Tamara. I...can't. Because it isn't like her train of thought is "She'll be much better without me" like other people who commit suicide despite their loved ones. She just...forgets about Tamara. And that's not very cool.

(Of course, we could say that Logan fucked Sage up so badly that she just didn't even give a fuck anymore.)

(What? Imagine if you move to a town. Your closet friend who you have a crush on does what Logan did. Tell me, go on, tell me that wouldn't mess with your psyche, even a little bit.)

(My Jesus. I fucking hate Logan.)

Let's move on again...

I think this novel would have been better from Sage's perspective. Despite her slight selfishness, like every human has, she surely is the one we sympathize with. And she's the one we side with. And she's the one we actually care about. I don't give a fuck about Logan. I want to know about Sage.

But before this goes into another rant about Logan...

Katcher's writing is good, really. It kept me intrigued, it was easy to read, I liked it. The one thing that ruined this book for me was...wait, you guess.

That's right.

LOGAN.

Hell, if Logan wasn't the narrator I may have even given this book five stars just because he wasn't the narrator. That's how much I hate him. *seethes*

Well, anyway, the copy I got was a library hardback, thank goodness. If I had bought it I don't know how angry I'd be. I'd probably throw a little fit, a tantrum like a baby. But that's not to say I would not recommend the book. That's not the point of this review. However, I would recommend you find a way to read it for free before you buy it. Honestly, paying twenty dollars for this would have made me very angry. Twenty dollars can buy like six boxes of that healthy Panda brand licorice. And I'd get much more enjoyment out of eating that than reading about Logan.

But hey, that's just me. Maybe you'll like it, maybe you won't. And if you don't you can always come back to this review in the comments section to rant about Logan with me!

[Morgan · Rating 1 out of 5]

Honestly? Don't bother.

Our hero, Logan, is insufferable. He's that way from the beginning until the very end. He's the kind of guy who thinks every woman in his life owes him something for nothing. His ex, Brenda, apparently owes him sex since they were dating for three years; he actually regrets being respectful of her boundaries when they were dating. Sage owes him explanations about her life just to make him feel more comfortable with the fact that she's trans, not out of any actual concern for her or interest in her well being. There is never a point in this book where Logan is not pushing his insecurities onto Sage.

He's not that nice to his friends, either. Whenever he brings up his overweight friend, Tim, there's always a mention of food. Does Logan even know this guy outside of what he eats? Does he care? Are they actually friends? I have no idea. I don't think anyone would want to hang out with Logan if they knew what was going on inside his head. What are this kid's redeeming qualities? He does the bare minimum required of any of his relationships. What does Sage see in him, other than that he's the main character? Without the glue that is the narrative holding them together, I doubt he'd have any friends at all.

Here are some choice quotes from our lovely protag:

"I'd call Sage, all right. ... Tell her if she ever told the world what she really was, or if anyone ever found out, then I'd hurt her. I would."

"I don't know why I didn't put that sicko in the hospital. Sage certainly had it coming."

"I scrubbed myself raw. Too bad I didn't have some lye or some ammonia to burn Sage's touch away."

"I had never been so disgusted. How could I not have known? ... my mental image of her naked body filled me with horror. ... no, not her. him."

"I grinned as I opened my locker. Sage was afraid of me. Scared. Timid. She'd think twice before treating a guy like that again. If she knew what was good for her, she'd keep to herself from now on."

So he's transphobic and homophobic. This is not something that gets better as the book goes on. Logan says he'll accept Sage, but he never does. He constantly demands explanations from her, not because he's interested and cares about her, but because he wants to convince himself that he's not gay. He doesn't accept her for who she is: a woman. He thinks of her as a man. It's a wonder she wants to hang around this guy at all. He says "she'll never be a real woman to me." He listens to her talk about her difficulty transitioning because he thinks it'll help "remind" him that she's "not totally a girl." She is a girl, though, and try as the narrative might to make it seem like Logan comes to realize this, it's very hard to believe. He misgenders her at every turn.

Logan's a douche who only notices a person's worst attributes and doesn't bother to try and see anything good. Logan's sister discovers that Sage has a penis, and he calls Sage "the person who made me look like a fag in front of my sister." Is this the guy we're supposed to feel sympathy for? He refers to Sage as his "darkest secret." Seriously? That's something that a guy who was learning to be a better person would say? In lieu of growing up and trying to do any actual understanding, Logan bemoans the fact that he's a shitstain and a coward and doesn't bother to try to change his behavior.

Other things to note: He's got some serious violent tendencies. He threatens to punch Sage after figuring out she's trans, he punched one of his friends, doesn't apologize for it and nearly does it again, he thinks about putting his sister's boyfriend's face into a lawnmower just because they're dating. He's got some serious issues that he never resolves.

Anyway, this may not surprise you, but Sage doesn't get a happy ending. It could have happened, but it didn't. Because the writer didn't care to, I guess. The author says that the book wouldn't have been possible without all the real-life Sages who were willing to tale their personal tales to him. This is how he respects and honors them, by writing this fucking book? He should be absolutely ashamed of himself. This book is a mess and a disappointment.

[Kristi · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book was... Almost Perfect. (pun intended) It took me a while to get into this book. I actually almost stopped reading it. Logan just wasn't an appealing character... he was sort of boring actually and I struggled with the novel as a result. However, I can admit by the end of the novel Logan really grew on me, and the authenticity of his voice came shining though.

The writing was, well... I felt like someone decided to throw a few SAT words in there just for fun. I hate when people use 'big' words just for the sake of having them there, and that is what I felt was going on. Luckily that died down by the second half. That's probably just something that bothers me... I don't mind when it flows nicely within the story... but most of the time it just seems like they are sticking out like a sore thumb... but like I said, it's probably just me.

I guess the thing that finally captured my attention, well actually the person, was Sage. I would have loved for this novel to be told in alternating chapters. It was great seeing Logan evolve through the novel, and watching him deal with his beliefs and feelings, but I wanted to have that insight with Sage too. Sage's character was gripping. The second-hand encounter of her experiences were upsetting... her father's refusal of acceptance, her parent's denial, domestic violence.... maybe it was better her story was only seen through the eyes of Logan....

This novel, more than anything is heartbreaking. Reading the last few pages of the book, where Katcher explains that much of the novel is based on his interviews and first hand experiences with transgender teens that have been though similar experiences was almost too much for me to handle. The ending to the novel itself, isn't a happy one, but I think that both characters have a better sense of who they are.

Overall a touching and emotional read. I loved the message of this novel.

[Tom · Rating 5 out of 5]

Most of us, I suspect, have "met somebody" who would be just perfect, except...

I look back on some of my "almost perfects," and I cringe at what a douchebag I was.

Logan has just broken up with Brenda, and he's not optimistic about his prospects. He's a senior in a tiny high school (50 seniors). I went to a similar school: my class was 44, and it was hard to date girls I'd known since age nine.

One day, Sage walks into biology homeroom. Sage is tall, quirky, has a great laugh, and most of all, is from "somewhere else!" Logan and Sage become friends. Logan wants more, but Sage tells him, in essence: "NO! We will never kiss or date or be anything more than friends." This always works on teenaged boys, much the same as telling a Category 5 hurricane to stop blowing works.

Sage has a secret. She's not a secret meth-head, nor was she busted for prostitution. She doesn't have any venereal diseases. Nope. Her penis is perfectly healthy.

Yeah. That's the secret. From a very young age, Sage has gender-identified as female. She's been taking female hormones since age 14, and she has had to fight her dad every step of the way. She was home-schooled from the time she started living as a girl, and only her sister supported her.

Logan did not take it well when he found out.

The novel is told from Logan's point of view, and I admired his honesty. He's torn between loving Sage and not wanting to admit that Sage isn't all woman.

While I was reading "Almost Perfect," I was waiting, nay DREADING, to see which of the two easy melodramatic endings the author would choose: the heartbroken suicide, or the "I love you! I don't care that we both have penises!" sort of holding a jambox outside Sage's house, as "In Your Eyes" blasts Cusakishly on repeat.

Thankfully, author Brian Katcher deftly avoids using either. I found myself pulling for Logan and Sage, but I remember what a moron I was at 18.

The novel's ending wasn't satisfying, but this relationship's ending couldn't be satisfying. In that way, it was pretty much perfect.

I can't imagine being either Logan or Sage. More importantly, perhaps, I can't imagine how difficult it must have been writing a novel dealing with a "boy meets boy who's transitioning to being girl" love story, and keeping it safe for the YA market.

Beautifully written book. Recommended.

[Scott · Rating 5 out of 5]

"As I walked towards Bio, I found myself thinking about Sage. I couldn't remember ever meeting a chick that strange. Ever after an hour of class, I knew that weird girl wasn't like anyone in Boyer. Too colorful, too outspoken, too wild." -- narrator Logan Witherspoon, page 27

After thoroughly enjoying author Brian Katcher's debut Playing With Matches (thank you again for the 'head's up' on that wonderful book, GR friend Rebecca M) earlier this month I eagerly sought out more of his work at the library. Would his second novel fall into the dreaded 'sophomore slump'?

It does not at all - in fact, I may have liked Almost Perfect even more. This story centers on high school student Logan Witherspoon, a small-town Missouri teenager killing time until graduation and the start of college at 'Mizzou.' Still smarting from a break-up with the only girl he had ever really dated, Logan doesn't really expect to find a love in his senior class (only 48 students total). But of course, that when he's assigned a new bio lab partner - a student has just moved into the district.

That would be eighteen year-old Sage Hendricks. Like a breath of fresh air, she breezes in and she and Logan develop a near-immediate rapport. She's confident, humorous, intelligent, and physically attractive to him. However, she's also unusually secretive about her family and her past. They try dating, and have a few disagreements. Soon, though, Sage simply levels with Logan - "I'm a boy."

Sage is transgender, born a male but never comfortable with it. After receiving a small inheritance from a grandparent she began secretly ordering hormone medication from Europe. However, she experienced other issues that resulted in her displeased father moving the family to Logan's town.

Logan, to his credit (since he fully admits his community is sheltered, and his real-world experiences are few), takes this all in stride about as well as can be expected. At first he is understandably upset, but he and Sage soon make amends and interact with each other in a boyfriend / girlfriend manner.

I wish I could say that the story has a conventional Hollywood or fairy tale happy conclusion - I think many of us would like to believe love conquers all - but Katcher wisely goes the more realistic route with the situation. The Logan / Sage relationship experiences some hits (not just meant as a figure of speech) and things start go badly for the two of them. In fact, one of the characters is the victim of a particularly brutal act of violence, and reading about the aftermath nearly brought tears to my eyes.

Almost Perfect just really got to me, and not many fiction books have recently done that. I became very invested in these two characters, and I wanted everything to be okay for both of them, even whether or not their relationship worked out. It put me through the proverbial emotional wringer, and it made me think. On top of that it was a page-turner of a story. Good work, Mr. Katcher.

[Claire · Rating 2 out of 5]

ETA, four years later: this book still makes me angry and upset, more so because it won the Stonewall. And I find that I never, ever, ever want to recommend it ton anyone.

Ok. Mixed feelings on this one.

I don't think this has ever been done before! The plot was new, powerful, and very compelling to read... unfortunately also made me feel sick. As a queer reader, the tension between identifying with Logan (fairly likeable, pretty well-developed, sheltered, first-person narrator) and identifying with Sage ("spoiler": she's trans) was seriously enough to give me a stomachache, literally. I had a really strong reaction to this, especially to Logan's disgusted, horrified responses to Sage. Intense. I assume this will be the case for many readers -- it says right on the flap what's going to happen, so I feel like it's more than likely that a queer reader will pick it up expecting something less jarring. I agree with reviewers who suggest exercising caution before handing this one to a trans teen, especially a trans girl or one who is beginning their transition or feeling vulnerable.

NAY:
The writing was kind of awful, and got worse as the book went on. I kept getting pulled out of the story by how bad the writing was... and I'm not picky with prose. Clunky, tedious, and ultimately a slog in terms of writing. But the plot and the characters overcame those flaws with moments of acute tension -- at points, this was a real page-turner.


HUH:
I really found myself wanting to know more about the author. Why did he write this, and write it this way? Cause Julie Anne Peters he isn't. Apparently it was an idea he had, a fictional germ of a story not based on or inspired by anyone in particular. He did do a lot of interviews, apparently. Interesting. Not enough to convince me it was a good idea for him to write.

[Erin · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great book! There are a lot of great reviews for it, but I'll add my own for my friends. This book is great, but difficult to read. It's about a college senior whose girlfriend of 3 years broke up with him. While he's still quite vulnerable, he meets Sage. In a small town, having a new student is exciting. She's tall and quirky, and he thinks quite pretty. They become friends, but she keeps telling him that they can ONLY ever be friends. She isn't allowed to date, and that's all they will ever be. But they are both 18, and he doesn't understand why parents wouldn't let an 18 year old senior date. It finally comes out that Sage is transgender. A boy dressing like a girl, taking hormones to look more like a girl. From the moment he finds out the truth, I couldn't put the book down. It is exciting, heartbreaking, and gut wrenching at times. At the end it said the author interviewed transgendered people to make the book more believable. It was an eye opener of a book for me. My heart has always gone out to people who are different, but I feel really ashamed now of all of the giggling I've done about a man I know who used to be a woman. I used to think it was so funny. Not so much. Stuff like this is why I like to say I'm a work in progress. No matter how enlightened I think I am, I'm constantly meeting or learning about people who show me I'm really not.

[Colin · Rating 2 out of 5]

This was a fast read, but it was difficult. Though it was realistic, it was hard to read all about the main character's process working through his transphobia, and the whole thing reeked of tragi-trans. Also, there were infuriating moments of racism thrown in. I'd say this isn't a book for trans teens, but may help non-trans people empathize and somewhat better understand some of the dangers and emotional struggles facing mainstream trans people, and may illuminate and hopefully combat some of their own transphobia.

It's hard for me to read YA books about trans folks; they either are filled with stereotypes and/or tragi-trans despair, like Luna or this book, or they go the to the other extreme and seem unrealistically chipper, like Parrotfish. At this point in YA publishing, it's still "taking a risk" (as Katcher says in his acknowledgments) to publish *anything* involving trans characters, so books seem to be admired for being out there at all. But I'm ready for more complexity.

[mj · Rating 1 out of 5]

a book written by a man from the perspective of a man who has feelings for a trans woman. man is transmisogynistic and "sees the light". I'd rather read a book about a trans woman, not how a cis male perceives her. Sage is like this transgender manic pixie dream girl who helps the narrator see the error in his thinking. This book is on many reading lists for books about trans women and it shouldn't be, this is a book about a cis male who has a short lived relationship with a trans woman and is peppered with microaggressions of the transmisogynistic and racist variety.
None of the characters were likable save for Sage and her sister Tammi. His sister may have been likable her character was so bland I forgot.

[dearlittledeer · Rating 2 out of 5]

OmG, this book was so frustrating to me! Half the time I didn't know whether I wanted to race through the pages to find out what happened or throw it across the room.

Logan is a small-town teenage boy who just broke up with his girlfriend of a few years after finding out she cheated on him. He's so not over her ... until the new girl walks into his biology classroom. She's tall, with curly red hair, freckles, and braces. She wears weird, standout clothes. And Logan is completely taken with her.

After Logan and Sage go on a few dates, become friends, almost kiss and then kiss for real, he finds out what the reader who knew what this book was about knew all along: Sage is biologically male.

Cue record needle screech.

Logan is horrified, disgusted, betrayed. But wait, maybe he really likes Sage. But she has guy parts! But she seemed so womanly to him. But what if people found out?! Holy crap, dude, make up your mind.

Seriously, I know this would be a freak-out situation for any teenager. Logan's initial reaction is not far-fetched. But it's really hard to feel bad for HIM and listen to all HIS whining, when Sage is the one who REALLY has to live with the difficulties of being transgendered.

I really didn't like Logan's character. On top of that, the writing is so self-conscious and forced in a way. Awkward similes abound. The one time the author got in a truly funny line, he had to ruin it by following with "I wonder if anyone has ever said that sentence before."

For a few tense pages at the end, I was really concerned that Sage was going to wind up living as a boy, just to make things easier on everyone around her. Thankfully Katcher didn't take the story that way. I'm actually glad that he had Sage cut Logan out of her life, because she doesn't need his bullshit. But the way it ended, with Logan thinking about all the girls he'll get with in college, but all wistfully like "Oh, none of them will ever compare with Sage." Just ... so ugh.

I don't know. I'm glad I read this book, so I can know what I'm talking about if any of my students decide to pick it up. But I'm not going to tell them that it's awesome.

More YA lit about transpeople, please!

[Sesana · Rating 4 out of 5]

A 3.5 star book, rounded up.

The blurb lays out the plot of Almost Perfect neatly: Logan is falling madly for Sage, and then he discovers that she was born a he. So this is much more about Logan's struggle to understand and accept Sage as she is than it is about Sage herself.

Logan is, honestly, a bit of a jerk on more than one occassion, to Sage and to other people in his life. And it is completely, entirely realistic. This does not make Logan's narration easy or even pleasant to read at times, and I sometimes struggled with reading his thoughts. (This was also the case with Playing with Matches, another book by Katcher that I enjoyed.)

Sage is the focus and the standout star of Almost Perfect. She's vibrant, more than anyone else in this book. I was glad that the book ended on a somewhat hopeful note for her. I'm not really qualified to comment on or analyze how Katcher handled the issues a transgender teenager faces, so I'll leave that to others.

Katcher seems to be very good about writing somewhat unsympathetic yet very realistic protagonists. It can make for a compelling book, but it can also make for an uncomfortable one, as it sometimes did here. Well-written, but hard to read.

[Tracy · Rating 5 out of 5]

I absolutely love this book. It's about teenagers dealing with not so teenage problems. These kids have had to deal with situations no teenager should have to deal with. Everyone has an opinion on the subject, including myself but I am not going to discuss that opinion now. Do we really know what we would do or how we would handle things? Until you have been there, how do you know.

I recommend this book to anyone with kids because it could apply to many situations.

[Karen · Rating 3 out of 5]

I wanted to love this book, I did. I just didn't.

Let me start off by saying that I am glad there are books out there for teenagers that even attempt to tackle the concept of being transgender. I'm goddamn thrilled. So, really, the rest of this review is nitpicky stuff. The rest of this review is genuinely for a time in the future when books with transgender characters and themes are so mainstream and common that it is no longer necessary to celebrate them as the sole outlets for such themes, or as the limited outlets for such themes. This book is important and should be read, I believe. But I still had criticisms and I will continue them below. If you'd rather not hear them, that's totally fine by me. I get it.

First off, can we talk about the fatshaming? I really didn't like the portrayal of Tim. Every time Logan talked about Tim, there was a dig at his weight. Like, for real, man? Can you think of anything other than his size? Every single reference to Tim had something like that in there, and we as a society cannot bring one group up while simultaneously dragging another down. Fatshaming isn't okay and it didn't sit well at all in this book. Please stop fatshaming Tim.

Secondly, can Logan get a freaking grip? The whole book felt like the author was trying to communicate every reaction to a trans person ever, but it felt forced. "I am so disgusted, Sage has a penis, now everyone will think I'm queer and I can't handle that ever!" followed shortly by "But Sage is the best, most awesomest, most wonderfullest person and I am sooooo attracted to herrrrr." Like, I get that there are conflicting emotions. It just didn't feel genuine. And if I can spot some BS, so can teenagers. That's their whole goddamn purpose.

Thirdly, could we maybe focus just a little less on how Logan was physically attracted to Sage? I felt like there was a ridiculous amount of "Logan is super hot for Sage even though she's trans". Like, are we trying to prove that a person can be attractive regardless of gender? Like I said with Logan's emotional mood swings, I'm not saying he shouldn't be attracted to Sage. But his attraction felt forced. It felt a little out of place. I wanted tingly feelings and I got uncomfortable.

To reiterate, I feel like this book is important. I have read other books about transgender people (though admittedly not as many as I'd like... I've read Stone Butch Blues [so eye opening when I was but a wee collegiate freshman] and Luna which made me weep big fat baby tears by myself in a public space with only the cleaning crew as witness). I liked Sage. I liked the overall message. I didn't really like Logan. I wanted him to be less of a wimp. Or at least I wanted his engagement with his wimpiness to genuinely result in something important. The end of the book really felt like a, "oh well, life goes on, Sage was great but oh well". Really? We couldn't have a little look into their lives later? Like five or ten years down the road, Sage is a well-transitioned woman and randomly meets Logan again (who's less of a self-centered douchebag) and she takes a chance on the undeniably chemistry they have and it works out this time because Logan can handle it now? And they make it work? I guess that's unrealistic or some nonsense but I was actually quite annoyed when Logan bopped off with the first cute girl at Mizzou. "There'll be lots of Erins and Chrises and Brendas but they'll always be compared to Sage" except, like, not, because bounceback much?

I have many feelings. I'm sorry they're all here. Mostly I just felt that Sage deserved more and I was sad Logan was so much of a douche. I wanted more from this book, but I'm grateful it's out there. I have so many feelings. If you'd like a lot of feelings, you should go read this book, too. So many feelings.

[S.B. (Beauty in Ruins) · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a beautiful, powerful, emotional read. It grabs you by the heart and gets into your head like few books I have ever read. It’s the first book in a very long time where I not only had no idea how it was going to end, but was sincerely concerned with how the situation would resolve itself.

I could write an essay about this book, what it meant to me, and how I feel about it. I loved it and I hated it. I was afraid to read another chapter, and I never wanted it to end. My head wants me to wrap Brian Katcher in my arms and thank him for such an amazing story, even as my heart wants me to pound on his chest and demand that he rewrite the ending.

I fell in love with these characters – Logan as much as Sage, to my surprise – and didn’t want to let them go . . . especially not like that.

Instead of an essay, though, I’d just like to touch on the things that Brian did so well:

1. He perfectly captures the awkwardness, the joy, and the sorrows of growing up. I didn’t go to high school with the characters, but a part of me wishes I did. It’s a small cast of characters we’re presented with, and there’s no space wasted on clichéd high school conflicts that don’t contribute to the story.

2. He has written a carefully-plotted story that is driven by a romance, not a romance that comprises a story in itself. There’s a significant difference there, in both style and approach, and it’s what makes this such a compelling read.

3. He presents us with a story that’s real, complete with all the flaws and all the unanswered questions of life. As much as my heart craves a tidy, happy ending, he really couldn’t (and shouldn’t) have ended it any other way. Having said that, I would not be at all disagreeable to reading a sequel that catches up with Sage somewhere down the road.

4. He sprinkles in just enough humour to relieve the tension, but never at the expense of the characters or the situation. The moments of humour are completely appropriate and very much appreciated.

5. He offers us an honest exploration of gender identity and expression, filtered through the eyes of an outsider. As fascinating and heart-breaking as Sage’s story is, it’s only by putting us inside Logan’s head that we’re able to truly appreciate her struggles. It’s what makes the story so widely accessible, while also helping to preserve the emotional and physical mystery.

Ultimately, this could just as easily been a story about racial, religious, or cultural identity. The elements of the story could have worked with any other struggle at the heart, but I dare say the book would not have been as powerful (or nearly so interesting). Through the question of Sage’s gender identity we also get to explore questions of sexual identity/orientation, particularly with Logan, who struggles with what it means to love a girl who used to be (and, from a purely biological standpoint, still is) a boy.

Brian Katcher’s novel is as brave as it is bold, and he’s to be applauded as much for his choice of subject, as for his talents as a story teller.

[malayna · Rating 5 out of 5]

MY OPINION: *****

This book dealt with topics that I honestly have never thought to read about before, or I just didn't have a chance to.

This book is about a boy named Logan who has just suffered a break-up with his three-year relationship with his girlfriend, Brenda, who cheated on him. He thinks that his luck with girls is basically nothing now...

Until he meets Sage, the new girl in his science class.

He immediately befriends her, but being a teenage boy, he obviously wants their friendship to become something more. But when he tries to kiss her, she runs away scared and Logan is left feeling hurt and confused.

After a couple more "dates" and talks, Sage finally opens up to Logan...

Biologically, Sage was born a boy.

Logan feels hurt and outraged at this "betrayal" but after he calms down (that took forever by the way) he decides that he can start a new friendship again with Sage.

But his "romantic" feelings soon give way and now Logan feels angry and confused...

SO this book was unlike what I've read before. It dealt with different topics (such as being transgender or even gay) and how sometimes, parents really don't understand. What really got me into the book was the fact that Logan was willing to be there for Sage (most of the time) to help her, despite his feelings, etc.

The ending though...

Logan never sees Sage again? What? Where did that come from???

And I want to know more. What happened? Did Sage ever get the surgery? Who did Logan end up with? Do Logan and Sage ever get "back together?"

Anyways, here are some of my favorite quotes:

"When Sage had first told me about her past, she needed me to be understanding. I was hateful. When she needed a friend, I turned into a lover. And when she needed a lover, I wanted nothing to do with her. How many times could I apologize? I was like one of those alcoholics who keep swearing that this time, they're really going to stay sober." -Page 322

"There was something very natural and insanely frustrating about being here, quietly eating with Sage. I tried to put my finger on it. Maybe it was the silence. When was the last time I'd just sat quietly with someone? Certainly not around Jack. Or my mom. Or Brenda. Silence with her had always felt awkward; I'd always felt like she was bored." -Page 77

Also, I loved Jack. That dude was funny AND serious and I just loved him.

I would recommend this book to people who are looking for a more serious book.

Main Character: Logan
Sidekick(s): Sage, Tim, Jack, Tammi, etc
Villain(s): Sage's parents, being "different", etc
Realistic Fiction Elements: Everything in this book was all very real to life.

[Jamie Fahlgren · Rating 2 out of 5]

I started out really liking this book, but by the time I was done, I was glad to be rid of it. Sage, Sage I felt was a real character and not just what Mr. Katcher felt a transgender person would be. Logan starts out as a likable enough character with genuinely funny moments of narration, but the humor is lost as the book progresses and multiple acts of being exceedingly callous really made me dislike him by the end. (Plus, Logan seems to have this extreme paranoia male genitalia that I found very odd, but maybe never having been a teenage guy has something to do with this.)

As for the plot, it felt fairly predictable. Of course, Logan is hot for Sage as the new girl. Of course, once he falls for her, she reveals that she was born male. Of course, he gets mad at her and runs away. Then, of course, he's still secretly attracted to her. After he comes to terms with this, of course, someone else finds out about Sage's secretly. Then, of course, Sage gets beaten up. There's also these segments of edutainment infodump in which Sage divulges the exact details of being transgendered.

I do applaud for ultimately not taking the easy road out. Sage and Logan ultimately don't end up together. (To which I was grateful, Sage could do a lot better than Logan.) Sage clearly has a difficult road ahead of her and a difficult decision to make.

[A.M. Leibowitz · Rating 3 out of 5]

When I read this, I loved it but I struggled with some aspects of it. Four years later, I still have conflicted feelings.

It's not from the perspective of the trans girl. So in that sense, I think it works. I've been on both sides of this equation--the person coming out and the person someone else comes out to--which is why I feel conflicted. At the time I read it, it was among the few that was even willing to talk about the complicated feelings of the partner. It's still taboo to talk about it, as though only feelings on one side matter here. And as someone who has had to come out, I can definitely say that this is not true.

That said, I'm on the fence as to how Sage is written. There's a lot of misgendering, and I feel that it borders at times on "othering" her. There are some dubious things about Sage's transition, like I think she's taking bootleg hormones (which isn't just a bad idea, it's also not the same as the prescribed hormones trans women use). Also, I wasn't entirely comfortable (read: was upset by) the events toward the end and the way the narrative strives to protect Logan's feelings.

I don't know. There's good and bad here, and I think it's best to leave it to trans teens to decide if this is a book for them.

[Sarah · Rating 4 out of 5]

I made the mistake of picking up this book for light reading. There was no dust jacket, but on the back of the hardcover, which had the above cover actually printed on it, there were critic reviews, and one recommended it for lovers of John Green books. There was no summary, so I thought maybe it was a cute love story that doesn't work out.

So as I was reading, I was thinking, "Eh, this is okay." That's the kind of response I wanted, anyway. I wanted a White tea book, and the mysteriousness of Sage's home life kept it interesting.

Then, SURPRISE. Sage is a boy. So much for a light love story. Whoops!

(No, that isn't a spoiler. I checked. That is in the B&N overview as well.)

Katcher does an excellent job at capturing the complicated nature of being a transgendered person as well as being a friend/boyfriend of a transgendered boy. I don't think it would have worked if Logan and Sage were both girls, but Logan wanted to be a boy.

It was a difficult read, mostly because of Katcher's excellence. As you work through Logan and Sage's relationship, you fight with the thought of Sage being a boy. You want her to be a girl, and you have a hard time thinking of her as a boy. It makes you feel weird and twisted inside. Just like Logan does.

I know that gender and sex don't mean the same thing, but I've never had to encounter that before in real life, only when watching Rent, and Angel is accepted by her group of friends, so its not really an issue in that movie.

But it's a huge issue in this book, and that's the brilliance of it. When the climax and ending come, you're like "NO! BE A GIRL, SAGE, BE A GIRL!" But she can't be, and you realize that she's going to fight with that for the rest of her life.

It's a sobering moment, and it makes you think twice about the people around you.

http://thebookishsarah.wordpress.com

[James · Rating 1 out of 5]

I'm usually desperate to read any lgbt book I can get my hands on, and when I found a book with a trans* character I was really excited! By the end of the book however, I was simply angry and disappointed.

Logan (the narrator) is a regular boy in a small town. Sage (the love interest) is a new student at Logan's school. Logan finds her attractive and wants to date her. Sage likes Logan too but warns him that she's not what he's looking for. Logan pursuits her none the less. And when Sage is revealed to be mtf Logan reacts poorly to put it lightly.

And this is where I start to have a problem with the book. While on one hand I understand that Logan behaves and reacts as most boys would (with homophobic and transphobic slurs and insults) I can't help but hate him. Even Sage, our poor abused trans* woman struggling with finding support, is difficult to sympathize with due to her repeated mistakes and lack of self preservation.

The worst part of the book for me is that no one seems to learn or grow. By the end of the book Logan is not any more accepting and Sage is no more confident.

If you're looking for a well written or hopeful trans* novel I would suggest you look else where.

[Chiara · Rating 2 out of 5]

W O W

Logan would seriously have to be the douchiest dickhead I have ever read about. I could not stand him at all. He was constantly contradicting himself - stating one thing, and then pretending that he never actually admitted it. And he was such a self proclaimed martyr, as if he should have been granted some kind of award for being the shittiest friend ever to Sage. Seriously. I don't think I have ever read about a character that I have disliked as much as I disliked Logan.

The only reason why this book got two stars instead of one is Sage. She was freaking adorable (although there were some moments of side-eyeing at her actions) and the only saving grace of this distasteful novel.

Oh, and can I please make known my disgust for the title? "Almost Perfect". Are you fucking kidding me? ARE YOU KIDDING ME? I don't even think I need to elaborate on how much that title disgusts me.

[Toni FGMAMTC · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love this story. I think it's a big eye-opener. It's not really a HEA but more of a cautionary tale. Logan and Sage could have had a very beautiful relationship, but Logan let too many things block him along the way. He begins as someone closed-minded and slowly see his mistakes. Often the journey is one step forward and two steps back. Maybe someone will read this and be more open to things they don't understand. I'm a big supporter of everyone's rights, but, as far as I know, I've never had a trans friend. I really felt for Sage, seeing things from her POV. I had tears a few times. I felt sorry for Logan too. He was young and unprepared for all the emotions and mixed feelings. This book is a must read in my opinion. I think it inspires people to have empathy for fellow humans and not judge each other.

[Liv · Rating 3 out of 5]

Heartbreaking, transphobic story of a cis male who falls for a trans female classmate.

Quality of writing: 3/5
Pace: 4/5
Plot development: 3/5
Characters: 3/5
Enjoyability: 3/5

Time to complete: around 7 hours.

Score: 3.2 Stars out of 5


Notes:

I don’t think that I would be as upset with this book as I am if the author had changed one simple line when Sage tells Logan her secret. ”I am a boy.”

Sage is the only good thing about this book, if it weren’t for her I would toss my rating rubric out completely and give this book 2 stars for being transphobic and microagressive. It’s not even the issue with Logan’s character- I can accept that he feels that way and is struggling. It’s the way Sage was handled at various parts of the book that I have a problem with and it didn’t feel authentic or representative of a trans female.

[Connie Morrison · Rating 5 out of 5]

I was looking for another book to read and decided to start on the list of banned books in Martin County Florida. Almost Perfect was the first one I found in my own Alachua County (Florida ) Library ebooks. I don't do a lot of reviews, but this one deserves the 5 stars I have given it. It's about teenage gender identity, and I, a 70-something year old, am curious and open-minded. I had no idea what it was about when I started reading, but soon became aware and understood why the book was titled as it was. The realization made me sad.

Some have forgotten that old saying that knowledge is power, and as I read I wondered why this book was banned. What are people afraid of?

Having such good luck with this one, I am now on to the next banned book available!

[Rabbit {Paint me like one of your 19th century gothic heroines!}]

DNF @ Page 17.

I just can't get into this. I tried. Maybe one day I will try again. I have way too many books to read.

[Javier Doward · Rating 5 out of 5]

I cannot summarize everything that I feel about this book, but I will say a few things.

Firstly, I’ve read a few comments criticizing Logan as an “unlikeable” protagonist. While I respect one’s opinion on this, I believe that’s what Mr. Katcher is going for here. Logan is an 18 year old high schooler in rural Missouri who is going through meeting and interacting with his first queer person (who he ends up falling in love with) and questioning everything that he knows. I’d argue that’s the point and is what makes he the perfect main character for a story such as this.

Secondly, this book has truly changed me for the better. I bought this because it has been banned by many libraries across the country and, as someone who detests censorship, had to give it a shot. I am so glad that I did. This book has really challenged my personal biases and preconceived notions about others who are different from me. And let me be clear: I mean internal homophobia and transphobia. I am not immune from being insensitive and not actively working to understand and TRULY do my best to ensure that others have a genuinely human experience within our shared mortal coil. I will do better and this book played a vital role in that.

Thirdly, Sage is amazing! I am a cisgendered, straight man to start this thought off. I genuinely understand Logan’s difficultly in reconciling his feelings for Sage with how he sees the world. It’s very easy (and I’d argue lazy) to argue that “right is right” when it comes to how Logan acts. I don’t know what I how I could possibly handle potential feelings like that as an experienced 27 year old man, I don’t fault an 18 year old boy for being just as confused. She was everything she should have been and I continued to ask myself “Could I look past something as important as her biological sex as Logan tried to?” My honest answer: I don’t know. And I don’t fault anyone for sharing that feeling honestly.

Lastly, if you are reading this and are in a similar situation as Sage, I have a very special message for you. Actually, this can be for anyone brave enough to have read the rest of this terrible review. One of my favorite lines from the book is “I deserve someone who loves me the way I am.” This is true. You—yes YOU dear reader—are not “almost perfect”. You ARE perfect! You deserve to live with dignity, pride, and most importantly feel loved. If you’ve never been told that before then let me be the first to say that you are loved, you are worthy, and you deserve to be here. Again, you are not “almost perfect”. You ARE perfect!

[Rachel León]

This novel is tough to rate. On one hand, it's a powerful story about a boy falling for a transgender female. On the other, some aspects weren't handled poorly and some were difficult to read. I considered stopping a couple of times, but the fact the novel won the Stonewall award kept me reading. Overall, I'm glad I finished because though flawed, it's an interesting story that illustrates some of the struggles transgender youth face.

[Jenny · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was my first book by Katcher and lately YA hasn’t been doing it for me but um, wow? This book engaged me so much I had a hard time putting it down. I desperately wanted to discuss while reading it and thought about it all the time. It was a hard story to read. Heartbreaking and painful at times but I enjoyed it. The writing bothered me a little, though.

[Joell Smith-Borne · Rating 3 out of 5]

I read this book for a booktalk assignment for my YA resources class, but I don't think I can do it. I'm finding it difficult to enthusiastically recommend this book. It's told from the point of view of a guy, Logan, who falls for a girl, Sage, who turns out to be MTF trans. She's a really interesting character, maybe a bit saintly, the way she keeps forgiving him for being a jerk, but the book is really about the guy. It reminded me of those movies about South African apartheid that were always about how morally difficult it was for the white people, instead of how difficult it was for the black people physically, emotionally, economically, and every other way you can imagine. And Sage isn't even present by the end of the book; we're just left with our straight white dude's somewhat self-congratulatory reflection.

I'm trying to imagine how a genderqueer teen might take this book. Maybe just thrilled to find a character that looks like herself? Or kind of horrified to see how this book says relationships are likely to go, and she should just hope for a guy who can manage not to hit her when she tells him the truth? Maybe that's not fair--Logan really is a decent guy but he is mostly a product of his surroundings--working class, rural Missouri. Had manages to rise above what we might expect from him, but there's a lot of freaking out and running away and saying awful things along the way. And I just don't think that the most interesting story to be told is about the dude who overcomes his revulsion and accepts how he feels. We've got a teenaged transwoman whose family locked her away for like 5 years so no one would see her, whose father said he wished she were dead rather than transsexual, and who is managing to survive, transition, and keep a sense of humor and hope--I'd love to hear the story from her perspective. Maybe the author, a white male, didn't feel like he could or should speak for her.

I guess it's early days, though--there are not too many books about teenaged transwomen (the only other one I've read is Luna, which has the sister of a teen transwoman as the narrator), so we're still at that stage where we should just be glad they are showing up in stories, being presented positively, and not ending up dead by the end of the book. But after reading I Am J and Parrotfish, which are both about FTM trans teens, and told from their points of view, I'm having a hard time accepting that we can't have a MTF narrator telling her own story just yet.

And maybe I'm just impatient for realistic fiction to catch up to speculative fiction, which has been warping and exploring gender for ages.

[Hallie · Rating 2 out of 5]

I don't know. (That's in response to the prompt above this box that says "What did you think?")

Here's what I do know:

I started to get really nervous about 20 pages from the end, and the ending felt like a punch to the gut. I cried for about half an hour and was upset for the rest of the evening. Then I got angry and wrote a blog post with so much profanity in it I'm embarrassed to publish it as my review. So let me try to do a pro-con list.

Pros:

Sage is a pretty riveting character. I would probably fall for her too.

I can see this book speaking on the right level to teens like the narrator who have never gotten out of their small town or small-town mindset.

Cons:

When you stick a Stonewall award on the cover of the book, it's pretty obvious that there's going to be queer content. Therefore, listening to the narrator (Logan) ramble on and on about Sage's height and big hands and muscles gets boring after 30 pages, never mind after 100. If you're going to have an interesting plot twist, try not to give it away on the cover of the book.

I HATE the "we're perfect for each other but for your/my/our own good we can never see one another again" trope. It's so tragic and unnecessary. This is my own personal feeling, which is why I get to give this book a rating based on how much I liked it. If that storyline works for you, good for you.

Why is the moral of the story that the straight male cisgender character got his world broadened? Why couldn't we have had a story from the trans character's perspective? I had the same issue with Luna by Julie Ann Peters, and I felt the same loss when the trans character left for the big city to escape his parents because we'd only had the story from her sister's point of view (the straight, cisgender sister who started out being freaked out and ended up having her mind broadened). I get that there are people who need to take that journey with a character, but there are other stories to be told too. And for god's sake, give a trans character a happy ending. Fiction serves an escapist, soul-healing purpose too, not just an awareness-raising purpose. There are probably plenty of trans kids who need to see themselves get a happy ending in fiction.

Overall, I guess I'd recommend this book just because there's a dearth of trans characters in YA fiction, but I can't say I actually liked it.

[Sarai · Rating 4 out of 5]

I found this to be an extremely interesting book. I wanted to give it a 4.5 star rating because I really did like it, but the character of Logan did become a little whiny toward the end. It also was not a "can't put it down" book - for me; there may be others to whom it makes a more personal connection.

I liked the way the relationships were handled and the way the central topic was handled. I felt that Logan reacted in a realistic way, as did the boy who reacts violently toward the end. (It is unfortunate and fear-driven, but realistic.) I don't really care for books where the main characters do a lot of lying, but in this situation I could see why (though I did get tired of it eventually). Logan kind of went through the 5 stages of grief in trying to work through his own feelings on the subject, so I guess they apply to more than grief.

I was not sure how I wanted the book to end, but I did feel kind of let down by the ending. I won't go into more detail because I don't want to spoil anything, but the one ending would have been too nicey nice and the other would have been too negative. I guess I just feel like I wanted more from the ending.

Over all, a very good book, and an important one, I think. One that makes you think after the book has ended.


Product Description

Eighteen-year old Logan Witherspoon has just discovered that his girlfriend of three years cheated on him. But things start to look up when a new student enrolls in his small-town high school. Tall, unconventionally pretty, and a bit awkward, Sage Hendricks appeals to Logan at a time when he trusts no one. And as Logan learns more about Sage, he realizes she needs a friend as much as he does, if not more. One day, Logan acts on his growing attraction and kisses her. Moments later, he wishes he hadn't. Sage discloses a secret: biologically, she’s a boy. Enraged, frightened, and feeling betrayed, Logan lashes out at Sage. Once his anger has cooled however, his regrets lead him to attempt to rekindle their friendship. Impressed that Logan is even trying to understand, Sage agrees to give him a second chance. But Logan has no idea how rocky the road back to friendship will be, or how many unexpected, exciting, and painful places he and Sage will visit along the way.