Confessions of a Teenage Hermaphrodite

by Lianne Simon

PhD Amy B. Wisniewski (Foreword)

• ISBN10: 0985148209
• ISBN13: 9780985148201
• Publish Date: 18 September 2012
• Publish Status: Active
• Publish Country: GB
• Imprint: Faie Miss
• Format: Paperback (US Trade)
• Pages: 244
• Language: English

Reviews

[Jo]

Having to write this "review" makes me feel a little disappointed in myself as I normally finish all books I read, but I just couldn't carry on with this one, unfortunately.

I was sent this book quite a while ago to review. I don't normally accept review copies from self-published authors, but Confessions of a Teenage Hermaphrodite sounded really intriguing. When I decided to hold LGBTQ YA Month, I knew I had to review it for the Month. However, I didn't finish it.

I normally give my own summary of what a book is about, but as I didn't finish this book, I don't think I'd give a fair summary. Even before starting to read this book, I had a problem with it. It is generally considered politically incorrect to use the word "hermaphrodite", that intersex is the acceptable term. Not only is this word used in the title of the book, but also in the book, and it made me feel really uneasy every time I read it.

I wasn't a big fan of Jamie. She has been brought up as a boy, Jameson - called Jamie by most - but when she was a child, she loved dressing up as an elfin princess and wearing her sister's clothes. Despite the fact she's now 16, she refers to the act she puts on, playing a boy, as Jameson, but her female side as "the little princess", because of when she was younger. It made sense for a while the first few times, but she continues to do it, referring to herself in the third person; "the little princess did XYZ", "the little princess thought ABC", "his little princess said 123". It really grated on my nerves. Jamie is 16, not 12, and her intelligence got into college early, so referring to herself as "the little princess" just doesn't seem believable. It's also incredibly annoying.

Confessions is also a Christian story, but it feels quite heavy, in that I felt like I was being preached to. I don't mind reading books with religious characters, and for LGBTQ YA Month I even like it as I get the religious views in general and of the specific characters on LGBTQ people. However, I'm an atheist, and I don't like feeling like a book is trying to force the author's religious views on me. It actually makes me angry, like my beliefs - or my lack of belief - don't come into account at all, like they don't matter.

So Confessions annoyed me and wound me up. It just got worse the more I read, so I decided to stop, before making it halfway through. Check out a few other reviews before deciding not to read it based on my review alone.

Thank you to Lianne Simon for the review copy.

[Joni Reads]

Wow. Okay, this book was wonderful. I remember in eigth grade health class learning about hermaphrodites and I distinctly remember the teacher telling us that many times the parents choose what gender they want to raise their child as. I remember thinking, "But what if they choose the wrong gender?" Well, this book basically answers that question.
The main character is Jamie, otherwise known as Jameson. Though his birth certificate says boy, Jamie acted like a girl until 9 years old when a doctor told his family that he should be raised male. Now 16, Jamie has perfected the art of playacting for his family so that they think he is happy as a boy. But when he looks in the mirror he sees himself as the elvin princess he used to pretend to be before the doctor interfered with his life.
Then Jamie meets and befriends a medical student who tells Jamie that the doctor had is all wrong, that he should be a girl. A whole world is opened up to Jamie, who is away at college and has the chance to live the life he has so longed for. But this book is set in the 1970's, when children respected their families, and Jamie is torn between being happy or making his family happy.
I was cheering for Jamie the whole book. So obviously female I wanted to reach through the pages and smack his parents for not accepting that fact. My heart ached as Jamie wrestled with his gender issues and tried so hard to please everyone while staying true to himself. I flew through this book, and there was never a dull moment, never a lull in the story. I was captivated the whole way through and the writing flowed effortlessly off the page. I saw Jamie in my mind and felt like I was his friend, rooting for him to discover his true potential.
Might I add, I have refered to Jamie as "him" throughout the review because the summary refers to him that way and I don't want to confuse anyone. It feels wrong though. Jamie is obviously a girl and I feel like I should say "her" instead of "him". I had to mention it, it felt wrong not to but I want to use the same gender reference as the book summary. In my mind though, Jamie is a female and therefore should be refered as her instead of him.
Read this book!! It's awesomely unique, you have never read anything like it before and it's just wonderful. I loved it.