We then meet Leo Denton, who has recently transferred to Eden Park. He reflects on the fact that he has never had a girlfriend or boyfriend, never been kissed, and never even held hands with someone. During the moments he is left alone in his house, David dresses up as a girl and uses his mother’s makeup, only to wipe it off and feel uncomfortable in his own skin once more. He wishes he had the curves of his mother. Despite Felix’s encouragement that Kate Winslet wears size nine shoes, David obsessively measures himself, distraught at the appearance of stubble on his chin. The rising testosterone in his body elongates his figure and causes his feet to become large and unattractive. He doesn’t feel they can completely understand him, however, and he feels particularly isolated from them as they have just become a couple.Īs his body transforms with puberty, David gets further away from the petite, feminine frame he desires. David suffers in his isolation and quiet desperation, having told his secret only to his best friends. Besides his best friends Essie and Felix, David’s fellow classmates see him as an easy target for bullying and have nicknamed him “Freakshow.” He is also in love with the most popular boy in school. We learn that life for David at Eden Park School is tough. Although he has caring middle-class parents who seem to suspect that something is going on with their son, David imagines the pain and disappointment his confession will bring them and cannot bring himself to reveal his secret to them. He wishes to come out as a transgender girl and be called Kate. He remembers writing, “I want to be a girl.” Since then, David has hidden this desire from the world and struggled with his identity.
The novel opens as 14-year-old David Piper recollects when he was eight years old and was asked to write about what he wished to be when he grew up. An uplifting story of two transgender teens trying to live a truth that has been a secret for too long, The Art of Being Normal takes a thought-provoking look at gender identity and what it means to be transgender. With Leo’s support, David prepares to transition and come out as Kate. David is a transgender girl who has not come out either. When Leo stands up for a classmate, David, in a fight, the two become fast friends. Catching the eye of the most beautiful girl in the class is definitely not part of Leo’s plan, particularly because he is a transgender male and is not out at his new school.
On Leo’s first day at his new school, he has one goal: to keep his head low and not draw any attention to himself. The Art of Being Normal is Lisa Williamson’s 2018 novel about two transgender students, Leo Denton and David Piper.
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