Almost Perfect

Brian Katcher

Delacorte Books for Young Readers, 2009

Plot Summary

Everyone has that one line they swear they’ll never cross, the one thing they say they’ll never do. We draw the line. Maybe we even believe it.

Sage Hendricks was my line.

Logan Witherspoon befriends Sage Hendricks at a time when he no longer trusts or believes in people. He's drawn to Sage, with her constant smile and sexy voice, and his feelings for her grow so strong that he can’t resist kissing her.

Sage finally discloses a big secret: she was born a boy. Enraged, frightened, and feeling betrayed, Logan lashes out at her–a reaction he soon desperately wishes he could take back. Once his anger cools, Logan is filled with incredible regret, and all he wants is to repair his friendship with Sage.

But it’s hard to replace something that’s been broken—and it’s even harder to find your way back to friendship when you began with love.

Reviews

Kirkus (September 2009. Starred): “Domestic drama and personal tragedy ensue, and while the ending is not necessarily a happy one, both characters come full circle and begin to better understand both themselves and each other. The author tackles issues of homophobia, hate crimes and stereotyping with humor and grace in an accessible tone that will resonate with teens who may not have encountered the issue of transgender identity before.”
School LIbrary Journal (December 2009): “This remarkable book takes a hard look at the difficulties and pain experienced by young male-to-female transsexuals from an easily relatable perspective. Logan is a conservative 18-year-old Everyman whose generic voice isn’t-and doesn’t need to be-anything special; although readers follow his growth, it is Sage’s story that is truly important. A remarkably “clean” book dealing with sexuality and identity, this is neither preachy nor didactic while directly challenging prejudice and intolerance.” (Review posted on Author’s Website- no longer available online)
Booklist (December 2009): Many teens both those familiar with transgender issues and those who are not will welcome the honest take on a rarely explored subject. The biological facts about hormones and Sage’s changing body are woven in, and Katcher clearly dramatizes the characters’ secrets, lies, shame, and denial, as well as the cruel prejudice they experience with family and friends.” (Review posted on Author’s Website- only available to members online)

The Bulletin of the Center for Children’s Books (January 2010): “Katcher manages a delicate balance here: Sage is utterly credible and utterly sympathetic, but so are Logan’s shock and reservations. His narration explores the emotional issues—does this mean he’s gay? Can he face his small Missouri town if people know?—while the story conveys the daunting details of Sage’s everyday realities, such as going to great lengths to avoid showing her driver’s license, which classifies her as male. Though the book is programmatic at times and gives Logan too much responsibility for Sage’s well-being and identity, this is a solid, reality-based exploration of transgender issues and the possibly insurmountable task of facing them as a teenager in a small town.” (Review posted on Author’s Website- no longer available online)

Awards

Stonewall Award for Children’s & Young Adult Literature Winner, 2011

Lambda Award Nominee, 2010

Georgia Peach Award Nominee, 2011-2012

Garden State Teen Book Award Nominee (New Jersey), 2011-2012

Green Mountain Book Award Nominee (Vermont), 2012-2013

Flume Readers’ Choice Award Nominee (New Hampshire), 2013

Lists

American Library Association Best Books for Young Adults, 2010

Capitol Choice Noteworthy Book (Washington, D.C.), 2010

TAYSHASH (Texas) Reading List Book, 2011

YALSA Outstanding Book for the College Bound, 2014

Response to challenges

Lee County Schools, Florida: The book could be banned in classrooms and libraries by administrators pending a review. Despite various searches I cannot tell if the book was permanently removed from the shelves after review or not.

Polk County Schools, Florida: The book could be banned in classrooms and libraries by administrators pending a review. Book appears to still be available in at least 2 school libraries but marked as “lost” in other catalogs.

Walton County Schools District, Florida: Book was banned by the administration pending an investigation. Despite various searches cannot tell if the book was permanently removed from the library.

Iredell-Statesville School District, North Carolina: Book was banned in libraries by the administration. Book is available at this time.

Granbury ISD, Texas: Book was banned by the administration pending an investigation. Title is no longer available to students.

North East ISD, Texas: Book was banned by the administration pending an investigation. Book has been returned to the shelves.

Reference list

admin. (2010, January 13). 2010 best books for young adults [Text]. Young Adult Library Services Association (YALSA). https://www.ala.org/yalsa/booklistsaw ards/booklists/bestbooksya/bbya2010

Almost perfect | kirkus reviews. (n.d.). Retrieved October 16, 2022, from https://www.kirkusreview s.com/book-reviews/brian-katcher-2/almost-perfect-3/

Book reviews – almost perfect « brian katcher—Author. (n.d.). Retrieved October 16, 2022, from http://briankatcher.com/site/books/book-reviews-almost-perfect/

Capitol choices. (n.d.). Capitol Choices. Retrieved October 16, 2022, from https://capitolchoices.org/

Crum, B. (2022, March 15). NEISD removes more than 100 books after review of lawmaker’s list. San Antonio Report.

http://sanantonioreport.org/north-east-isd-removes-more-than-100-books-review-kra use-list/

Garden state children’s book awards | njla members. (n.d.). Retrieved October 16, 2022, from http://njlamembers.org/content/garden-state-childrens-book-awards

Georgia peach book award for teen readers. (n.d.). Retrieved October 16, 2022, from https://sites.google.com/view/ga-peach-book-award-for-teens/home

Green mountain book award | department of libraries. (n.d.). Retrieved October 16, 2022, from https://libraries.vermont.gov/services/children_and_teens/book_awards/green_moun tain

Jensen, K. (2022, April 22). How one district is pushing back against book banning: Book censorship news, april 22, 2022. BOOK RIOT.

https://bookriot.com/book-censorship-news-april-22-2022/

JFINNEKE. (2014, February 5). 2014 outstanding books for the college bound and lifelong learners [Text]. Young Adult Library Services Association (YALSA). https://www.ala.org/yalsa/2014-outstanding-books-college-bound-and-lifelong-learne rs

Lammys directory: 1988-present. (n.d.). Lambda Literary. Retrieved October 16, 2022, from https://lambdaliterary.org/awards/lammys-directory-1988-present/

Library media services | polk county public schools. (n.d.). Retrieved October 16, 2022, from https://polkschoolsfl.com/library/

Library services / campus library title updates. (n.d.). Retrieved October 18, 2022, from https://www.neisd.net/Pag e/http%3A%2F%2Fwww.neisd.net%2Fsite%2Fdefault.aspx

%3FPageID%3D34461

Oxner, R. (2022, March 1). ACLU wants North Texas school district to apologize for removing over 100 library books. The Texas Tribune. https://www.t exastribune.org/2022/02/28/granbury-isd-aclu-book-removal/

Past lists. (n.d.). Texas Library Association. Retrieved October 16, 2022, from https://txla.org/tools-resources/reading-lists/tayshas/past-lists/

School leaders grapple with new rules for upcoming year. (2022, August 8). FOX 4 News Fort Myers WFTX.

https://www.fox4now.com/news/back-to-school/school-leaders-grapple-with-new-rul es-for-upcoming-year

Stonewall book awards—Children’s and young adult award | awards & grants. (n.d.).

Retrieved October 16, 2022, from

https://www.ala.org/awardsgrants/stonewall-childrens-and-young-adult-award#:~:text

=About%20the%20Stonewall%20Book%20Awards,relating%20to%20the%20LGBTQIA% 2B%20experience.

The flume: Nh teen reader’s choice award | webster nh. (n.d.). Retrieved October 16, 2022, from

https://www.webster-nh.gov/webster-free-public-library/pages/flume-nh-teen-reader s-choice-award#:~:text=The%20Flume%3A%20NH%20Teen%20Reader’s%20Choice%2 0Award%20was%20created%20in,from%20school%20and%20public%20librarians.

Walton County schools pulls books flagged by statewide nonprofit. (2022, May 6). WUWF. https://www.wuwf.org/local-news/2022-05-06/walton-county-schools-pulls-books-flag ged-by-statewide-nonprofit

Book Resume created by Virginia Library Association and PDSAL

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