John Boyne to Release Novel About Transgender Teen

John Boyne, author of The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas has never shied away from difficult subjects and next spring will release a book about a transgender teenager and her brother.

My Brother’s Name is Jessica will be published by Penguin Random House and is slated for release on 18th April 2019 with pre-orders already available. The book is about Sam’s journey of acceptance of his sister Jessica, who transitions from male to female.

Of the novel, Boyne said that he has always written about children who are isolated in some way and he hopes that My Brother’s Name is Jessica will enlighten young readers on the bravery of transgender youth so that they understand that this is just another facet of human nature to be celebrated.

Boyne is one of the best known children’s authors of the day and many of his previous novels are on school reading lists. We suspect this will be one of the bestsellers of next year.

The blurb reads:

Sam Waver’s life has always been pretty quiet. A bit of a loner, he struggles to make friends, and his busy parents often make him feel invisible. Luckily for Sam, his older brother, Jason, has always been there for him. Sam idolises Jason, who seems to have life sorted – he’s kind, popular, amazing at football, and girls are falling over themselves to date him.

But then one evening Jason calls his family together to tell them that he’s been struggling with a secret for a long time. A secret which quickly threatens to tear them all apart. His parents don’t want to know and Sam simply doesn’t understand.

Because what do you do when your brother says he’s not your brother at all? That he thinks he’s actually . . . your sister?

My Brother’s Name is Jessica will be released in hardback on 18th April 2019.