North of Tomboy
A Novel
A fourth grader adopts a creative way to remedy the gulf between how she feels inside and how others perceive her in Julie A. Swanson’s insightful novel North of Tomboy.
No one in Jess’s Northern Michigan rural family, church, or community seems to understand that dresses and dolls just don’t cut it for a child who looks like a girl but feels more like a boy. When her requests to cut her long hair and wear “boy’s clothes” are denied and Christmas brings her yet another pretty doll, Jess takes action. She cuts the doll’s hair short, making it a representation of her real self—an outspoken, funny, sports-loving boy, Mickey. Jess speaks her mind through Mickey until she realizes that she has become a shadow of herself, her being engulfed by the doll that became her alter-ego.
Jess’s frustration is palpable. Using her strength and creativity to channel her boy-self into the doll, she leads others to admire Mickey’s adventurous spirit and wit. While excessive space is given to minor events and family dynamics within the book, each step that Jess takes toward self-expression, as shown when she cuts her hair in defiance of her mother, infuses her tale with energy and optimism. Knowing that it’s only a matter of time before everyone in their close-knit community learns her secret, Jess devises a dramatic solution that relieves her of Mickey and frees her to integrate his strengths into her character.
North of Tomboy is an engaging novel that reveals the inner world of a creative child who explores and learns to express her nonconforming gender identity.
Reviewed by
Kristine Morris
Disclosure: This article is not an endorsement, but a review. The publisher of this book provided free copies of the book to have their book reviewed by a professional reviewer. No fee was paid by the publisher for this review. Foreword Reviews only recommends books that we love. Foreword Magazine, Inc. is disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255.
