Lily and Dunkin

*Starred Review* I guess everyone has secrets, 13-year-old Tim muses, and his secret is known only to his family and his best friend, Dare. Born a boy, Tim knows he is really a girl named Lily. And then there is her new friend Norbert, whom she has nicknamed Dunkin (acknowledging his passion for Dunkin Donuts). Dunkin has a secret, too: he is bipolar. Though not ready to make her transition public, Lily bravely begins to make gestures in that direction: painting her fingernails, wearing lipstick, and so on all this despite the bullying she receives from the boys she dubs the Neanderthals. Meanwhile, Dunkin has made their middle-school basketball team and, to ensure he has the energy to play, goes off his meds. The two young teens tell their increasingly compelling stories in alternating first-person chapters. Though both stories are emotionally powerful, Dunkin's comes perilously close to eclipsing Lily's, but nevertheless both characters are irresistibly appealing, and Gephart beautifully manages their evolution. Though in less skillful hands this might have turned into a problem novel, it is, instead, a thoughtfully and sensitively written work of character-driven fiction that dramatically addresses two important subjects that deserve more widespread attention.--Cart, Michael Copyright 2016 Booklist

With humor and great sensitivity, Gephart (Death by Toilet Paper) juxtaposes the efforts of two eighth-graders-one struggling with gender dysphoria, one with mental illness-to establish new identities for themselves. Determined, gentle, and self-aware Tim was "born with boy parts" but identifies as a girl, preferring the name Lily; already "out" to her family and best friend Dare, Lily is both excited and terrified about reactions to a more public transformation. Meanwhile, mercurial newcomer Norbert hates his name-but loves the nickname Lily gives him, Dunkin, which alludes to his favorite haunt-and keeps deep secrets, even from himself. Their friendship develops slowly as Dunkin, desperate for acceptance, gets swept up by an intolerant basketball-playing crowd. Gephart sympathetically contrasts the physical awkwardness, uncertainty, and longings of these two outsiders during a few tightly-plotted months, building to a crescendo of revelation. Strong, supportive women accept these teens as they are, while their fathers struggle mightily. Despite an overly tidy resolution to Dunkin's story and Lily being a bit too perfect, it's a valuable portrait of two teenagers whose journeys are just beginning. Ages 10-up. Agent: Tina Wexler, ICM. (May) © Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved.

Gr 5-8-Lily and Dunkin have a chance meeting just before entering eighth grade and sense an immediate connection; both harbor deep secrets. Gephart expertly weaves the characters' separate but similar struggles with school, family, and society with concurrent narratives. Lily was assigned male at birth but has always felt she is a girl; she's pressuring her family to give her hormone blockers as she races toward puberty. Her dad is the holdout, wanting only to protect his child from ridicule and danger. Norbert (who hates that name but loves Dunkin Donuts) has bipolar disorder and has been forced to move in with his grandma after something mysterious happened to his father. During school, a group called the "Neanderthals" attack Lily with insults and bullying, while courting gigantic Dunkin into strengthening their basketball team's chance at a championship. Lily also gets wrapped up in the city's decision to cut down her favorite tree, while Dunkin begins skipping his meds in order to perform better on the court. The conclusions are both satisfying and provocative. The narration provided by Ryan Gesell and Michael Crouch is excellent. Also exceptional are the author's personal notes at the end about how and why this important story came about and Pat Scales's thought-provoking discussion questions. VERDICT Listeners who enjoyed Jazz Jennings's Being Jazz or Holly Goldberg Sloan's Counting by 7s will appreciate this unique tale, a timely novel suitable for any middle school kid who feels different.-Deb Whitbeck, formerly at West Ottawa Public Schools, Holland, MI © Copyright 2016. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.

Eighth graders Lily Jo and Dunkin both dislike their birth names (Timothy and Norbert, respectively) and struggle with the ways they feel their bodies betray them: for trans Lily because others assume she is a boy, and for bipolar Dunkin because he needs mood stabilizing and antipsychotic medication. While their tentative friendship is repeatedly tried by bullies, Gephart delivers an optimistic novel full of hope and heart. (c) Copyright 2017. The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.

*Starred Review* "I guess everyone has secrets," 13-year-old Tim muses, and his secret is known only to his family and his best friend, Dare. Born a boy, Tim knows he is really a girl named Lily. And then there is her new friend Norbert, whom she has nicknamed Dunkin (acknowledging his passion for Dunkin Donuts). Dunkin has a secret, too: he is bipolar. Though not ready to make her transition public, Lily bravely begins to make gestures in that direction: painting her fingernails, wearing lipstick, and so on—all this despite the bullying she receives from the boys she dubs the Neanderthals. Meanwhile, Dunkin has made their middle-school basketball team and, to ensure he has the energy to play, goes off his meds. The two young teens tell their increasingly compelling stories in alternating first-person chapters. Though both stories are emotionally powerful, Dunkin's comes perilously close to eclipsing Lily's, but nevertheless both characters are irresistibly appealing, and Gephart beautifully manages their evolution. Though in less skillful hands this might have turned into a problem novel, it is, instead, a thoughtfully and sensitively written work of character-driven fiction that dramatically addresses two important subjects that deserve more widespread attention. Copyright 2014 Booklist Reviews.

With humor and great sensitivity, Gephart (Death by Toilet Paper) juxtaposes the efforts of two eighth-graders—one struggling with gender dysphoria, one with mental illness—to establish new identities for themselves. Determined, gentle, and self-aware Tim was "born with boy parts" but identifies as a girl, preferring the name Lily; already "out" to her family and best friend Dare, Lily is both excited and terrified about reactions to a more public transformation. Meanwhile, mercurial newcomer Norbert hates his name—but loves the nickname Lily gives him, Dunkin, which alludes to his favorite haunt—and keeps deep secrets, even from himself. Their friendship develops slowly as Dunkin, desperate for acceptance, gets swept up by an intolerant basketball-playing crowd. Gephart sympathetically contrasts the physical awkwardness, uncertainty, and longings of these two outsiders during a few tightly-plotted months, building to a crescendo of revelation. Strong, supportive women accept these teens as they are, while their fathers struggle mightily. Despite an overly tidy resolution to Dunkin's story and Lily being a bit too perfect, it's a valuable portrait of two teenagers whose journeys are just beginning. Ages 10–up. Agent: Tina Wexler, ICM. (May)