17. Parrotfish by Ellen Wittlinger

Wittlinger, Ellen. (2007). Parrotfish. New York: Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers. ISBN- 13:978-1-4169-1622, p. 287

Genre: Fiction/GLBTQ
Interest Age: 15+
Curriculum: NA

Reader’s Annotation

Angela is making the biggest decisions of her life. She decides to live the way which seems right to her, as a boy named Grady.

Plot Summary

Angela feels she is and has always been a straight boy who was born in a girl’s body. After years of preparing herself, she finally makes the switch and begins to live her life as Grady. But getting a new haircut, new clothes, and a new name are the easy parts. Grady must now come out and explain his new identity to his family, friends, and everyone at school. Simply choices like which bathroom to use become complex. How does Grady explain his situation to the girl he’s slowing falling in love with? Grady must learn deal with those people who hate who he is and embrace those who will support him for who he is.

Parrotfish examines the definitions of sex and gender and explores the life of someone whose identity is not black and white.

Critical Review

Issues of sexuality and gender identity are skillfully handled by Ellen Wittlinger in this touching story of a transgender youth. As Grady transitions from life as a girl to that of a boy he deals with general questions of gender and identity, like the “Is it a boy or a girl?” question which is always asked of expecting mothers, to more practical questions like, “Which locker room do I use?” The awkwardness, fear, and joy experienced by Grady as he comes out to the world is all made palpable by Wittlinger’s multidimensional characters and keen insight into the trans-gender experience.

Wittlinger writes a diverse cast of characters who all represent the different points of view society has on trans-gender individuals. Although Grady’s father and little brother deal with Grady’s transition fairly easily (to her little brother the change is almost benign), her mother, still loving and caring for her child, is clearly upset at the loss of her daughter. There are the close minded, and vicious girls at school who seek to humiliate Grady simply for being different (and to cover up their own insecurities); Grady’s former best friend Eve, who disowns Grady in order to fit in with the other kids; and Sebastian, a sort of outsider in his own way, who accepts just about everyone around him for who they are.

Along with the important GLBTQ themes, Parrotfish also address several other themes which are universal to the teen experience. Grady struggles with feelings of love for a friend. Eve deals with peer pressure, loyalty to her oldest friend, and fitting in at a new school. Grady’s family has to deal with a changing family dynamic (which plays out through a hilarious reenactment of A Christmas Carol). These themes transcend gender and sexuality and make Grady’s story relateable to anyone who survived the mine field of high school and battled the pressures of fitting in vs. the desire to be one’s self.

Author Info

Ellen Wittlinger was born in 1948 in Belleville, IL. She attended Millikin University for her B.A. and University of Iowa for her M.F.A. As well as being a writer, she has also worked as a children’s librarian and a writing instructor. Wittlinger had her first YA novel Lombardo’s Law published in 1993. She won major praise for her novel Hard Love (1999), the story of 16 year old dealing with his parents divorce and feelings for a girl who is gay; the novel won the Michael R. Printz Honor Book designation, Lambda Literary Book Award, and Best Books for Young Adults selection and Quick Picks for Reluctant Readers selection.

Wittlinger generally writes about the teen experience through the eyes of outsider and loners. The author notes, “I find I'm most interested in those kids who are on the fringes….the slight oddballs and lovable misfits who aren't quite comfortable in their own skins, or if they are, their differentness makes those around them uncomfortable. I want to celebrate their differences because they are likely to be the most fascinating people the rest of us will ever know”.

"Ellen Wittlinger." Contemporary Authors Online. Detroit: Gale, 2008. Literature Resource Center. Web. 16 May 2010.

Book Talking Ideas

1. How are gender and sex defined? What are the differences? How does Grady define herself?
2. What are the different reactions to Grady’s coming out as a boy? Why do these characters have these responses?
3. What does the juxtaposition of the Christmas play and Grady’s actual life mean? What does the play mean to different characters in the story?

Challenges

There have been no well publicized challenges to Parrotfish but the novel deals with issues of sexuality and gender which are often cited as reasons for challenges.

Why I choose this title

Providing well written GLBTQ materials serves a group of readers who are unable or reluctant to talk about such issues. Giving them materials that address issues they face every day is important.