An informative and thought provoking book about what life is really like for transgender/genderqueer children or teens and their families. The author interviewed approximately 20 children and/or their parents across the USA and Canada, and taking their first hand experiences as a basis discusses a variety of issues including schools, sports, safe spaces in public buildings, supportive healthcare and the importance of parental and familial support for these particularly vulnerable young people and also looks at what the future may bring, given the changing and less tolerant political climate, particularly in the USA.
Some of the first hand experiences recounted here are tragic and heart breaking, but there are also many moments of strength and positivity. Despite the use of these accounts, the writing style and tone of the book is quite academic, which is a shame, as I think it has a lot to offer in terms of educating the population as a whole. I did like the inclusion of a comprehensive list of resources at the end of the book, including books suitable for both children and teens, as well as their parents, teachers etc and also websites, films and other resources.

In today’s society, there’s always something going on concerning people’s gender, sexuality, race and… well, pretty much every other label or characteristic in existence. The Trans Generation focuses on one of those – being trans. As someone identifying as bisexual, I often feel like I should know more about other identities, other labels. Which is exactly why I decided to pick up this book.

Firstly, I’d like to point out I can’t judge any of the content in any way. I don’t identify as trans, nor do I live in the United States or in Canada – where Ann Travers conducted years and years of research. I genuinely believe this allows me to say it gives a real and raw view of how life for transgenders is in those continents.

I was aware life couldn’t be easy for this minority group, but I never, ever realized – and this may sound naive, but so be it – there are many other factors influencing their lives on a daily basis. Simply imagining a trans, colored person growing up in a very poor environment makes me angry.
Ann Travers succeeds at showing exactly what kind of influence this can have on children who’re already struggling with their identity, their being.

Adding in snippets of trans children's lives makes this non-fiction even more real, touching and thought-provoking. So many subjects are touched upon – from social perspectives, to friends, to school, to family, to beliefs, to the environment they grew up on, to… well.. a lot!

I have to admit I had a hard time getting through this non-fiction, but that’s purely because there is a lot of information, a lot of things I didn’t know, didn’t realize. I had to read slowly, sometimes even rereading chapters because I was sure I didn’t take it all in like I wanted to.

At the end of the day, I simply want to share this novel with everyone because it’s a truly important one. I hope you read it someday.

4* A book that won't fail to touch hearts and minds.

I'm an LGBT ally and found this book immensely touching. There are sad parts to it, heartwarming parts, reality that differs so much from kid to kid, parent/carer to parent/carer, district to district, school to school, country to country and more.

It's a book that I'm glad I read, and that I think would be useful to have on hand at schools, whatever the country. I hope that the author catches up with these kids and their parents in years to come, and that I get to find out how their lives have fared. I had a lot of positivity and warmth by the end of this book, that outweighed the sadness at one loss of life, and it's made me see how much I've been fortunate enough to take for granted in my life.

ARC courtesy of NetGalley and NYU Press, for my reading pleasure.

This is a very thorough book that does an excellent job of accounting for the diversity of trans youth's experiences, especially those who are members of other vulnerable populations. I only wish more quotations from the kids themselves were included!

This is a very informative book which enlightens you about the transgender community. It provides detailed facts about the way a person who identifies with being transgendered may feel growing up and as adults. It has examples from many different people and offers encouragement for those who may be struggling with living with the wrongly assigned gender roles as assigned to them by the culture of our society. I would recommend this book to those who can keep an open mind and not be judgmental towards others who identify differently in society than they may.

I 'm new to a lot of this info, so the book has been interesting for me to read. I'm still not sure I understand all the nuances out there, but this helped explain many of the questions I had concerning the LGBTQIA identity. There are other identities the book doesn't address that I am still seeking answers for. It's become a different world from when I was growing up. The gay/lesbian individuals I grew up knowing has branched out into more diverse groups than I could even imagine. It's fascinating to read about all the varieties of human sexuality. Very diverse.

This book is good for anyone needing to connect or needing to learn. There is so much to understand and sometimes you can't ask questions without being attacked.

I received a free e-book copy of this title from NetGalley and the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

The Trans Generation is a smart and compassionate book about various challenges faced by today's genderqueer youth. The heart of the book is comprised of a study concerning 20 young people from Canada and USA who are all, each in their own way, genderqueer (including, but not limited to, transgender and non-binary perspectives). The author interviews the kids and their parents, and uses the information gathered as a starting point to discuss issues connected with being genderqueer in Canada and the US, as well as ways, both legal and private, of overcoming some of these challenges. Travers uses gender studies, critical childhood studies and the discourse of precarity to showcase why genderqueer youth are particularly vulnerable members of society, while never losing sight of her interviewee's individuality and humanity.

It was a deeply informative and interesting read. Unfortunately (though not unexpectedly), it was also very upsetting due to the hardships the young people and the author describe (widespread bullying, to give one example). It is ever more so upsetting given the context of my reading, wherein the deeply conservative government of my country would never grant any of the (incredibly small) legal concessions the young people portrayed in the book might be able to experience.

I requested this book because I honestly don't know much about Trans Gender. I am like most people who have heard the term but that is far as it goes.
This is a subject that I don't understand and requested this book to have better understand of the family with trans gender children. How the worlds reviews this change to gender and how can better understand families with trans gender children.
The Trans Generation is a wonderful story because it gives insight into family struggles in a day of "Open Mindedness."
This is a first hand account with transgender young people aged 4-20 and their family members. Each story brings to light the struggles trans gender individuals face every day. The family relationships are the key to a health outlook on the personal emotional well being.
Thank you to Netgalley for the advance copy for my honest review.

This is a great book! I think it would be very useful for parents and teens to read.

Very good review on transgender children, their friends and family. Although i know what the term transgender means and know one person who is such, I never really thought about how they deal with some of the things that I read in this book. I always thought that any transgender person was/is very brave, because I could only imagine what they have to endure. This is a good book for any one who wishes to learn more about transgender children and thier life. Thanks to NetGalley, the author and the publisher for the ARC of this book in return for my honest review.

*thank you to Netgalley and NYU Press for an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review*

4 stars.

Transgender is a word many of us are now familiar with. But how many of us really understand what that means? It was only about 10 years ago that I really started to pick up what it was but I still didn't have a clue really. I am very ashamed to admit that my thoughts on it were negative. It disgusted me. (I am in no way proud of thinking that and I need to add that I most definitely do NOT feel that way now.) Back then Id only heard what id been told and it wasnt until I saw this amazing documentary on Transgender people that my eyes were finally opened to the truth. I wish I'd remembered the name of it because it changed my life. I came to understand people better who feel this way, feel like they were the wrong gender for their true selves. Now I feel inspired by them. Their courage to undergo a sex change for one example. This book goes into so much detail about issues that are brought up by transgender children. It was all so very interesting. Somethings I had known but most of it, I was in the dark about. This book is for anybody who is wanting a better understanding or maybe you have a friend who is transgender. Either way, this book is one to grab.

If you or anyone you know is having difficulty with their assigned birth gender, this might be a good book to read. It is based on interviews with transgender young people aged 4-20 and their family members. It shows first-hand what it is like to grow up as 'transgender'. The book covers many different sub-topics, such as social change, racialisation, and childhood, just to name a few. It's great at raising awareness of transgender individuals, as well as showing the difficulties they face in the normal everyday activities of modern life. It was great to see interviews from transgender individuals themselves, and the case studies and accounts were woven seamlessly into the text, which worked really well. The major downside to this book however, is that it is not laid out in the easiest format. I feel it would have worked better with clearly laid chapters on varying issues, with quotations from individuals set apart. On the whole though, I think this wil be a very reassuring book to many.