Melissa has a secret. Though looking at her on the outside, everyone assumes she’s George, a fourth grade boy, she knows that she is a girl. When she decides it’s time to talk to her family and best friend about her identity, she realises the fourth grade play will be the perfect opportunity. She will play Charlotte in the school production of “Charlotte’s Web”, and everyone will finally see her for who she really is. Problems arise when Melissa’s teacher refuses to let her audition for the part—because she sees Melissa as a boy. Not to be deterred, Melissa and her best friend Kelly come up with a plan that will give Melissa the voice she needs to be her true self once and for all.
Melissa was originally published in 2015 with the title George, with author Gino making the change in April 2022. As George, the book had the dubious distinction of becoming the most banned book in America by 2020. It has been consistently challenged and banned by the American Library Association for its depiction of a transgender minor, for sexual references and conflicting with religious viewpoints. The book has been restricted and hidden as “schools and libraries should not put books in a child’s hand that require discussion”, and because it was “believed to encourage children to clear browser history and change their bodies using hormones”.
Alex Gino started changing the novel’s name while greeting fans at book signings, after they said they had made a mistake in titling it with a name “the main character does not like or want to use for herself”. The publisher officially changed the title of the book from George to Melissa in 2022 “to respect Melissa and all trans people”.
Gino, A. (2022). Melissa. Scholastic.