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Beyond Magenta

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Beyond Magenta
AuthorSusan Kuklin
LanguageEnglish
GenreYoung adult non-fiction
PublisherCandlewick Press
Publication date
February 11, 2014
Publication placeUnited States
Pages192
ISBN978-0-7636-5611-9

Beyond Magenta: Transgender Teens Speak Out is a 2014 book written by American author Susan Kuklin. For the book, Kuklin met and interviewed six transgender or gender-neutral young adults, describing their sense of identity before, during, and after transitioning.

Beyond Magenta has received many awards. Despite its reception, the book was on the Top 10 Most Challenged Books lists for 2015 and 2019.[1]

Background

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After writing No Choirboy, a book about incarcerated teens, Kuklin wondered what it might feel like to be imprisoned inside your own body, which led her to thinking about transgender individuals.[2] From here, Kuklin reached out to the Callen-Lorde Community Health Center in Manhattan, "which primarily serves New York's LGBT community and has a teen health outreach program."[2] There, Kuklin connected with five transgender youth who became the center of Beyond Magenta. The sixth teenager represented in the book was contacted through "Proud Theater, a nonprofit, all-volunteer theater group for gay and lesbian youth in Madison, Wis[consin]."[2]

After connecting with the teens, Kuklin interviewed each of them, then pieced the stories together to create a cohesive narrative.[2]

Reception

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Reviews

Beyond Magenta was well received by critics, including starred reviews from Publishers Weekly,[3] Booklist,[4] and Kirkus Reviews.[5]

Publishers Weekly noted that the book's "chief value isn't just in the stories it reveals but in the way Kuklin captures these teenagers not as idealized exemplars of what it 'means' to be transgender but as full, complex, and imperfect human beings."

Kirkus called the book "[i]nformative, revealing, powerful and necessary,"[5] and Booklist's Michael Cart "highly recommended" it.[4]

School Library Journal called Beyond Magenta a "powerful and important reading ... that every teen should read," saying, "What makes this book outstanding is the way that Kuklin allows the teen voice to shine, with very little authorial interruption."[6] However, they noted that it didn't have "the literary chops" of other books.[6]

The audiobook, narrated by Tanya Eby, received a positive review from Booklist, who noted that "A cast of talented narrators comes together for this honest and heartfelt recording."[7]

Awards and honors

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Beyond Magenta was named one of the best nonfiction books of 2014 by Advocate,[8] Booklist,[9] The Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books,[10] Kirkus Reviews,[5] Redbery Books,[11] and Shelf Awareness.[12] It was also named CCBC Choice book for Understanding Oneself and Others.[13] The following year, the American Library Association included Beyond Magenta on their annual Rainbow List,[14] and it was named a notable book by the International Reading Association and the National Council on Social Studies.[15][16] The National Multiple Sclerosis Society also included it on their list of Books for a Better Life Award for Childcare/Parenting.[17]

Awards for Beyond Magenta
Year Award/Honor Result Ref.
2015 Bank Street College of Education's Flora Stieglitz Straus Award Winner [18]
Lambda Literary Award for LGBT Children's/Young Adult Literature Winner [19]
Stonewall Book Award for Children's and Young Adult Literature Honor [20][21]
2014 Foreword INDIE for Young Adult Nonfiction Winner [22]
Cybils Award: Nonfiction for Young Adults Finalist [23]

Bans

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Beyond Magenta landed the 27th spot on the American Library Association's list of the most banned and challenged books in the United States between 2010 and 2019.[24]

In 2015, Beyond Magenta was listed as the fourth-most banned book in the United States because of its inclusion of offensive language, homosexuality, and sex education.[1] Challengers deemed the book anti-family and inappropriate for the age group, also stating that it had conflicts with political and religious viewpoints.[1]

In 2019, Beyond Magenta became the second-most banned book because of its LGBTQIA+ content, "its effect on any young people who would read it," and concerns that it was sexually explicit and biased.[1] As of 2022, eleven U.S. school districts have banned the book.[25]

References

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  1. ^ a b c d American Library Association (26 March 2013). "Top 10 Most Challenged Books Lists". Advocacy, Legislation & Issues. Archived from the original on 2017-07-24. Retrieved 2021-03-05.
  2. ^ a b c d Lodge, Sally (2013-12-12). "'Beyond Magenta' Spotlights Transgender Teens". PublishersWeekly.com. Archived from the original on 2022-01-30. Retrieved 2022-01-30.
  3. ^ "Children's Book Review: Beyond Magenta: Transgender Teens Speak Out by Susan Kuklin. Candlewick, $22.99 (192p) ISBN 978-0-7636-5611-9". PublishersWeekly.com. Archived from the original on 2022-01-30. Retrieved 2022-01-30.
  4. ^ a b Cart, Michael (2014-02-01). Beyond Magenta. Archived from the original on 2022-01-30. Retrieved 2022-01-29 – via Booklist.
  5. ^ a b c "Beyond Magenta". Kirkus Reviews. 2013-12-01. Archived from the original on 2022-01-30. Retrieved 2022-01-29.
  6. ^ a b "Beyond Magenta". School Library Journal. Archived from the original on 2022-01-30. Retrieved 2022-01-30.
  7. ^ Beyond Magenta. Archived from the original on 2022-01-30. Retrieved 2022-01-30.
  8. ^ Kellaway, Mitchell (2014-11-05). "The Year's 10 Best Transgender Non-Fiction Books". Advocate. Archived from the original on 2018-10-06. Retrieved 2021-03-05.
  9. ^ "Booklist Editors' Choice: Books for Youth, 2014". Booklist. 2015-01-01. Archived from the original on 2021-07-21. Retrieved 2021-03-05.
  10. ^ "2014 Blue Ribbons". Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books. Archived from the original on 2022-09-25. Retrieved 2022-01-30.
  11. ^ "Redbery Books Issue for Friday, December 12, 2014". redberybooks.shelf-awareness.com. Archived from the original on 2023-04-21. Retrieved 2021-03-05.
  12. ^ Andrea Camilleri (2014-12-15). "Our 2014 Best Books of the Year". Shelf Awareness. Archived from the original on 2022-12-10. Retrieved 2022-01-30.
  13. ^ Horning, Kathleen T. (2015). CCBC choices 2015. Merri V. Lindgren, Megan Schliesman, Emily McKnight Townsend, University of Wisconsin--Madison. Cooperative Children's Book Center. Madison, WI: Cooperative Children's Book Center, School of Education, University of Wisconsin-Madison. ISBN 978-0-931641-25-1. OCLC 906592743.
  14. ^ Gonzales, Naomi (2015-02-01). "2015 Rainbow Book List". Rainbow Book List. Archived from the original on 2021-05-07. Retrieved 2021-03-05.
  15. ^ "IRA Notable Books For A Global Society - High School". Booksource. Archived from the original on 2017-06-21. Retrieved 2021-03-05.
  16. ^ National Council for the Social Studies (2015). Notable Social Studies Trade Book For Young People 2015 (PDF). Children's Book Council. Archived (PDF) from the original on 2021-12-13. Retrieved 2021-03-05.
  17. ^ National Multiple Sclerosis Society (2014-11-20). "Books for A Better Life Awards Finalists Announced". Archived from the original on 2021-01-21. Retrieved 2021-03-05.
  18. ^ Hare, Peter. "Past Winners". Bank Street College of Education. Archived from the original on 2021-01-26. Retrieved 2021-03-05.
  19. ^ "The 27th Annual Lambda Literary Award Finalists". Lambda Literary. 2015-03-04. Archived from the original on 2021-06-18. Retrieved 2021-03-05.
  20. ^ Amundenson, John L. (2015-02-03). "2015 Stonewall Book Awards announced". American Library Association News. Archived from the original on 2021-04-25. Retrieved 2021-03-05.
  21. ^ "Stonewall Book Awards List". American Library Association. 2009-09-09. Archived from the original on 2023-03-07. Retrieved 2021-03-05.
  22. ^ ""Beyond Magenta" is a 2014 Foreword INDIES Winner". Foreword Reviews. Archived from the original on 2022-09-27. Retrieved 2021-03-05.
  23. ^ "2014 Finalists: Nonfiction for Young Adults". Archived from the original on 2020-11-27. Retrieved 2021-03-05.
  24. ^ KPEKOLL (2020-09-09). "Top 100 Most Banned and Challenged Books: 2010-2019". Advocacy, Legislation & Issues. Archived from the original on 2020-09-27. Retrieved 2021-05-04.
  25. ^ Galvan, Pilar; Advani, Reena; Inskeep, Steve (2022-12-21). "Banned Books: Author Susan Kuklin on telling stories that inform understanding". NPR. Archived from the original on 2022-12-22. Retrieved 2022-12-23.
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