If I Was Your Girl

Meredith Russo’s 2016 young adult novel, If I Was Your Girl, focuses on the experiences of Amanda, an 18-year-old trans girl going through her senior year in a new school.

A few critics point out what Russo herself acknowledges in an author’s note that follows the text: the novel glosses over some of the obstacles faced by most trans teens—the protagonist has no issues passing, is able to get gender-confirming surgery at a very young age without financial difficulties, and finds a completely accepting community in the rural south. Nevertheless, the book addresses the trans experience with sensitivity and the first-person knowledge that comes from the author’s own experiences with her trans identity. The novel is considered a landmark work for the trans community. If I Was Your Girl won the Young Adult Stonewall Book Award and the Walter Dean Myers Award for Outstanding Children’s Literature in 2017.

Plot Summary

Eighteen-year-old Amanda Hardy moves from Atlanta, Georgia to the small town of Lambertville to live with her dad just before starting her senior year in high school. The novel follows two time frames: Amanda’s life before the move, and her present day.

Amanda was born Andrew, but by the age of eight realized that she is trans.