Transgender Fiction: Flesh and Blood

I just finished reading the novel Flesh and Blood by A. E. Dooland.  This is the sequel to Under My Skin, which I blogged previously.

Not to get too spoilery, but to recap: Under My Skin introduced us to Min Lee, a stressed-out Australian/Korean woman who eventually realizes she is transgender.  Min meets a schoolgirl named Bree, who feels like a live action anime character.  Min faces prejudice at work and has to deal with the challenge of coming out to her doting boyfriend Henry.  While it ends on a high note, you know that there are many more challenges in Min's immediate future.

In Flesh and Blood, Min has to deal with family issues and money problems.  Now presenting as a man full-time (though non-binary), Min realizes that he just can't bring himself to tell his mother.  He tells her a few lies to give himself more time, but those lies only cause Mom to text Min more often.  Meanwhile, Min also meets Bree's dysfunctional family, and makes some terrible financial decisions.

I found many aspects of this book relatable.  Bree's brother specifically reminds me of my brother-in-law.  Both sets of parents are so set in their ways, that it's damn near impossible to change their minds, just like some relatives I know.  And of course, money is always a problem with me.

Min makes some huge mistakes in this book.  There were points where I was practically yelling at the book, “You shouldn't do this, what are you thinking?” …even though I make similar mistakes.  Min's justifications are realistic, and while sometimes I felt like calling him an idiot, I can understand the pressure that led to these rash decisions.

What I love is that I can see the other characters’ points of view, even the ones who aren’t particularly nice.  Min’s mother is controlling on a level that I would call psychotic.  But she also sacrificed a lot to give Min a good life; working awful jobs so she could put Min through college.   She thinks she knows what’s best for Min, and she wants to live vicariously through her daughter, so she doesn’t care if Min doesn’t want the same things out of life.

Parents should really consider this.  If you child is suffering from depression, really ask yourself: are you one of the sources of that depression?  And if so, do you have to be?  Why?  Is it really worth losing your child forever, just because they aren't living the life you would have chosen for them?

If you feel that whatever you are doing is protecting them, are you sure they’re better off?  I’ve known a lot of overprotective parents, and I’ve known parents who gave their children too much freedom.  Invariably it was the overprotective ones that did the most damage.

So while Under My Skin is a novel every transgender person should read, Flesh and Blood should be read by every parent of a trans child.

So I’ve now read all three of the books set in this universe.  I'm currently rereading the third book, "Solve for i", which is more of a spin-off than a sequel.  I accidentally read it first because I didn't know it was a series at the time, and this time I'm picking up a few things I missed the first time.  Solve for i is still my favorite of the three.
 
I hope Dooland releases more books in this universe soon.  I would especially like to see more of Gemma Rowe, my favorite character.  Solve for i also introduced a character named Mikey, who doesn't get a lot of screen time, and who might have a backstory worth telling.  Hint, hint, @asynca!