National Council on Social Studies' Notable Book Lambda Literary Award for LGBT Children's/Young Adult Literature International Reading Association Notable Book for a Global Society The Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books, Advocate, Shelf Awareness, Kirkus, and Redbery Books named Beyond Magenta one of the best nonfiction books of 2014.Īmerican Library Association Rainbow Listīank Street College of Education's Flora Stieglitz Straus Award 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.' 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.' However, they noted that it didn't have 'the literary chops' of other books. School Library Journal called Beyond Magenta a 'powerful and important reading. Kirkus called the book 'nformative, revealing, powerful and necessary,' and Booklist's Michael Cart 'highly recommended' it. 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.' Reception īeyond Magenta received starred reviews from Publishers Weekly, Booklist, and Kirkus Reviews. 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.' Īfter connecting with the teens, Kuklin interviewed each of them, then pieced the stories together to create a cohesive narrative. 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.' There, Kuklin connected with five transgender youth who became the center of Beyond Magenta. Background Īfter 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. Despite its reception, the book was on the Top 10 Most Challenged Books lists for 20. For the book, Kuklin met and interviewed six transgender or gender-neutral young adults, describing their sense of identity before, during, and after transitioning.īeyond Magenta has received many awards.

Beyond Magenta: Transgender Teens Speak Out is a 2014 book written by American author Susan Kuklin.

Beyond magenta book