A tender and compelling trans coming-of-age story that was far ahead of its time.
LOS ANGELES, January 10, 2024 – Ten years ago, writer Jennie Wood released their debut
novel, A Boy Like Me – a tender and compelling trans coming-of-age story that was far
ahead of its time. It was a Next Generation Indie Book Awards finalist, an INDIEFAB Book of
the Year finalist, and one of Foreword Reviews’ 10 Best Indie YA novels for 2014. In the
turbulent decade since its release, so much has changed in the world – and not all for the
better. That’s why, to commemorate its 10th anniversary, Jennie Wood has teamed up with
Invader Comics to release a brand new edition of this timeless YA novel through Zoop.
To help make this 10th Anniversary edition even more special, Jennie has put together a new
foreword which addresses the obvious progress and pitfalls the community has dealt with in
the time since its original release. Both Jennie and Invader Comics firmly believe the only
way to combat hate is to expose more people to trans stories through art, which is why a
new edition of this book is so important right now.
Born a girl, Peyton Honeycutt meets Tara Parks in the eighth grade bathroom shortly after
he gets his first period. It is the best and worst day of his life. Determined to impress Tara,
Peyton sets out to win her love by mastering the drums and basketball. He takes on Tara’s
small-minded mother, the bully at school, and the prejudices within his conservative
hometown. In the end, Peyton must accept and stand up for who he is or lose the woman he
loves.
“We’re incredibly proud to be publishing the 10th Anniversary edition of A Boy Like Me,”
says Invader Comics editor-in-chief, Mike Perkins. “Jennie has told an incredible story that
resonated then, and is even more compelling today – particularly in light of current events.
Although the world may seem more receptive to young adult and queer romance stories,
we also live in a time of unparalleled book bans and censorship which aims to silence those
important voices.”
To address those risks to the community head on, Jennie will be donating their profits from
this 10th Anniversary edition of A Boy Like Me to Unite Against Book Bans. The world, and
particularly the United States, is in a difficult time right now, and the 2023-2024 school year
recorded the highest instances of book bans and highest number of unique titles banned –
over 4,000 unique titles were removed in over 10,000 instances of book bans.
You can pledge your support for these efforts, and for the book itself, on Zoop where the
campaign for the 10th Anniversary edition is now live.
https://zoop.gg/c/aboylikeme
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