Today Marshmallow reviews North of Tomboy, a new book by Julie A Swanson, that is coming out this week.
The book bunnies received this book as an advance review copy.
Marshmallow’s Quick Take: If you like books about growing up and exploring your identity and gender, then this is the book for you!
Marshmallow’s Summary (with Spoilers): Jessica Jezowski is a nine-year-old girl, but she definitely doesn’t feel like one. She believes that God must have made her with both girl and boy parts, except for the defining part which he made with only girl parts. Jess lives in Leelanau County in Michigan with her parents, two brothers, and little sister in the very early 1970s. Her mother is very enthusiastic about things Jess feels are only for “girly girls.” She doesn’t like having long hair or wearing dresses because she feels like that prevents her from having any fun and it seems to actually cause her physical and emotional distress.
Jess loves her family, but she sometimes wishes they would stop treating her differently from her older brothers just because she is a girl. For example, she wishes they’d stop giving her baby girl dolls every year for Christmas. However, one year, she can’t bring herself to ignore or destroy the doll she is given (it is insinuated that the previous ones suffered unfortunate fates). She ends up feeling a sort of connection to the doll and cutting its hair. She names it Mickey and announces that it is a boy. She pretends that he is the family’s newly adopted son and animates him, giving him a charming Southern drawl. Using Mickey as a transparent veil of protection, Jess finds that she can be funnier, more confident, and more herself. Mickey, she finds, seems to be more loved than she is. Eventually though, she starts to feel like Mickey is taking over. Jess realizes that she needs to find who she is without hiding behind a doll.
Marshmallow’s Review: This was a very interesting and eye-opening book. It introduced me to a way of life in a different time period in a different location that I had never experienced before. Swanson does a very good job immersing the reader in Michigan’s nature and scenery, and I really enjoyed learning about what it would be like to live in a place like Jess’s home in the past.
In the beginning of the book, I felt like the writing was a little different from most books I have read. The dialogue felt a little bit off. But then again Jess is supposed to be just nine years old and I have not been nine for quite some time now. (Yes, I am pretty mature for a bunny!) In any case, over time, the prose fell into place and the picture of Jess’s world felt more whole and realistic. Later on, the dialogue was exceptionally good and the characters in Jess’s family became extremely human.
I like how the book both romanticizes the Jezowski’s way of life, but also shows its dark parts. Jess’s father often loses his temper and ends up blaming his wife for things that are not her fault. I thought the way Swanson handled the dialogue concerning his behavior and the family’s responses felt extraordinarily real and nuanced.
North of Tomboy as a whole got progressively more and more nuanced as I read on. I was originally confused by Jess’s feelings in the beginning. It seemed like she just did not like girls or women and so did not want to be one. But I liked how, in the end, Jess realizes that she isn’t necessarily against being female; she just wants to be her own type of girl. This is a take that I found very interesting. At the start, I was confused about whether Jess would have wanted to transition to a different gender or not if this were possible during her time. But soon enough, I noticed that Jess herself is very sexist. She hates being a girl because she thinks girls are all stupid and weak and whiny. This is a result of her upbringing. I think, in other words, that the main character definitely has a lot of internalized misogyny which parent bunnies might wish to discuss with their children if they are reading the book together.
I liked how Jess found who she wanted to be in the end, but I would have preferred it if the book were more explicit in affirming that women do not have to be stupid and weak and whiny. I also liked that we also got to learn a lot about how Jess’s faith shaped her thoughts. It was very interesting to hear her internal dialogue, and the growth of her faith as she was trying to figure herself out was definitely a critical part of the story.
I would highly recommend North of Tomboy to all readers because it really shows the workings of people that many do not understand. Some might say this is a good book about people thinking about their gender, and I think that it is. But I would also say that this is a good book for a lot of other people to read, too, and not for reasons related to gender. I think this shows the way many families work and how some people are raised. It shows a way of life many are not familiar with. Learning about how Jess and her family live was eye-opening. North of Tomboy offers one perspective of what it’s like to be from a very rural, very religious, and rather conservative background. This is not something everyone understands, something I have never experienced. Of course, one book obviously does not and cannot represent the complete picture. But it shows that people whom some vilify are still very human. It is always important to remember that. Understanding where everyone comes from is crucial to making this world a better place for everyone.
Marshmallow’s Rating: 95%.
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