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Review and Study Guide for Alex Gino's Melissa
Gino penned a lovely story about the search for self-identity.
by Ari Armstrong, Copyright © 2026
I read this book as part of my review of the books suppressed by Colorado's Elizabeth School District. See the main document.
Melissa (previously published as George)
Alex Gino
Scholastic, 2022 (originally published 2015)
Reading Notes
I loved this story. My family loved it; I read it aloud (with my wife taking over for a spell so I could rest my voice). I loved the main characters. Spoilers ahead.
I also see why the book is controversial. The main character a transgender girl (in the early stages of coming out) and the book explicitly (although briefly) talks about gender-affirming hormones and surgeries, hormones in the context of use by a minor. That's a lot for a young child to process (and the district removed this book from the pre-K–5 elementary school). Had the story been edited to remove the few lines about gender-affirming medical care, I wonder if the district still would have suppressed it. Don't get me wrong; I think kids can handle the book and will very much enjoy the story whatever they think of the medical stuff. Certainly I don't think the book's contents justified the district's suppression of the book.
The main story arch involves a fourth grade class, of which Melissa and Kelly are members (here I'll use the name "Melissa" even though the kid goes by "George" throughout most of the book), putting on a play of Charlotte's Web. Melissa really wants to play Charlotte, but a teacher won't allow that because it's a girl's part. Thankfully Melissa has a very loyal and courageous friend in Kelly.
Woven within the story of presenting the play is Melissa's struggle to come out as a girl, her mom's struggle to accept her for who she is, and the surrounding tensions at school.
I proceed in the belief that we don't make things better by avoiding difficult conversations.
Questions for Discussion and Review
Note: I intend these questions for a somewhat older audience.
1. Melissa seems to dislike having a penis and "tried not to think about" it (p. 44). I wonder if that's typical of the trans experience (if there is a "typical"), or if a lot of transgender women accept that part of their anatomy. For reference, one study found that relatively few trans women, 5–13%, had genital surgery. The story describes a TV interview Melissa had seen: "The woman replied [to a question about surgery] that she was a transgender woman and that what she had between her legs was nobody's business but hers and her boyfriend's" (p. 46). I intend this question as an invitation to explore what trans people have said about their experiences.
2. Gino plants discussion of transgender hormone treatments (p. 47) with the idea that eventually Melissa may need to get her mother's permission to get such care. (Her father is out of the picture.) That seemed a little artificial to me. Would Melissa have been a better story (or more child-appropriate) had Gino edited out the lines about transgender surgeries and hormones, or are those topics essential to the story?
3. At first, one of Melissa's teachers, as well as her mother, are not supportive of her wanting to be or act like a girl. (Interestingly, both Melissa's mother and her brother suggest that coming out as gay is easier.) On the other hand, Melissa's friend, brother, and principal are very supportive. How do the attitudes of people around her affect Melissa's mood and thoughts?
4. What drives Kelly's heroism, and why does Kelly find it easier than some adults in the story to accept Melissa?
5. A lot about the school, such as the queues and the play parts, seem unnecessarily gendered. Would removing gendered divisions, as Heath Fogg Davis suggests in Beyond Trans, help reduce pressures to conform to traditional gender roles?
6. The story is primarily about Melissa's desire to be recognized for who she is as a girl. It's also about her discovery of a love for acting, which is also a way of actualizing herself. Yes, Melissa is about a trans girl, but how are its themes relevant to every person?
7. What motivates the bully of the story to call Melissa a "freak?" Why do people sometimes react negatively do those who seem different? How does this relate generally to tribalism and "othering" (use specific examples)?
8. Why do some parents and school officials object to books such as Melissa? Try to steelman the position.
9. What do people mean when they talk about a man finding his "feminine side?" (See p. 60.) Is that idea helpful, misleading, or both?
10. At one point the bully refers to Melissa (who at that point presents as a boy) as "such a freaking girl" (p. 89). What, if anything, does it mean to be "such a girl?" In what ways does society create artificial expectations for and restrictions on girls and women? Is there a way in which discussions about what it means to be transgender also can impose unnecessary or unhelpful expectations or restrictions on people?
11. At one point Melissa, problems piling up, finds herself in a "haze of unhappiness" (p. 95). What are the common problems confronting transgender people, how can they get help, and how can those of us who are not trans help provide support? More generally, what kinds of support help people when they feel unseen, isolated, or fundamentally understood?
12. Why do you think Gino chose Charlotte's Web as the play within the story?
13. To me this is the saddest line of the book: "Mom didn't see her" (p. 129). Why is being seen so important?