Lily and Duncan

YA Free Choice

Justification: I wanted to chose another complex YA novel for my free choice selection dealing with critical issues affecting young teens. For these blog selections I read a memoir written by a transgender teen girl and a realistic fiction novel featuring a character suffering from untreated mental illness. When I read about the premise for Lily and Duncan, it seemed like the perfect fit for me to continue to explore these weighty topics in YA literature.

Reader's Response: Eighth grade can be tough for any teen. Image how especially difficult it must be if you're suffering from gender dysphoria or bipolar disorder. Instead of exploring one of these transformative topics, Gephart expertly weaves together the distinct voices of two different teens who have secrets and burdens to bear.

Timothy (Tim) McGrother and Norbert Dorfman have something in common: they both hate their names. Born Timothy, Tim identifies as a girl and prefers to by called Lily. He is in the nascent stages of transitioning but is not "out" yet in middle school. His Mom and his sister Sarah call him Lily and so does his best friend Dare. Lily's father is not on board with the changes he sees happening in "his son". Norbert is a recent transplant to south Florida, having left New Jersey with his mom. They live with Bubbie, Norbert's grandmother, in a posh suburb. Norbert is considering changing his name before the start of school to avoid the inevitable teasing. The reader quickly understands that Norbert's dad is out of the picture, but Norbert seems to think this is temporary. The reader has suspicions about Norbert's dad and there are passages that intimate mental illness, but he remains on the periphery. We know that Norbert thinks about seeing his dad often.

In a stroke of kismet, Lily and Duncan meet before the start of school and Lily begins calling Norbert "Dunkin" because of his obsession with Dunkin' Donuts. Unfortunately for Dunkin, the nickname isn't widely used at school.

Much like All the Bright Places, I was able to easily identify with this text's depiction of the severity of untreated mental illness. I felt personally connected with Dunkin in his struggle to remain compliant with his medication. He describes feeling dulled and slowed down by his meds which cause him to go off of them. He thinks having increased energy will help him to become a better basketball player: "I knew cutting back a little on my meds was a good idea. It's given me zip and energy to keep up with the other guys. I sleep less, too, which means more time to practice..but doing well on the court is super important, so it seems a good plan to "forget" to take my pills a bit more often now." (p.148) Dunkin's non-compliance leads to boundless energy and hearing voices---hallmarks of the beginning of a manic episode.

Through the book, I've learned how important it is to support transgender youth. In this novel, Lily is desperate for hormone blockers so she doesn't develop an adam's apple and the body hair associated with male puberty. Gephart creates a greater understanding of integral role the family must play in supporting a child who is transitioning. Much like Lily needs the support of both her mom and her dad for the changes she is experiencing, Dunkin needs a lot of wrap-around support, too. At the end of the novel Gephart reveals more about Dunkin's dad and the role he plays in Dunkin's life. We know his mom takes him to the psychiatrist, but she allows Dunkin to dole out his meds on his own. She asks him if he's taking his medication, but doesn't intervene even when she sees signs and symptoms of destabilization. It was frustrating for me to see Dunkin decompensate as I felt he might not have been receiving all of the help he needed.

Conclusion: Overall I really enjoyed this text. The reader learns about the critical role of the family in supporting youth with mental illness and gender dysphoria. Although Lily ends up receiving support, openness, love and acceptance from her family, Dunkin also receives treatment and it able to open up to his mother about his dad. (No spoiler alerts here!) Gephart's chosen topics are well-researched and she handles them with compassion and understanding. I would recommend this novel for any young adult grades 6 and up.

APA Reference: Gephart, D. (2016). Lily and Duncan. New York, NY: Delacorte Press.