If I Was Your Girl

Title: If I Was Your Girl

Author: Meredith Russo 

First Published: May 3rd 2016

Series: Stand Alone

Genre: YA Fiction, Contemporary

Available As: Hardcover, paperback, ebook

Pages: 288

My Copy: Physical copy 

My Overall Rating: 8/10

Goodreads Summary

Amanda Hardy is the new girl in school in Lambertville, Tennessee. Like any other girl, all she wants is to make friends and fit in. But Amanda is keeping a secret. There’s a reason why she transferred schools for her senior year, and why she’s determined not to get too close to anyone. 

And then she meets Grant Everett. Grant is unlike anyone she’s ever met—open, honest, kind—and Amanda can’t help but start to let him into her life. As they spend more time together, she finds herself yearning to share with Grant everything about herself…including her past. But she’s terrified that once she tells Grant the truth, he won't be able to see past it.

Because the secret that Amanda’s been keeping? It’s that she used to be Andrew.

  Goodreads | Amazon | Book Depository

This book was quite enlightening on the subject of transgender. I have never read a book like this one and I hope it won't be the last I read of this genre.

Amanda's story is so vivid and captivating, and it really reminds you that a lot of people do go through this. This book highlights her struggles for acceptance and hits home that there are many people who discriminate against others just because they don't understand something.

Many stereotypes are broken as well, such as the fact that religious people always discriminate. This is not the case! Amanda made a friend at her new school, whose family is very religious. When she found out that Amanda was transgender, she wasn't cruel to her or anything. They continued to be friends despite the fact that Amanda was hiding a huge secret from them and even stands up for Amanda against bullies. Good friendship like that is hard to find, so I'm glad that Amanda has people who back her up.

I felt so bad for Amanda multiple times in the book, especially with what happened with Bee. Bee, seriously? I understand she was very upset but is that a concrete reason to go spitting out people's secrets? Especially a secret this big - one that might have gotten Amanda killed if she was unlucky. If I was Amanda, it would take ages before I forgave Bee. Perhaps I would never.

The slight problem was the style. For me, it was quite simple - too simple, so it seemed it was directed at slightly younger readers, maybe like 13-14? I really liked it anyway. Since the words were quite big in my copy and the sentences so simple, it made it a very easy read. There are barely any fancy descriptions and vocabulary words, so it was a breeze. It's the type of book you could finish in one sitting and I would recommend it for anyone!

My Chosen Quote

“You can have anything,” she said, “once you admit you deserve it.”