2016 Rainbow Awards Honorable Mention: Being Jazz by Jazz Jennings (377-09-02-2016)

[reviews_and_ramblings]

1) I didn't score it higher because though the story is courageous and groundbreaking, all the information was very compact and rushed.

2) This is a wonderful memoir, touching and funny. The author's magnetic personality comes through on every page.

3) Being familiar with Jazz and her story, I found her biography to be a continuing asset to transgender individuals, young and old.  Telling her story in her own words has been a great read and easy to follow.  So very proud of this young person and everything she has been through to be her authentic self. Brave little soul. Extra Note: The photo of Jazz in her mermaid outfit by the pool was taken by my friend and trans-photographer Rhys Harper from the Transcending Gender Project.

Being Jazz: My Life as a (Transgender) Teen by Jazz Jennings
Transgender Biography / Memoir
Hardcover: 272 pages
Publisher: Crown Books for Young Readers (June 7, 2016)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 0399554645
ISBN-13: 978-0399554643
Amazon: Being Jazz: My Life as a (Transgender) Teen
Amazon Kindle: Being Jazz: My Life as a (Transgender) Teen

Teen advocate and trailblazer Jazz Jennings—named one of “The 25 Most Influential Teens” of the year by Time—shares her very public transgender journey, as she inspires people to accept the differences in others while they embrace their own truths.

Jazz Jennings is one of the youngest and most prominent voices in the national discussion about gender identity. At the age of five, Jazz transitioned to life as a girl, with the support of her parents. A year later, her parents allowed her to share her incredible journey in her first Barbara Walters interview, aired at a time when the public was much less knowledgeable or accepting of the transgender community. This groundbreaking interview was followed over the years by other high-profile interviews, a documentary, the launch of her YouTube channel, a picture book, and her own reality TV series—I Am Jazz—making her one of the most recognizable activists for transgender teens, children, and adults.

In her remarkable memoir, Jazz reflects on these very public experiences and how they have helped shape the mainstream attitude toward the transgender community. But it hasn’t all been easy. Jazz has faced many challenges, bullying, discrimination, and rejection, yet she perseveres as she educates others about her life as a transgender teen. Through it all, her family has been beside her on this journey, standing together against those who don't understand the true meaning of tolerance and unconditional love. Now Jazz must learn to navigate the physical, social, and emotional upheavals of adolescence—particularly high school—complicated by the unique challenges of being a transgender teen. Making the journey from girl to woman is never easy—especially when you began your life in a boy’s body.

Rainbow Awards Guidelines: http://www.elisarolle.com/rainbowawards/rainbow_awards_2016.html