We all have secrets. Every person, every family. And we protect those secrets -- until, one day, we don't.
In Laurie Frankel's beautifully crafted This Is How It Always Is, the core secret is about a child's gender identity. Frankel is well-versed in the topic. She is raising a transgender child. But, as her experience and this novel reveal, who we are goes far beyond our gender.
This Is How It Always Is takes us inside an enduring love story and an evolving fairy tale. We travel along with Rosie and Penn and their family as they move from one state to another, one country to another, in search of ... well, read it and find out.
As you read, you'll come across phrases that make you say: Yep. I know exactly what she means. For example:
"Rosie's number-one concern was: what would make Claude happy?
Penn's number-one concern was: what would make Claude happy?
But happy is harder than it sounds."
Happy is harder than it sounds. Parenting is harder than it sounds. Love is harder than it sounds. But deciding to read this book? That's easy.
I give it Four Bookmarks. Which is like Four Stars out of a Five Star review, only booky. Five Bookmarks, FYI, has to be up there with Little Women.
(And big thanks to Shanna for giving me the book!)
