Beautiful Music for Ugly Children by Kristin Cronn-Mills

Image from Amazon

Beautiful Music for Ugly Children
by Kristin Cronn-Mills

One of the books I read this week was Kristin Cronn-Mills’ Beautiful Music for Ugly Children. This novel tells the story of Gabe, a transgender teen to has started DJing at a small community radio station.  The story takes place right around his high school graduation.  The central story line concerns itself with the repercussion Gabe faces in choosing to introduce himself to his listeners as Gabe.  You see, Gabe’s name at birth was Elizabeth, and while Gabe has come out to his best friend Paige and his own family, he is still not ready to do so at school. Gabe decides to come out to his mentor and next door neighbor, John, who got him his spot at 90.3 KZUK and who immediately gets it. John explains that working in his line of business, he’s seen just about everything.  If Liz thinks she’s a guy named Gabe, he’s fine with it; Gabe’s not the first “triangle” he’s ever known. A large part of the complications to the narrative arise as a result of Gabe’s growing fan base with his radio show.  One fan in particular asks him out on a date, and Gabe goes out on his first date as a guy, but she recognizes Gabe from the lunch line at school, reacts negatively, and outs Gabe to the rest of the Ugly Children’s Brigade. Entwined with his growing confidence as a DJ, Gabe becomes more confident as a guy, more confident in expressing his complicated affections for his best friend Paige, and more determined to start a new life once school is done.  Part of Gabe’s dreams involve a DJ contest for The Vibe, where the top contestant will win a guest DJ spot at a larger radio station in the twin cities. A few days before the big contest, some of Gabe’s fans host a party to meet their favorite DJ, but the party is crashed by two bullies from school that have been threatening Gabe.  Kyle and Paul seriously hurt John, leaving him in a coma. Gabe is so concerned about John, he nearly misses the Summer Monday Festival, and he might as well have, for his heart isn’t in it and he puts in a wooden performance. John eventually comes out of his coma and gets released home.  While Gabe lost his shot with The Vibe, he still has his show on KZUK and decides to start classes at the local community college. 

A large part of the story concerns how different characters react to Gabe’s transitioning.  John is supportive from the get go, only now and then forgetting to not call his neighbor Liz instead of Gabe.  Paige is very supportive for most of the novel, although she has some difficulties coming to terms with Gabe’s feelings for her and disappears from Gabe’s life for a few days as she processes her own emotions for her BFF. Gabe’s parents don’t know how to react, and for the most part refuse to acknowledge Gabe’s transitioning.  But eventually, both mom and dad come around. One of the most touching scenes is one where Gabe’s dad introduces him to a client as Gabe, something he had not previously been willing to do. Gabe’s boss at the record store seems perfectly fine with the situation, and they jokingly make a huge batch of name tags to wear including names like Betty and Mr. Snuffalufagus. Some of the other kids in Gabe’s school are pretty transphobic, including his first date Mara, who is hurt and confused; she retaliates by outing Gabe to his fans. Kyle and Paul are incredibly violent in their threats and actions. On the other hand, Heather seems very accepting of Gabe and constantly texts and flirts with him. Several of the Ugly Children Brigade remain loyal fans even after Gabe’s secret is let out.  So the novel pretty well encompasses a wide spectrum of reactions to Gabe.

I really enjoyed this book and think it deserves the accolades it’s received, winning the Stonewall Award for 2014.  This was an intimate, thoughtful, and nuanced book about a transgender teen navigating his transitioning.  It was touching, emotional, and grounded in the experience of what it means when your B-side is so different from your A-side. The book wraps up a little too neatly for my tastes, and the conclusion involves a somewhat unbelievable Elvis artifact going on auction.  But nevertheless, I really enjoyed Gabe’s story.  I think this book should be available in any good library for teens to find. I think this book lends a voice to a segment of our teens that perhaps has not been heard before.