Transparent

When Cris Beam first moved to Los Angeles, she thought she might put in just a few hours volunteering at a school for transgender kids while she got settled. Instead she found herself drawn deeply into the pained and powerful group of transgirls she discovered. In Transparent she introshy;duces four of themChristina, Domineque, Foxxjazell, and Arieland shows us their world, a dizzying mix of familiar teenage cliques and crushes with far less familiar challenges like how to morph your body on a few dollars a day. Funny, heartbreaking, defiant, and sometimes defeated, the girls form a singular community. But they struggle valiantly to resolve the gap between the way they feel inside and the way the world sees thema struggle we can all identify with. Beam's careful reporting, sensitive writing, and intimate relationship with her characters place Transparentin the ranks of the best narrative nonfiction.

Cris Beam teaches creative writing at Columbia and the New School.