Melissa

Alex Gino's, "George," now titled, "Melissa," brings forward two key ideas we have discussed throughout the semester; we should not underestimate the compassion and intellect of children and what is more comfortable for adults is not what we need as a collective whole to enact greater conversations of the intricacies of the human experience.

Many of the reasons we see all of these stories being banned and censored from the public is people claiming they are unsuitable for young readers, their content is too diverse, too explicit, too harmful, and for that we should hide them away. In some cases, yes, we should not let elementary kids read 50 Shades of Grey, that's a little extreme and even then it should not be banned. However, when it comes to stories like Melissa, there is nothing explicitly sexual nor is there even instances of violence, it is simply a matter of adults being made uncomfortable by the identities they do not personally ascribe to. This is what we have seen in all of our novels and that remains true with Gino's work as well. 

To the first takeaway, Melissa offers a vital moment similar to the one we got in Drama; the moment in which a young person is able to confide in their friend about a facet of their identity they have been told is wrong and deserves to be hidden, and the friend happily accepts them and is supportive of who they are. Kelly is nothing short of overjoyed at hearing Melissa's secret and, arguably, the most heartwarming moments come when Kelly tries to help Melissa be herself every chance she gets. She acts as an ideal model of ways in which a child can be supportive and helpful to their friends and family who may share the same identity. The odds of such experience in their life does not diminish because you take the book away, rather it merely decreases the child's ability to be a kind and caring friend in some of the most vulnerable moments. Kelly, I feel, stands a testament to the ways in which children give perspective to such moments - she does not care whether or it's "wrong" or "right", her concern mostly lies in how that will impact her friendship with Melissa and how she can help Melissa be herself. 

The second takeaway, I feel is best represented through Melissa's mom. Unfortunately, the experience of confiding in a parent one's identity and being told that it is just a phase or that you're kidding is one that is universal, that I can personally a test too. Thus, this moment in which Melissa reveals her true self to her mother is so heartbreaking but important, because we are given an example of the negative impact such dismissive comments can have on a child and their self confidence. Melissa's mother is unable to accept this information right away because it makes her uncomfortable to learn that her son, does not identify within the boundaries she has set upon her. She would rather see this as a fleeting moment, rather than recognize that she might have to readjust her own reality in order to be supportive to her child. Thus, I see this as why parents might fight to have this book banned because they are made uncomfortable about the fact that they might have to have that same experience and face those same truths. Again, banning the book does not take away the reality, it instead takes away the safety and protection one can offer as a parent for their child who needs to be supported and encouraged.