From an award-winning journalist comes a vivid and moving portrait of eight trans and nonbinary teenagers across the country, following their daily triumphs, struggles, and all that encompasses growing up trans in America today
“A master class in journalism as a force for change. Nico Lang cuts through the political ping-pong over transgender rights to surface the human stories that too often go ignored. Lang’s lucid and clear-eyed account of their lives offers an essential corrective, reminding us that there’s nothing more American than the freedom to be yourself.” —SAMANTHA ALLEN, author of Real Queer America
“Lang weaves this broad bleak terrain with warm insights and a clear immediacy of message. Expansive and compassionate.” ―GABE DUNN, New York Times bestselling author of I Hate Everyone But You
Media coverage tends to sensationalize the fight over how trans kids should be allowed to live, but what is incredibly rare are the voices of the people at the heart of this debate: transgender and gender nonconforming kids themselves. For their groundbreaking new book, journalist Nico Lang spent a year traveling the country to document the lives of transgender, nonbinary, and genderfluid teens and their families. Drawing on hundreds of hours of on-the-ground interviews with them and the people in their communities, American Teenager paints a vivid portrait of what it’s actually like to grow up trans today.
From the tip of Florida’s conservative panhandle to vibrant queer communities in California, and from Texas churches to mosques in Illinois, American Teenager gives readers a window into the lives of Wyatt, Rhydian, Mykah, Clint, Ruby, Augie, Jack, and Kylie, eight teens who, despite what some lawmakers might want us to believe, are truly just kids looking for a brighter future.
Praise
“An urgent and heartfelt chronicle of families under attack, American Teenager is a master class in journalism as a force for change. Nico Lang cuts through the political ping-pong over transgender rights to surface the human stories that too often go ignored. As rigorous as it is compassionate, this daring journey through the Heartland shows that love remains the best way to disarm fear. As right-wingers try to make boogeymen out of our most vulnerable, Lang’s lucid and clear-eyed account of their lives offers an essential corrective, reminding us that there's nothing more American than the freedom to be yourself.”
—SAMANTHA ALLEN, author of Real Queer America
“The transgender children and their families who are finally given the megaphone in Nico Lang’s American Teenager love this country. Unfortunately, it so rarely loves them back. Lang weaves this broad bleak terrain with warm insights and a clear immediacy of message. In Lang’s pages, these families aren’t talking points bandied about on Capitol Hill or coastal elites out of touch with ‘real America.’ They are real America—and in Lang’s expansive and compassionate writing, they’d rather be stretching a dollar and going to soccer games than being forced onto an unnecessary political battlefield.”
—GABE DUNN, New York Times bestselling author of I Hate Everyone But You
“As a transgender woman who transitioned during childhood, American Teenager resonates deeply with me. With heartfelt empathy, Nico Lang uncovers the human stories overshadowed by political rhetoric, showcasing the struggles and resilience of transgender youth amidst adversity while simultaneously amplifying their voices, which are all too often silenced. In a society where ignorance and bigotry seek to vilify the most vulnerable among us, Lang’s sincere portrayal pulls back the curtain to unveil remarkable youth who simply want to be kids. As a child, I would often say, ‘Get to know us, you'll love us.’ American Teenager allows readers to meet these extraordinary kids along with their families and fall in love with their hearts, minds, strength, and, most of all, the courage to embrace their authentic identities and face the world as their true, beautiful selves. With raw honesty and emotional depth, Lang sheds light on their heartwarming journeys, intense challenges, life-changing moments, and the true meaning of unconditional love.”
—JAZZ JENNINGS, author of Being Jazz: My Life as a (Transgender) Teen
“An evocative and authentic story of the love and resilience of transgender teens and their families. Lang's storytelling is intimate and illuminating, walking a tightrope between the complex narratives of trauma and joy, without ever leaning too heavily into one and discounting the importance of the other. Simultaneously heart-wrenching and heart-warming, American Teenager is an absolute must-read.”
—RODRIGO HENG-LEHTINEN, Executive Director of the National Center for Transgender Equity
"With tremendous empathy and the kind of precision that only comes with a years-long commitment to truth-telling, Nico Lang amplifies the dreams, fears, and resistance of transgender teens in the United States at the current moment. Lang proves how rich the discourse is when trans youth take their rightful place at the center of their narratives."
—RAQUEL WILLIS, activist and author of The Risk It Takes to Bloom: On Life and Liberation
"In their powerful new book, American Teenager, Nico Lang shares the very raw, very real experiences of trans youth and their families at a moment in time when so much and so many things are conspiring against them. In doing so, Lang reminds us all of our shared humanity—and most especially, our capacity to find joy even in the hardest of times."
—BRIAN K. BOND, CEO, PFLAG National
"With humor and compassion, Lang shows trans teenagers as they really are: kids trying their best, day by day, to grow into their truest selves and fullest potential. The various chapters are by turns deep, silly, introspective, sweet, and smart, just like teens themselves."
—MAIA KOBABE, author of Gender Queer: A Memoir
“American Teenager is an incredibly important, humane account of the joys and struggles of so many youth currently under attack in our country. I pray this book will one day be seen as a historical work that sheds light in a dark world and that Lang’s message of love and acceptance becomes the story we carry forward into the future.”
—GARRARD CONLEY, New York Times bestselling author of Boy Erased
