Laurie Frankel's 'This Is How It Always Is' tackles transgender themes with a blend of raw honesty and tender nuance. The story follows Claude, a young child who realizes she’s meant to be a girl named Poppy, and her family’s journey to support her identity. The novel doesn’t shy away from the messy, painful realities—schoolyard bullying, medical dilemmas, and societal judgment—but it also celebrates small victories: a parent’s unwavering love, a sibling’s quiet allyship, or the relief of finding a safe space.
What sets the book apart is its refusal to simplify. Poppy’s transition isn’t a linear 'before and after' but a mosaic of setbacks and discoveries. Frankel explores how identity evolves, not just for Poppy but for her family, who grapple with their own fears and biases. The prose balances clinical details (hormone blockers, therapy sessions) with poetic metaphors, like comparing gender to a story that keeps rewriting itself. It’s a prismatic look at transness—neither purely tragic nor sugarcoated, but achingly human.
Frankel approaches transgender identity with a rare mix of warmth and grit. 'This Is How It Always Is' shows the daily negotiations Poppy makes—choosing bathrooms, explaining herself to friends, weathering dysphoria. The family’s move to more liberal Seattle contrasts starkly with their conservative hometown, underscoring how geography shapes safety. Frankel avoids villainizing anyone; even well-meaning characters stumble, reflecting real-world complexity. The story’s heartbeat is resilience—Poppy’s stubborn joy, her brothers’ protective instincts, and her parents’ messy, fierce love.
The book redefines 'normal' by centering a trans child’s life without sensationalism. Poppy’s struggles—school forms, swimsuits, sleepovers—are rendered with mundane yet piercing detail. Frankel juxtaposes medical jargon (puberty blockers, therapy) with fairy tales Claude invents, mirroring how kids frame their own narratives. It’s not about 'becoming' a girl but being one, despite the world’s noise. A quiet revolution in ink.
This novel is a masterclass in empathy, weaving transgender themes into a family saga that feels both specific and universal. Claude/Poppy’s journey is framed through her parents’ eyes—their desperation to 'fix' things, their guilt over missteps, and their gradual understanding that love means listening, not controlling. Frankel nails the microaggressions: the relative who insists 'it’s just a phase,' the strangers misgendering Poppy with a smile. But she also highlights joy: the glittery euphoria of a first dress, the thrill of being seen. The book’s brilliance lies in its contradictions—it’s heartbreaking yet hopeful, educational but never preachy.
2025-06-23 22:21:32
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!Daily updates!
He has never fallen in love. He is always cold and arrogant.
She's never fallen in love. She just wants a job
What happens when she comes to his office looking for a job, will he let her go?
"Stop right there, Evan! You can't fool me." Grace stretched out her hands to the right and left, preventing her best friend from leaving. "I know you're hiding something."
Evan crossed his arms over his chest. "Don't be so confident. And please, know your place. I have the power to replace you with anyone else." He leaned toward her and whispered to her ear. "Or, are you trying to seduce me? How much is your rate for one night?"
Upon hearing it, Grace gave him a smack across the face. She was silent for a moment in disbelief. Tears started to roll down her cheeks. "You're so mean, Evan. I-hate-you," she said, heartbroken. She turned away from him without further ado.
Evan teared up too, looking at his best friend leaving. "I'm sorry, Grace. I had to do it. We can't be together," he said weakly.
Grace and Evan became best friends after he saved her and her mother following a traffic collision. Their friendship grew stronger for years until they became inseparably fond of each other. However, fate played jokes on them. They had to separate for years, lose contact and bury their dreams. When they finally reunited in the same workplace, everything was not the same as it used to be.
Saphira is a beautiful woman with long, light blonde hair and blue-gray eyes, only 25 years old.
She is simple and shy, but she is strong and decisive when it comes to work.
A harassment situation at her company leads her to move from a small town in Texas to New York.
She takes her little savings and CV and tries to get a job.
Christopher is the CEO of a large advertising company. When Saphira starts working for him, he maintains his professionalism and detachment, but he can't help but appreciate the girl's beauty.
He is always jumping from woman to woman, and his playboy fame is well known, so when he confesses his interest in her on a business trip, Saphira doesn't take him seriously and sets the professional barrier between them very high.
Her coldness towards him stirs up the feeling that is born in his chest even more, but Saphira doesn't allow any approach, despite Christopher sometimes seeing in her eyes that the feeling is reciprocal.
What would he have to do to conquer the girl who looked like "the girl next door" he's been looking for all his life? And why doesn't Saphira want to give him a chance? What dark secret keeps her away?
Everybody is different. May it be with the way you look, your sexual orientation or your beliefs and culture. Tori Kingstein has always thought of herself as someone who’s different. She never liked boys. Yes, she's gay. Tori then was sent to her mum’s old school, an all-girls boarding school in hopes of her not getting herself a boyfriend at a young age. But jokes on her parents, cause she actually swings the other way around. And little did she know that entering Whistler High School for Girls would put her on a mission with other girls, like her who aren’t white, to end the discrimination, inequality, too much use of white privileges and the use of wealth and power to stay on top by some students, especially by the school's student council officers. After knowing this, Tori is set on finishing her mum's past role in this group—and that is to destroy the unfair treatment of the school and the student council to students who what they call “aren’t white and as rich as them”, but Tori has a secret. It’s just that... She might have a tiny bit of crush on the student council's president who's no other than Amelia Harriet Williams.
What could go wrong, right?
“Let him go right now.”
Wait a second, did he just call me him?
And then it hit again!
Over here, I am a HE, not a SHE. Idris, not Irish. Before you roll your eyes and use the F words, this is my story, not yours.
They said when life throws you lemons, you make lemonade, but I made a whole juice.
Being in this college with not just a different name, but a different sex, is chaos on its own, one I’m fully embarked on.
“Desperate times require drastic decisions.” I took those words way too seriously.
How I plan to survive this journey is totally up to me.
Will I be caught?
That’s up to you to find out.
I recently read 'This Is How It Always Is' and was struck by how real it felt, but no, it's not based on a specific true story. Laurie Frankel crafted this novel from her own experiences as a parent of a transgender child, blending personal insight with fiction. The emotional authenticity comes through in every page—the confusion, love, and fierce protectiveness feel raw and genuine. While the characters and events are fictional, the struggles mirror real-life challenges many families face. It's those universal truths about identity, acceptance, and family dynamics that make the story resonate so deeply. Frankel's background adds layers of credibility without tying the narrative to one specific case.