The Last Time I Wore A Dress by Daphne Scholinski

() People are allowed to be people. It is now more acceptable for gender roles to be abstract in today's society. At least, more people are tolerant of it. Unfortunately, this book's author had to spend half of her adolescence in psych wards because our population wasn't always so accepting. This was further exaggerated by the fact that Scholinski was a continuous trouble-maker and rule-breaker. And, oh my god, she's also a lesbian!

Scholinksi wore her hair short and her clothes boyish. She would be allowed privileges in the hospitals when she would wear makeup or socialize more with the boys. There was actually a DSM diagnosis that claimed she was having problems identifying with her gender role. Oh and surprise surprise, they also tried to analyze her in the classic, now debunked Freudian style.

Scholinksi would blame herself for the circumstances surrounding her, since everyone else was. She'd try her best to conform to the program rules only to get certain freedoms. But she knew who she was and that she detested makeup and girly clothes. Also, she recognized that she'd get butterflies in her stomach around certain females.

This book is a story of her growth and the pain she had to endure in this setting. She had to deal with abuse both here and at home around her family. The end goes on to explain where the author is today, and how she pulled herself out of this mess. Also, it briefly explores some of the other patients' lives as well.

Calling Home by Michael Cadnum

() This book is drawn from the weird discovery that just one punch can actually kill a man. That's how the main character mistakenly kills his friend when they were drinking together in their hometown, Oakland. Instead of facing the accident and calling the police, he hides it for weeks on end. His main mode of doing this was to impersonate his dead friend over the phone, in order for his parents to believe he was none other than missing. Eventually, everything catches up with him.
This novella addresses issues not commonly discussed, such as the problems of teen alcoholism and violence caused by societal norms. The reading can get a little slow in between main action scenes - namely the best friend's accidental death and the end resolution - and many of the details don't seem of much literary importance. But the story represents reality in a non-softened image - people can be stupid, sick, and panicky, and often many situations are out of our control.