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Being Jazz
Being Jazz
My Life as a (Transgender) Teen
Teen advocate and trailblazer Jazz Jennings—named one of “The 25 Most Influential Teens” of the year by Time—shares her very public transgender journey, as she inspires people to accept the differences in others while they embrace their own truths.
“[Jazz’s] touching book serves as a rallying cry for understanding and acceptance.”—Bustle
Jazz Jennings is one of the youngest and most prominent voices in the national discussion about gender identity. At the age of five, Jazz transitioned to life as a girl, with the support of her parents. A year later, her parents allowed her to share her incredible journey in her first Barbara Walters interview, aired at a time when the public was much less knowledgeable or accepting of the transgender community. This groundbreaking interview was followed over the years by other high-profile interviews, a documentary, the launch of her YouTube channel, a picture book, and her own reality TV series—I Am Jazz—making her one of the most recognizable activists for transgender teens, children, and adults.
In her remarkable memoir, Jazz reflects on these very public experiences and how they have helped shape the mainstream attitude toward the transgender community. But it hasn’t all been easy. Jazz has faced many challenges, bullying, discrimination, and rejection, yet she perseveres as she educates others about her life as a transgender teen. Through it all, her family has been beside her on this journey, standing together against those who don't understand the true meaning of tolerance and unconditional love. Now Jazz must learn to navigate the physical, social, and emotional upheavals of adolescence—particularly high school—complicated by the unique challenges of being a transgender teen. Making the journey from girl to woman is never easy—especially when you began your life in a boy’s body.
Includes a bonus PDF with family interviews, letters, and Jazz's resources for navigating the transgender experience
PRAISE FOR JAZZ JENNINGS:
“Jazz is one of the transgender community's most important activists.” —Cosmopolitan
“A role model for teens everywhere.” —Seventeen.com
“Wise beyond her years.” —Teen Vogue
“[Jazz’s] touching book serves as a rallying cry for understanding and acceptance.”—Bustle
Jazz Jennings is one of the youngest and most prominent voices in the national discussion about gender identity. At the age of five, Jazz transitioned to life as a girl, with the support of her parents. A year later, her parents allowed her to share her incredible journey in her first Barbara Walters interview, aired at a time when the public was much less knowledgeable or accepting of the transgender community. This groundbreaking interview was followed over the years by other high-profile interviews, a documentary, the launch of her YouTube channel, a picture book, and her own reality TV series—I Am Jazz—making her one of the most recognizable activists for transgender teens, children, and adults.
In her remarkable memoir, Jazz reflects on these very public experiences and how they have helped shape the mainstream attitude toward the transgender community. But it hasn’t all been easy. Jazz has faced many challenges, bullying, discrimination, and rejection, yet she perseveres as she educates others about her life as a transgender teen. Through it all, her family has been beside her on this journey, standing together against those who don't understand the true meaning of tolerance and unconditional love. Now Jazz must learn to navigate the physical, social, and emotional upheavals of adolescence—particularly high school—complicated by the unique challenges of being a transgender teen. Making the journey from girl to woman is never easy—especially when you began your life in a boy’s body.
Includes a bonus PDF with family interviews, letters, and Jazz's resources for navigating the transgender experience
PRAISE FOR JAZZ JENNINGS:
“Jazz is one of the transgender community's most important activists.” —Cosmopolitan
“A role model for teens everywhere.” —Seventeen.com
“Wise beyond her years.” —Teen Vogue
Teen advocate and trailblazer Jazz Jennings—named one of “The 25 Most Influential Teens” of the year by Time—shares her very public transgender journey, as she inspires people to accept the differences in others while they embrace their own truths.
“[Jazz’s] touching book serves as a rallying cry for understanding and acceptance.”—Bustle
Jazz Jennings is one of the youngest and most prominent voices in the national discussion about gender identity. At the age of five, Jazz transitioned to life as a girl, with the support of her parents. A year later, her parents allowed her to share her incredible journey in her first Barbara Walters interview, aired at a time when the public was much less knowledgeable or accepting of the transgender community. This groundbreaking interview was followed over the years by other high-profile interviews, a documentary, the launch of her YouTube channel, a picture book, and her own reality TV series—I Am Jazz—making her one of the most recognizable activists for transgender teens, children, and adults.
In her remarkable memoir, Jazz reflects on these very public experiences and how they have helped shape the mainstream attitude toward the transgender community. But it hasn’t all been easy. Jazz has faced many challenges, bullying, discrimination, and rejection, yet she perseveres as she educates others about her life as a transgender teen. Through it all, her family has been beside her on this journey, standing together against those who don't understand the true meaning of tolerance and unconditional love. Now Jazz must learn to navigate the physical, social, and emotional upheavals of adolescence—particularly high school—complicated by the unique challenges of being a transgender teen. Making the journey from girl to woman is never easy—especially when you began your life in a boy’s body.
Includes a bonus PDF with family interviews, letters, and Jazz's resources for navigating the transgender experience
PRAISE FOR JAZZ JENNINGS:
“Jazz is one of the transgender community's most important activists.” —Cosmopolitan
“A role model for teens everywhere.” —Seventeen.com
“Wise beyond her years.” —Teen Vogue
“[Jazz’s] touching book serves as a rallying cry for understanding and acceptance.”—Bustle
Jazz Jennings is one of the youngest and most prominent voices in the national discussion about gender identity. At the age of five, Jazz transitioned to life as a girl, with the support of her parents. A year later, her parents allowed her to share her incredible journey in her first Barbara Walters interview, aired at a time when the public was much less knowledgeable or accepting of the transgender community. This groundbreaking interview was followed over the years by other high-profile interviews, a documentary, the launch of her YouTube channel, a picture book, and her own reality TV series—I Am Jazz—making her one of the most recognizable activists for transgender teens, children, and adults.
In her remarkable memoir, Jazz reflects on these very public experiences and how they have helped shape the mainstream attitude toward the transgender community. But it hasn’t all been easy. Jazz has faced many challenges, bullying, discrimination, and rejection, yet she perseveres as she educates others about her life as a transgender teen. Through it all, her family has been beside her on this journey, standing together against those who don't understand the true meaning of tolerance and unconditional love. Now Jazz must learn to navigate the physical, social, and emotional upheavals of adolescence—particularly high school—complicated by the unique challenges of being a transgender teen. Making the journey from girl to woman is never easy—especially when you began your life in a boy’s body.
Includes a bonus PDF with family interviews, letters, and Jazz's resources for navigating the transgender experience
PRAISE FOR JAZZ JENNINGS:
“Jazz is one of the transgender community's most important activists.” —Cosmopolitan
“A role model for teens everywhere.” —Seventeen.com
“Wise beyond her years.” —Teen Vogue
Reviews-
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In 2015, the picture book I AM JAZZ, by Jessica Herthel and Jazz Jennings, about a transgender girl, was Number 3 on the American Library Association's Top Ten Banned Books. Now Jazz Jennings gives voice to her story in a new way by narrating what she calls her memoir on growing up transgender. Jennings's youthful enthusiasm and her acute memories of the difficulties posed by being different from most of her peers make her the perfect choice for telling her own story. She reads quickly, with the familiar cadence and inflection of a teenager, and her story gives new insight into the current conversation on transgender issues. S.G. © AudioFile 2016, Portland, Maine
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August 29, 2016
Jennings, the 16-year-old YouTube star who is one of the nation’s youngest and most outspoken transgender activists, narrates this brief memoir of her life so
far. What’s particularly refreshing is how evident it is that she is still a kid—irrepressible, fearless, and at times charmingly immature. She is a very fast talker, whose performance is long on passion and implied italics. The listener can discern her intensity when she discusses some teachers’ and coaches’ discomfort with her gender identity. Whether she’s relating her family’s crusade to allow her to play soccer on the girls’ team or her frustration at not getting a starring role in a theater production, she is, by her own admission, outspoken and dramatic. She can also be tender when relating the stories of other transgender individuals who have not grown up with the unflagging support she has had from her parents and siblings. But if the performance ever gets too serious, Jennings always brings it back to the bright, upbeat zone of a confident teenager. Overall, this is an entertaining, rapid-fire performance. Ages 12–up. A Crown hardcover.
