ABSTRACT
The recent emergence of youth adult (YA) novels and other texts that address non-normative gender in childhood may appear to be an entirely new phenomenon. This chapter expresses that these texts are connected to a legacy of challenges to traditional gender roles that can be traced back to the very genesis of American books for girls and the figure of the tomboy, linked via the subgenre of YA novels about gay and lesbian teenagers that began to appear in the 1970s and 1980s. It offers a brief history of the tomboy in children's literature, followed by an examination of several notable YA novels with queer and transgender characters including Annie on My Mind, Parrotfish, Almost Perfect, and I Am J. The chapter addresses questions of sexuality and gender identity for children and adolescents. A strong emphasis on romance still persists in many of the books marketed to adolescent girls, and this romance is expected to end with a conventional coupling.
