Presenting as her true self—a girl—is both liberating and challenging for Zenobia July. The rules of girl world are baffling, and her transition is not the only change to which she’s adjusting. After her father’s sudden death she moved in with her lesbian aunts, who regularly entertain an eccentric group of friends that includes Uncle Sprink, a drag queen who takes Zen under his wing. Not ready to come out as trans at school, Zen befriends a group of “orphan misfits”—particularly genderqueer Arli—but faces bullying by girls who deride her appearance. Zen’s primary refuge is her computer. With her outstanding tech skills, she investigates an elusive hacker who has begun posting Islamophobic and transphobic memes on the school website. Zen, white, is utterly believable as a middle schooler dealing with complex emotions, growing into herself, and finding her community. Although the story’s tech subplot is less credible, having a sharp, tech-savvy, game-loving heroine is nonetheless refreshing. (Ages 8–13)

The critically acclaimed author of Felix Yz crafts a bold, heartfelt story about a trans girl solving a cyber mystery and coming into her own.

Zenobia July is starting a new life. She used to live in Arizona with her father; now she's in Maine with her aunts. She used to spend most of her time behind a computer screen, improving her impressive coding and hacking skills; now she's coming out of her shell and discovering a community of friends at Monarch Middle School. People used to tell her she was a boy; now she's able to live openly as the girl she always knew she was.

When someone anonymously posts hateful memes on her school's website, Zenobia knows she's the one with the abilities to solve the mystery, all while wrestling with the challenges of a new school, a new family, and coming to grips with presenting her true gender for the first time. Timely and touching, Zenobia July is, at its heart, a story about finding home.