They had worked so hard to find and express their true selves, surely they didn't need this. Although the identities of the participants were well-hidden and protected, I worried about their reactions. They vilified trans children, their parents, the LGBTQ+ community and their literature. Then, with elections approaching, some cynical and cruel politicians jumped on the anti-trans bandwagon to stir up voters. The following Monday morning my editor called to tell me that our book had gone viral - that it was being challenged.

'I think I have a virus on the iPad,' I told my husband. It complained about a paragraph in Beyond Magenta, one that I didn't even remember. Suddenly, a vulgar tweet about me popped up. It was a Saturday night a few years ago and I was lying on the couch reading on my iPad. Those six emails alone are worth what followed next. I still get goosebumps thinking of that teen and hope they live a long, happy life. Flipping through the pages of the book, they found a first name in it that was their name too. But passing a bookstore on the way home, they saw the person on the cover of Beyond Magenta who looked exactly like them. One high school student in a rural, conservative town wrote that they were so lonely and desperate they had been planning their death for that very day. Six people sent emails that they were on the verge of suicide. The discussion was always the same: I need to read your book, but my parents won't let me. And some things happened that I had not experienced with my previous books: During school and library visits, one or two teens would often hang back from their next class to talk privately. Young people and quite a few parents wrote thanking me for publishing it.

When the book first came out it received many positive, starred reviews, including including in publications for librarians and educators like Publishers Weekly and Kirkus.

And lastly there's Luke, who writes poetry to tell his story.

Cameron, who lives with a supportive family, deftly explains that 'gender is more fluid and more complex than society assumes.' Nat describes themself as intersex, both male and female, neither male nor female. Mariah was born into a disadvantaged, violent family and grew up in institutions. Christina, a trans woman, attended a parochial boys' high school in the Bronx. Who are these young people? Jessie, a trans man, is so comfortable in his skin he makes everyone else share the joy of his transition. Perspective Ashley Hope Pérez: 'Young people have a right' to stories that help them learn

Magenta transgender book