Both Grace Jones books were absolute favorites of mine when I was a kid. Everything about them is delightful. But also before there were books for kids about transgender topics and before I'd ever heard the word "transgender," this was a book I could really, really relate to. As several other reviewers commented, the ending of this one is a bit heartbreaking, but as a child I simply assimilated it without a lot of qualms. ( )

What a lovely reread. As much as I was disappointed at the loss of Grace the Tomboy, I still enjoyed it thoroughly and I had forgotten about the two Cooleridge poems. Langton is a wonderful writer; the adult mysteries are finely crafted and the children's books have that delicate touch.

Spoilers.

90% of this book is wonderful.

Grace is a tomboy, an imaginary sailor, a fan of [b:Swallows and Amazons|125190|Swallows and Amazons (Swallows and Amazons, #1)|Arthur Ransome|http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1277148503s/125190.jpg|231599] (which I've never read), and much given to wearing her dad's old Navy middy. She eschews the girly aspects of life with a great deal of scorn and no little derision. She's got a huge crush on a girl named Chatty. She's the bane of her mother's existence, and a flickering candle of hope to several teachers. In this book she discovers poetry, and in a way I so clearly remember from my own life, it changes the way she looks at everything.

Rich in period detail, including the terribly exciting debut of the movie version of Gone With The Wind and movie star photos under the lids of Dixie cup ice cream.

Why three stars? Because Langton sells Grace out at the end, turns her into an ordinary girly-girl with only the slightest indication that she'll remain her own quirky self when she comes out the other side of adolescence. She also finds it necessary to graphically remove any hope of Grace ever becoming a real sailor. It didn't feel right, it didn't feel authentic to the Grace of the rest of the book.

I get that this happens. I understand that in many cases it's right and proper. Still, I'd like to see more Pippi and less Barbie.

So, four stars right up until the end, when we plummet off of Trueblue Tom's cliff into the land of the curling iron and the spider-leg eyelashes. ( )