cover image Jess, Chunk, and the Road Trip to Infinity

Jess, Chunk, and the Road Trip to Infinity

Kristin Elizabeth Clark. Farrar, Straus and Giroux, $17.99 (272p) ISBN 978-0-374-38006-9

Jess, a transgender teen who recently graduated from high school, embarks on a cross-country road trip to crash her father’s wedding, joined by her best friend, Chunk. Tensions soon escalate: the two “compatible nerds” begin fighting the first night, Jess worries that her Adam’s apple will betray her, and her father refuses to stop thinking of her as a boy going through a phase. The plot centers on Jess’s journey to self-acceptance, using her art portfolio to manifest crucial past memories alongside her present-day narration. Is Jess as self-centered as Chunk accuses her of being? Perhaps, but Clark (Freakboy) purposefully thrusts her into the spotlight as she explores publicly transitioning, a terrifying, uncomfortable, and euphoric part of Jess’s quest to discover her identity. “Is it so wrong to want to appear to the world the way I see myself?” she asks. Despite an arguably happy ending, Clark resists pat answers as Jess reconciles her relationships with those who knew her as Jeremy, discovers surprising feelings of jealousy, and faces the very real danger of being different in a society that embraces norms. Ages 12–up. Agent: Tracey Adams, Adams Literary. (Nov.)