American Teenager: How Trans Kids Are Surviving Hate and Finding Joy in a Turbulent Era

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Nico Lang

American Teenager

How Trans Kids Are Surviving Hate and Finding Joy in a Turbulent Era

Nico Lang

$44.99

Hardback

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English

Abrams Press
23 February 2025

Gender studies: transsexuals & hermaphroditism; Gay & Lesbian studies

From an award-winning journalist comes a vivid and moving portrait of eight trans and nonbinary teenagers across the country, following their daily triumphs, struggles, and all that encompasses growing up trans in America today

“An urgent and heartfelt chronicle of families under attack. Nico Lang cuts through the political ping-pong over transgender rights to surface the human stories that too often go ignored…Lang’s lucid and clear-eyed account of their lives offers an essential corrective, reminding us that there’s nothing more American than the freedom to be yourself.” —SAMANTHA ALLEN, author of Real Queer America

Media coverage doesn’t hesitate to sensationalize the fight over how trans kids should be allowed to live, but what is incredibly rare are the voices of the people at the heart of this debate: transgender and gender nonconforming kids themselves. In their groundbreaking new book, journalist Nico Lang does just that. By living with seven families of eight transgender, nonbinary, and genderfluid teens, and drawing on hundreds of hours of interviews with them, their families, and the people in their communities, American Teenager paints a stunning portrait of what it’s like to grow up trans today.

Unlike the whitewashed, monolithic vignettes we regularly see, this book leans into the complexity and nuance of the teens' lives. It takes mental strength for these teens to focus on schoolwork while being barraged with headlines about how their existence is an abomination or experiencing the deep pain of losing family after coming out. But in this necessary, vital work, Lang also documents the resiliency of their support systems, the daily moments of joy, and the hope that a better future is possible.

From the tip of Florida’s conservative panhandle to vibrant queer communities in California, Texas churches to mosques in Illinois, American Teenager gives readers a window into the lives of Wyatt, Rhydian, Mykah, Clint, Ruby, Jack, Augie, and Kylie, eight teens who, despite what some lawmakers might want us to believe, are truly just kids looking for a brighter future.

By: Nico Lang
Imprint: Abrams Press
Country of Publication: United States
Dimensions: Height: 229mm, Width: 152mm, Spine: 32mm
Weight: 218g
ISBN: 9781419773822
ISBN 10: 1419773828
Pages: 288
Publication Date: 23 February 2025
Audience: General/trade , ELT Advanced
Format: Hardback
Publisher's Status: Active

Nico Lang (they/them) is a nonbinary award-winning journalist with over a decade of experience covering the transgender community’s fight for equality. Their work has appeared in major publications, including Rolling Stone, Esquire, the New York Times, Vox, the Wall Street Journal, Salon, Harper’s Bazaar, Time, The Washington Post, and the L.A. Times. Lang is the creator of Queer News Daily and previously served as the deputy editor for Out magazine, the news editor for Them, the LGBTQ+ correspondent for VICE, and the editor and cofounder of the literary journal In Our Words. Their industry-leading contributions to queer media have resulted in a GLAAD Media Award and 10 awards from the National Association of LGBTQ Journalists (NLGJA). Lang is also the first-ever recipient of the Visibility Award from the Transgender Legal Defense and Education Fund (TLDEF), an honor created to recognize their impactful contributions to reporting on the lives of LGBTQ+ people.

Reviews for American Teenager: How Trans Kids Are Surviving Hate and Finding Joy in a Turbulent Era

"""An urgent and heartfelt chronicle of families under attack, American Teenager is a master class in journalism as a force for change. Nico Lang cuts through the political ping-pong over transgender rights to surface the human stories that too often go ignored. As rigorous as it is compassionate, this daring journey through the Heartland shows that love remains the best way to disarm fear. As right-wingers try to make boogeymen out of our most vulnerable, Lang's lucid and clear-eyed account of their lives offers an essential corrective, reminding us that there's nothing more American than the freedom to be yourself."" -- ""SAMANTHA ALLEN, author of Real Queer America"" ""The transgender children and their families who are finally given the megaphone in Nico Lang's American Teenager love this country. Unfortunately, it so rarely loves them back. Lang weaves this broad bleak terrain with warm insights and a clear immediacy of message. In Lang's pages, these families aren't talking points bandied about on Capitol Hill or coastal elites out of touch with 'real America.' They are real America--and in Lang's expansive and compassionate writing, they'd rather be stretching a dollar and going to soccer games than being forced onto an unnecessary political battlefield.""-- ""GABE DUNN, New York Times bestselling author of I Hate Everyone But You"""