LILY AND DUNKIN by Donna Gephart

Dunkin has just moved from New Jersey to Florida.  While walking in his neighborhood, he sees a blue-eyed girl in a pretty red dress.  On his first day at his new school, he meets a boy named Tim.  There is something strangely familiar about Tim, but Dunkin isn't quite sure what.

Tim McGrother frequently feels like he is living a double life.  Deep down he has always identified as a girl, but his body identifies him as a boy.  His mother and sister recognize the girl and call her Lily, but his father insists that he is Tim and should be living as the boy he recognizes as his son.

Dunkin is fighting to fit in and be comfortable in his new home.  With his father gone, he relies on his mother and grandmother, but he longs for a friend.  His mother has been great since they moved, letting him have his own space and even letting him be responsible for taking his daily medication.  But, when Dunkin finds himself part of the basketball team and hanging with kids he sees as popular, he begins to think his medicine is slowing him down.

Tim desperately wants to live as Lily, but the taunting and teasing he endures every day while living as a boy, have him too frightened to be the person he truly is.  The only place he feels comfortable is sitting up in the old banyan tree by the library.  It's a place filled with memories of his grandfather.  Tim even named the tree Bob.  When a sign suddenly appears announcing the tree will be cut down for a new park, Tim feels like his world is crumbling.

Dunkin and Lily could be so good for each, but will they discover the friendship waiting for them?

Author Donna Gephart tackles two huge issues in LILY AND DUNKIN.  Lily is transgender and Dunkin has been diagnosed with bipolar disorder.  Personal experience and exhaustive research combine to make this a truthful and moving read.  Be sure to check this one out from your local library or find a copy at the nearest bookstore.