Grayson Sender is a boy. Or at least that’s what everybody else sees. Inside, Grayson is a girl. Ever since she was a child, she’s known that she wasn’t who everyone thought she was. She pretends that her sweatpants are skirts, and draws princesses in her notebooks with glitter pens. Grayson is desperate to not let anyone know her secret, and it’s not very hard. You see, Grayson has no friends. She spends all her time either in thrift stores or in her own room.

When the school play auditions start, Grayson tries out for the lead. The female lead. And she gets it. Of course, because Grayson looks like a boy to everyone else, this poses some issues, issues that end up breaking Grayson’s arm. When the PTA considers firing the teacher that gave Grayson the part she has dreamed of, she knows this has gone too far. Once she gets on stage for that final performance, she shows them all that who you are on the outside doesn’t match who you are on the inside.

Gracefully Grayson is a beautiful story that will drag you along with it, making you pull for Grayson, and soon you will fall in love with the amazing character that Ami Polonsky has created. Gracefully Grayson will teach you that it’s OK to be yourself, that what you look like doesn’t define who you are, and that if you reach out to someone, you can change their world.