Win NEXT's March book of the month

We have five copies of This Is How It Always Is to give away.
To enter, simply enter below before March 30.
The Walsh-Adams are a sprawling family, with five sons and a huge farmhouse to tear about in. And then there are four – four sons, that is, and one daughter. Claude, the youngest, is just three years old when he announces he wants to be a girl when he grows up. Is it just a phase? Maybe.
At first his doctor mum, Rosie, and novelist dad, Penn, aren’t bothered when he insists on always wearing the old dress in the family dress-up bag – and the tights to match. But when he insists on wearing it to kindergarten, everything changes. Claude simply doesn’t understand why his parents won’t let him. And when they finally do let him, things get even worse.

First they have to contend with the rigid rules enforced by Claude’s principal and teacher. Then comes the damning judgement and frightening behaviour of other parents. It comes down to one central question. Is Claude a boy? And if he’s not a little boy, what is he?

It’s a great comfort that Claude is surrounded by love. His grandmother assures him, “I will love you even if you wear a hat made out of toe cheese” and his parents will do anything in their power to help their son find his place in the world – even if it means moving the family 3000km to Seattle to start afresh.
Claude disappears in the move. In his new city, he is a she and she is Poppy. For the first time in her life, how she feels on the inside is reflected by what she is on the outside. Rosie and Penn choose not to disclose Poppy’s secret in Seattle. It works a treat until Poppy reaches puberty.
Author Frankel is, herself, the mother of a transgender child. Her deep understanding and compassion flow through into the pages of this thought-provoking – albeit sometimes a little preachy – novel.