This Is How It Always Is

This Is How It Always Is by Laurie Frankel

• Genre: Fiction; Contemporary
• Originally Published: 2017
• Reading Level/Interest: Lexile 780L; Grades 10 and up
• Structure/Length: 18 parts; approximately 336 pages; approximately 11 hours on audiobook
• Protagonist/Central Conflict: The novel follows the Walsh-Adams family, whose youngest child, Claude, is transgender. When Claude decides to transition and live as Poppy, the family navigates the challenges of gender identity, societal expectations, and their own personal growth. The central conflict revolves around the family's journey of understanding, acceptance, and love for Poppy as they grapple with how to best support her in a world that may not always be kind.
• Potential Sensitivity Issues: Bullying and violence against transgender people; gender dysmorphia; social expectations arising from gender roles and gender identity
• Note: This Teaching Guide recognizes that regardless of others’ beliefs about Poppy’s gender, Poppy is female throughout her life; therefore, he/him pronouns are not used in reference to Poppy, even at the time when Poppy is called “Claude” and is perceived by others as male. For the sake of clarity, however, this Teaching Guide refers to this character by the name the character uses when the character uses it. It is not the intention of this Teaching Guide to in any way disrespect the lived realities of transgender persons by engaging in deadnaming.