For many kids, middle school is a fraught time. Friendships are forged and broken; bodies begin to change in sometimes uncomfortable ways. For Zenobia July, starting middle school is far more complicated than it is for most of her peers. She’s starting at a new school far from where she grew up, but more importantly, she’s now identifying as the girl she always knew she was, leaving behind the boy she’d been labeled as since birth. Zenobia July is the name of Exeter, New Hampshire novelist’s