The Other Boy is a 2016 middle grade novel by M.G. Hennessey with illustrations by Sfé R. Monster. It follows Shane Woods, a twelve-year-old trans boy who has been going stealth at school, until a bully outs him to his classmates.
The Other Boy provides examples of:
- Disneyland Dad: Shane's dad, Adam, lives in San Francisco. Shane and his mom, Rebecca, moved to Los Angeles three years ago, and now Shane only sees Adam every few months. When Shane does stay with him, he gets to eat junk food and play violent video games, unlike at home, where he eats vegan food and does all his gaming at Josh's house. But he still dreads visits with Adam because he thinks being trans is a phase.
- Forced Out of the Closet: Shane makes the mistake of mentioning to Nico Palmer that he used to go to the Creative Academy. Nico has cousins who go there, and when he asks them if they remember Shane, he learns his secret. Nico sends Shane's second grade picture, which was taken when he was living as a girl, to the whole school. The next day, his classmates mock and harass him and one boy throws gum in his hair, while Shane's best friend Josh commits Oblivious Guilt Slinging by trying to prove that Shane is cis.
- Heroic BSoD: When Josh finally realizes that Shane really is trans, Shane thinks everyone in school has turned on him. He spends the next few days lying in bed, barely able to sleep but not wanting to do anything else, as everything he usually enjoys loses its appeal.
- Homeschooled Kids: Some of the trans kids Shane meets at the PFLAG group are homeschooled due to transphobic bullying from classmates, including his friend Alejandra.
- Milholland Relationship Moment: Once Josh recovers from his hurt feelings over being lied to, he doesn't care at all that Shane is trans. Neither does the rest of the baseball team, besides Nico's friend Dylan, who never got along with Shane in the first place.
- Opposing Sports Team: Most of the baseball players in Shane's school belong to one of two teams: the Cardinals and the Mustangs. Shane is a Cardinal, and Nico is a Mustang. The Mustangs have gone to regionals for the last five years, unlike the Cardinals. Shane is one of the Cardinals' best players, and it's implied that part of the reason Nico outs him is to make the Cardinals turn on each other. During the regionals, Nico tries to distract Shane by wiggling his hips and yelling "You throw like a girl!"
- Parent with New Paramour: Adam's fiancée, Summer, gets off to a bad start with Shane because Adam told her that Shane was a tomboy, and she innocently invites him to be a bridesmaid at their wedding. But once they get past that, Summer turns out to be a lot more accepting than her fiancé, and Shane learns to like her. Rebecca also gets a new boyfriend named Chris. When they temporarily break up, Shane encourages her to text him, because he knows how much happier Adam is with Summer and he wants Rebecca to be happy too.
- Portmanteau Couple Name: Platonic in-universe example. Shane and Josh call themselves "Team Shosh."
- Show Within a Show: Shane is working on a graphic novel called Hogan Fillion Saves the World, about a space explorer and his alien sidekick Willoughby. While Shane is hiding in his room, he rips up every page. Once he recovers somewhat, he decides to write an even better comic. This time he gives Hogan and Willoughby a friend named Selena.
- Throwing Out the Script: At Adam and Summer's wedding, Shane is supposed to make a toast, but his index cards get out of order and he has to give up on what he prepared. He gives a short, improvised speech about the importance of finding someone who loves you for who you really are. He thinks he blew it, but Adam and Summer both have Tears of Joy in their eyes.
- Too Unhappy to Be Hungry: Shane barely eats during the time he spends hiding in his room because everything tastes awful to him.
- Why Couldn't You Be Different?: Adam still thinks of Shane as his "little girl" and tries to talk him into detransitioning. He hasn't attended any of Shane's doctor's appointments, but when he learns that Shane is going to be prescribed testosterone, he refuses to consent. Shane's parents have joint custody, so Shane can't take testosterone without his dad's permission. Adam eventually learns to accept Shane as a boy and consents for him to take testosterone.
- Wouldn't Hit a Girl: When Shane was in third grade, not long after he came out as trans, he got into a fight with another boy, who punched him. Shane was thrilled to be treated like a boy, because he knew that kid never would have hit a girl.
