A Dark Time In My Life: Discussing ‘A Boy Like Me’ With Writer Jennie Wood

A decade ago, Jennie Wood’s young adult novel A Boy Like Me debuted. Featuring a trans boy, Peyton, who falls for a girl, the novel was ahead of its time and won several awards. Now, Wood is about to launch a crowdfunding campaign for A Boy Like Me’s 1oth anniversary.

In an interview with Comicon, Wood discussed what’s changed in the last several years and the effects of revisiting these characters and stories a decade later.

Tom Smithyman: It’s been 10 years since A Boy Like Me debuted. How has acceptance of the LGBTQ+ community changed in that time?

Jennie Wood: Over the last decade more people have become mindful and supportive of LGBTQ+ issues and equality. There’s a much wider representation of queer stories and characters in books, film, television, etc. We’ve finally reached a place where being queer is not the most interesting thing about a character, it’s simply part of who they are.

However, along with broader acceptance and visibility, there’s also more hate and backlash than I witnessed or experienced 10 years ago.

Smithyman: What are you hoping to accomplish with this new crowdfunding campaign?

Wood: Over the years I’ve heard from readers that A Boy Like Me gave them solace and support. Some shared with me that the book helped them come out and/or feel more secure about who they are. My hope is that this campaign reaches at least one more reader who feels some solace and support by this book.

Smithyman: Does the political landscape in the US play into the timing of this campaign?

Wood: No. This campaign is to celebrate and mark the 1oth anniversary of A Boy Like Me with a new edition of the book.

Smithyman: At its core, A Boy Like Me is a really an old-fashioned love story, right? As a writer, do you approach this story differently because one of the characters is trans, or do you treat it as more a character detail?

Wood: I don’t approach a story any differently if a character is trans or non-binary or cisgender. I approach every project exactly the same whether it’s a novel, graphic novel, short story, play, or screenplay.

I always begin by spending several days writing bios for all the characters – major and supporting. I’m careful not to focus on only one aspect or detail about a character. Once I have a firm idea of who the characters are, only then do I begin writing scenes and dialogue. Of course, I’m still getting to know them at that point, too.

For A Boy Like Me, I spent just as much time developing Tara, Rebecca, and Uncle RB as I did Peyton. Since the book is written in first person from Peyton’s point of view, I kept a journal from Tara’s point of view for several weeks so that I could get a strong sense of where she was mentally and emotionally throughout the story. It was very important to me that I didn’t treat Peyton any differently because he’s trans. It’s only one aspect of who he is, and I did not want him to try to speak for an entire trans community in any way.

Smithyman: As you revisit this novel a decade later, does anything surprise you about the story or your writing style?

Wood: I am surprised at how difficult it is for me to revisit the binary headspace that I was in when I created Peyton and wrote A Boy Like Me. Writing A Boy Like Me and Flutter – both binary explorations of gender – helped me get to where I am today in my own journey. Through writing and publishing those works, I discovered that I’m non-binary.

On one hand I’m extremely grateful to those projects. On the other hand, revisiting A Boy Like Me right now takes me back to a dark time in my life when I was dealing with a lot of confusion and gender dysphoria. Revisiting the book isn’t as pleasant for me as I would have thought at this point in my journey. I do think and hope that will change by the next major anniversary milestone!

Smithyman: Your work focuses on the young adult audience. What makes that group so appealing to you?

Wood: I don’t set out to write YA, but my projects usually end up there. Last year I wrote what I thought was going to be an adult comedic screenplay but then I finished it and realized it’s a middle school graphic novel project. I’m now developing it with my Flutter collaborator Jeff McComsey.

Perhaps so many projects for me end up as young adult because that’s the point at which I think a lot of us start questioning who we are vs. who we’re expected to be by others – parents, teachers, society, friends.

That’s the time in our lives when we begin exploring the idea of self and independence, branching out, testing the waters, pushing back against authority. It’s only the beginning of the journey, of course, but there’s something about that point in the journey that keeps pulling me back.

Smithyman: What other projects are you working on?

Wood: In addition to the book that Jeff and I are developing, I’m currently working on two graphic novels, both young adult and more similar to my most recent graphic novel, Paper Planes, than my earlier work. One is scheduled to be published by the end of 2025. The other I’m still finishing the script for so no publication date on that one yet.

Smithyman: Thank you for taking the time to discuss the campaign – and best of luck with it!