Beyond Magenta: Transgender Teens Speak Out was published by Susan Kuklin in 2014, which involves the profiles and series of interviews of six young transgender teens. Their gender identities, family relationships, transition processes, societal acceptance, rejection experiences, and future ambitions. However, the book is unsuited to 14 years old because it contains explicit language, violent actions, and detailed descriptions. The sad part is it includes children as young as six years old engaged in oral sex.

Beyond Magenta: Transgender Teens Speak Out is the compilation of six transgender teens, namely Jessy, Christina, Mariah, Cameron, Nat, and Luke. These teenagers are in doubt of their gender orientations and feel trapped in the wrong bodies.

                Jessy was born a girl from a respected family in Thailand. Jessy's father's a diplomat in the USA. At a young age, Jessy realized that he was not comfortable with his gender. Jessy preferred suits and ties over dresses. When Jessy revealed that he wanted to transition- from a woman to a man, his parents accommodated the idea. Jessy's parents wanted him to be happy with his choices and be successful. They supported his decision to take testosterone and have therapy for his transition. Now, he is just like any other man, very masculine: his voice, facial hair, even his skin texture is thicker, rougher, and his body is more muscular. He is currently in a relationship with Nan.

Christina, who is Latina came from a Catholic family. She began her transition in an all-boys Christian school. Christina was constantly bullied in elementary and high school and encountered problems with her teachers. Christina even recalled the fight on a subway when she was provoked by other passengers' transphobia in New York City. She also shared other students in school freaked out because she looked like a girl and moved against gender boundaries. Christina describes her transition from male to female as more complicated; however, she was eventually accepted by her mother and brother.

Mariah is a biracial, Black, and Cherokee Indian who requested not to have a photograph included in the book. Mariah emphasized her struggle to understand her sexual identity and gender expression. Mariah recalls that she used to kiss guys since she was six years old, have sex with them, and perform oral sex. She thought it was normal for her age. Mariah also makes out with girls to avoid being bullied at school because everyone encourages her to do so. In addition, Mariah shared that perverts or pedophiles made a move with her while touching themselves. She admitted that she somehow got swayed, but she ran away.  Mariah shared her heartbreaking account of being moved between foster homes, treatment centers, hospitals, and psychiatric centers.

Cameron is an aspiring doctor and a social activist. They are from Westchester County but "not one of the rich, white Westchester communities you hear about," as they put it. Cameron prefers the pronoun "they" and describes themselves as pansexual. Cameron explains that gender is one variable in a person's identity, and sexual orientation is another variable. Personal orientation and sexual identity are not connected so being trans is not the next step to being gay. Cameron believes that they are similar in that they are both breaking gender rules.

 Nat is an European-American who was confirmed as an intersex adolescent by their doctors. Nat's struggle with identity led to severe depression. Nat has been confused with his feeling all along. Nat embodies gender flexibility and prefers the pronouns (they and them) to avoid gendered ones. They believe that gender is three-dimensional: males float around somewhere, females float around somewhere else, and some people don't float at all—they swim". Nat was fascinated to discover that they are not only emotionally, psychologically, and spiritually both sexes; they were physically both sexes." They eventually moved out of their parent's home, where they seemed more content with their life.

Luke discovered his identity through theater, as he was delegated as a trans man after first joining the company. He finds it more manageable to speak his mind on stage from an audience of strangers than in conversation with people he knows. Luke's experience in theater allowed him to research the possibility of trans man identities. He also revealed that his family accepted him being gay; however, being trans is different because they were unaware. Luke's story separates other events in his life into scenes, showing his commitment and gratitude to the theater and its effect on his life.

             Many readers would claim that the story of the teens in Beyond Magenta is interesting since it represents the voice of the unheard young adults who struggle with their gender identities. People believe that this book is inspirational and empowers the most neglected topic in society: gender diversity or LGBTQ+. In addition, the book delivers awareness to the readers that the issue of gender identity is factual and relevant. Many also commend the truthful account of the teenagers in their family relationships, transition processes, and experiences. However, the book contains explicit language, violent acts, and graphic descriptions, which is inappropriate for 14 years old and up readers.

In the same way, sex and genitalia are openly discussed. Further, the level of detail about the teens' lives in the book is hard to understand by other teenagers. As parents, would you like to expose your children to a book with such content?

             We have to realize that this book is intended for young adults. We have to consider that our children may have a limited understanding of topics represented in the book.  Our children may not be able to determine whether the given concept is good or bad behavior. How do we expect them to absorb all the presented experiences of the teens in the book? Do you realize the effect it may bring to the young minds of our children?

As parents, we need to protect our children from the awful reading materials that confuse their young minds. Let us remind ourselves that adolescence is the most crucial stage of an individual's life. This kind of book will pollute the imagination and beliefs of our children; hence we must be critical of the books that our children will read in school.

We have to act now before it's too LATE!