Rating: 
Summary: Surpassed all expectations
Review: This novel reads more like the best non-fiction first person accounts. It deals with difficult issues of gender and sexual orientation in a powerful way that would promote compassion and understanding for anyone struggling with with issues related to transsexuality.A single mom, Allison, is a 6th grade teacher who lives with her college-bound daughter Carly in northern Vermont. They have a very respectful relationship. Carly's father Will is remarried and general manager of the public radio station; he also has a great relationship with his daughter. Allison takes a summer film course at a college and is attracted to her male professor, Dana. They date and become emotionally involved by September, when Dana tells her s/he is a pre-op transsexual scheduled for surgery in January. Dana identifies as a lesbian. Dana is calm and clear; Allison's reactions and roller coaster thoughts about her own sexual orientation as it relates to Dana's are beautifully written and ring true. [very mild spoilers follow] The point of view switches between Allison, Dana, Will, and Carly throughout the book. After Dana's surgery, things heat up when the local fundamentalists try to get Allison fired for living with a deviant. Some very interesting quotes here from people who are gay-friendly, but trans-phobic and trying to justify it. Dana is one of the most interesting narrators, explaining what it's like to grow up female in a male body, and finally be able to correct the birth defect. Dana is calm, kind, and attractive, and able to be supportive to everyone around her. Allison continues to struggle with feeling like she is straight, and hating being censured for who she lives with. Carly goes off to Bennington, and continues to find constructive ways to deal with all the adults in her life while exploring her own sexuality. Will is the most surprising character. At first he seems narrow-minded and controlling, but he eventually uses public radio to make a documentary about the way Dana and Allison are being treated, although he does not report the story himself in the interests of fairness. This would be a very accessible way for someone struggling with these issues to gain compassion for each of the points of view in the story. And there is a surprise ending.
Rating: 
Summary: Interesting read
Review: What a great change of pace this book was. I thought this book was geat because it offered the different perspectives of the people involved in the life of man going through a sex change. I also thought it was interesting that the events took place in a small town in Vermont, to show how others outside the group of main characters deal with this man.
Rating:
Summary: A fascinating and thought-provoking story...
Review: What would you do if the man you loved told you he wanted to be a woman? Trans-Sister Radio asks this question, and as the answer unfolds, readers will be captivated, fascinated and torn between right and wrong and your own beliefs about sex, gender and what is really important in the one whom you fall in love. Allison Banks, divorcee and mother of 18-year-old Carly, has finally found the one. Dana Stevens, a college professor, has everything Allison has ever wished for. He's kind, sensitive and handsome. However, after a few months of blissful dating, Dana delivers the news: he is two months away from a sex change operation. What follows is a moral dilemma that rocks the tiny Vermont town in which they live. Should Allison still date Dana? As a teacher, is Allison violating the "role-model/decency" clause? Trans-Sister Radio explores these questions as well as how Dana Steven's sexuality affects those around him. Chris Bohjalian has written another winner. The writing style is wonderful and gives a birds-eye view from several characters and their thoughts about and reactions to gender dysphoria, homosexuality, and falling in love. Brilliantly told story and one that held me in rapt attention until the conclusion. A highly thought-provoking and intelligent novel.
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