Joy, to the World

Written by Kai Shappley and Lisa Bunker

Narrated by Vico Ortiz

A young Dumplin’ meets Melissa in this joyful and energetic middle grade novel about a twelve-year-old girl living her life to the fullest, celebrating her love for sports and fighting for her right to cheer.

Joy, a twelve-year-old trans girl, just moved to Texas with her mother and older brother. Her family has accepted Joy as the girl she is early in her transition, with little fuss, leaving Joy to explore her love of sports, competition, teamwork, school spirit, and worship.

But when she is told she’s off the cheerleading team, Joy wants to fight for her right to cheer. As her battle with the school board picks up momentum, Joy attracts support from kids all around the country . . . she even gets the attention of her hero, trans activist Kai Shappley.

Inspired by Kai’s own life, Joy, to the World is a timely story of living life to the fullest, celebrating and centering trans joy, courage, and resilience. 

• Language: English
• Publisher: HarperCollins
• Release date: May 9, 2023
• ISBN: 9780063242784

Kai Shappley

Kai Shappley is a young American actress and activist. When she was in fourth grade, she stood up to the Texas State Legislature against their attack against trans kids. Her journey was recorded in the Emmy winning documentary, Trans in America: Texas Strong. She has also guest starred in the first season of the Babysitters Club on Netflix. She loves her family, friends, pets, and Dolly Parton! 

Reviews for Joy, to the World

[DaisyTeragram · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

A truly valuable and enjoyable book
Wonderful story about a young transgender girl. It's heartbreaking what trans kids have to endure just to survive, and to attempt to be normal kids. It's definitely for young readers and is totally appropriate for that age group. The points are clearly made. I just would recommend that children read this book with their parents' input. As a cis-gender adult female, I find the whole situation of what's happening to trans kids to be overwhelmingly depressing, while it can be uplifting at times. I can't imagine what it would be like to be trans, especially in Texas, where their rights and those of their loved ones are constantly threatened. I would just like all readers of this book to have support while reading the book. There's a lot to unpack. I don't want to dissuade anyone from reading this book. I just hope any kids who read this book have supportive adults around them to talk to about it. The book simplifies the situation, which is good for the targeted age group.

I listened to the audiobook. The narrator was new to me. She was very good, but had a slight accent at times. She did all the voices well. I couldn't judge the writing. I maybe heard a few mistakes, but can't determine if they were really errors, or if so, if they were on the part of the author or the narrator. However, none of the minor inconsistencies hurt my understanding and enjoyment of the book.