The comments prompted a storm of criticism, and Murphy issued a statement in which she said: “I cannot apologise enough for being the reason for this eruption of damaging and potentially dangerous social media fire and brimstone. To witness the ramifications of my actions and the divisions it has caused is heartbreaking.” I found the book very well done. Not only was the writing excellent, as to be expected, but the choice of protagonist, point of view, and characters were well executed. The story felt strong, and the message, and effectiveness could have been defeated if not for these choices. Which brings me to the most important point in all of this. The central conflict of the book isn’t centered around Jessica’s journey, or her character development. It’s not about her winning people over to accept who she is, or her coming out better or stronger. In fact, it’s Jessica herself, her being transgender, her acceptance of her own identity, that is set up as the antagonist, the conflict, the obstacle for Sam and his entire family to overcome. It’s only when Jessica offers to give up her identity and live her life as a lie for her family that the plot is resolved (even if that resolution does, eventually, involve her family supporting her transition). Children's publisher Puffin has said it is proud to be publishing John Boyne’s novel about a transgender teen, after the book was labelled "transphobic" by some campaigners, and an article the author wrote in the Irish Times about the subject received criticism on social media. The book My Brother's Name is Jessica, out tomorrow (18th April), is about a boy’s journey to understanding and accepting his transgender sister. This step has triggered a storm of criticism on social media. Some trans activists claim that, since Boyne is not trans, the story depicted in My Brother’s Name Is Jessica is not his to write. Others argue that to centre the novel on a cis brother’s struggle to accept his sister is to unfairly prioritise cis experiences over those of trans people themselves.

John Boyne deletes Twitter account after trans article backlash

He said that there was “no legal reason” for him to post the message, adding: “In fact, Graham will be as surprised by its appearance as anyone – but I’ve given a lot of thought to this and realised that all I did in that piece five years ago was add to the pile-on of a decent man in a vulnerable place, when I could have used my platform to defend and support him.

Boyne, the author of The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas and The Heart’s Invisible Furies, among other books, says he was dismayed by the response to both the piece and his forthcoming young-adult novel, My Brother’s Name Is Jessica. He said he had written books about the Holocaust, first world war soldiers, the Russian revolution and the Bounty. “I’ve never been to any of those places, I’ve never done any of those things and nobody ever criticised me for it. If we say we can only write about our own experiences, the corollary of that, for example, is that a transgender writer can only write about transgender characters. Of course, we can analyse everything with the perspective of death of the author, in which the author is removed from book. That’s my general go to, as I don’t have the time or effort to research and look at what every author has done in the past. However when it comes to representation, and the author even admitting to not consulting trans people, you have to take this things into consideration when looking at the book.

John Boyne: ‘People were criticising my book when they hadn’t John Boyne: ‘People were criticising my book when they hadn’t

In his article for The Irish Times, Boyne wrote about the process of writing My Brother’s Name Is Jessica, which follows a 12-year-old boy as he learns to accept his trans sibling. I quite liked reading the books written for their age groups before passing them on to one or other of them, as long as it was a good story that was well-written with believable characters and I didn’t have to constantly remind myself that whatever I was reading was written for youngsters, as I did with John Boyne’s latest offering . Although according to this interview, he claims not to write with a particular audience in mind, that just doesn’t ring true with this book which, of course, I only bought because people were calling for it to be boycotted. If there hadn’t been a fuss made about it, it wouldn’t have been on my radar and how depressing it is that the would-be censors of today have learned nothing from the past.

Writers use their imagination. It’s what we do!” says fellow writer Eileen Wharton. “I write from many different perspectives and may not have experienced the things I’m writing about. I speak to people who have experienced those things. I do other research as I’m sure John has done.” Boyne is the author of 17 novels for adults and children with Striped Pyjamas, adapted in to a film, being his most famous. Boyne said his change of heart had been prompted by the row over comments made by Roisin Murphy, the pop singer. As a long-term ally and supporter of trans people, and the author of a new novel that seeks to help young people embrace both their own identities and the identities of their friends, I’ve been appalled by the response of people on social media towards both my Irish Times article and a book that not a single one of them has even read, since it’s not published until Thursday.”

YA novel about transgender teen Puffin defends John Boyne’s YA novel about transgender teen

I don’t consider myself a cis man; I consider myself a man,” he wrote. “For while I will happily employ any term that a person feels best defines them, whether that be transgender, nonbinary or gender fluid, to name but a few, I reject the notion that someone can force an unwanted term on to another.” The inaccuracies, stereotypes and underlying transphobia made me uncomfortable throughout. I can't imagine how it made the trans community feel 💔 The narrator of Jason’s story is his adoring, dyslexic, bullied, young-for-his-age but equally articulate 13-year-old brother, Sam. Their mother, in spite of being a cabinet minister, comes across for most of the story as an idiot who knows nothing. The same goes for the father, whose comparatively limited input into the story reminded me of how Margaret Thatcher’s husband would look like a spare part next to her in public and how I used to wonder what he was for. This book was excellent as a way to speak to people of all ages. The topic of gender was broached well for young people, young adults, and adults. It talked about the complex issues surrounding it, acceptance, and difficulties, while also being an easy, upbeat read.

But perhaps the most frustrating and damning aspect in all of this is the portrayal of Jessica herself — or Jason, as she is referred to as throughout the novel, up until the very last chapter of the book. In Sam’s eyes, Jessica is always “my brother Jason.” He’s “the best brother” and it’s clear that Sam idolizes him. But Sam is not sympathetic to Jessica’s struggles. The only glimpses we get of Jessica’s take on all of this are pithy, generic quotes that seem designed to encapsulate the “trans struggle” (“I’ve always felt this way.” “Just because I feel that I’m a girl doesn’t mean I have to like everything that girls like…” “Don’t you realize that my gender has absolutely nothing to do with what’s going on in my pants?”), and a lot of crying. We see none of her interior world, none of her struggle, and it’s not her strength or her perseverance that wins out by the end of the book. One person wrote “He misgendered the trans person in the title… I think that reflects a lot on what’s going to be in the book,” while another told Boyne “The title of your book is inherently disrespectful and makes it very difficult to start any discourse on polite terms.”