Dandelion Daughter

Dandelion Daughter is an intimate portrait of growing up having been assigned the wrong sex at birth. Set against the windswept countryside of the remote Charlevoix region some five hours north of Montreal, Boulianne-Tremblay’s autobiographical novel immortalizes her early years as an alienated boy trapped in a world of small-town values. In the midst of her parents’ dissolving marriage, Boulianne-Tremblay takes us through the complex adolescent years of self-discovery and first loves, to the harrowing episodes that fuel the growing realization that she must transition and give birth to her new self if she is to continue living at all. One of the first novels of its kind to appear in Quebec, this inspiring story has connected with a wide readership and has been adopted by many schools.

“A novel of delicate, quivering beauty. A poem about the secret nature of being a girl. A true-life fable in which a girl gives birth to herself. Every startling sentence makes you fall in love with the narrator again and again.” –Heather O’Neill, author of When We Lost Our Heads

“An excellent fictionalised account of a woman searching, and fighting, for her identity….As a cis man, it’s impossible to understand the ordeal transgender people go through, and that’s why books like Dandelion Daughter are so important.  They provide an insight into how it feels to grow up misgendered, and into the extreme difficulties of pushing back against norms and expectations.” –Tony’s Reading List

Three hundred pages of heartbreaking storytelling, right from the start. –La Presse

A literary marvel, one of those that remain in our minds forever. –Elle Canada