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In Between
Never have there been only two genders—male and female. A third gender, denied by society and hidden by the medical community, has always existed, and that is what Sophie Schmidt discovers when, at the age of fourteen, she learns the truth of how she was born. Sophie then embarks on a journey to learn more about her true self and to find others born like her. When Sophie moves to New York City, she enters the world of gays and lesbians, as well as those who are transgender and transsexual. Searching for her own place in society, her journey leads her to Alice Parker, and Sophie takes the final steps to accept herself enough to allow another to love her.
312 pages, Paperback
First published December 10, 2013
2 people are currently reading
86 people want to read
About the author
Jane Hoppen
8 books5 followersJane Hoppen grew up in Wisconsin, served in the U.S. Army, and has been settled in the New York City area for more than two decades. While working as a technical writer for the government and the software industry for more than twenty years, Jane has always done fiction and essay writing on the side and has been published in various magazines, including Room of One’s Own, Off Our Backs, Story Quarterly, The Dirty Goat, Western Humanities Review, Gertrude, PANK, Superstition Review, Thrice Fiction, Helix Magazine, Platte Valley Review, and others. She now focuses primarily on her fiction, and In Between is her first novel to be published by Bold Strokes Books. (from the publisher's website)
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Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews
January 2, 2014
This story moved into my heart, surrounded my gut, let me cry with no shame, and resurrected feelings of love, pain, tenderness, fear, and need. I got to be with a person who is burdened right from the moment of birth with an overwhelming sense of being different that continually forced a fear that shadowed almost every experience and every relationship. I nearly walked away from this book countless times and tried to convince myself it was an okay thing to do. I praise some curious internal tenacity that helped me get through the early years with the main gal that cut a bit too close to home. I don't know if everyone has to deal with issues so overwhelming as to consistently place oneself apart from the world. I got to participate in Sophie's birth, the first few days afterward, and then many key times during her powerful life experiences. I welcome such experiences and this book provided a powerhouse collection of them. Stick with it and feel the earth move!
Sophie started her life with an "X" on the line for her gender. That is an amazing understatement. She went through some heavy duty shit before she sort of understood what had happened to her and then spent years studying the condition in depth and still not grasping it entirely. Her studies told her the proper term for her condition was 'Intersexual'. Sophie started off life with both male and female genitalia. The exhausting and painful medical procedures left monumental physical and emotional scars. Life situations added more emotional scars. I felt as if I lived in Sophie's heart and mind through years of lows and a few blips on the high scale. I cannot imagine anyone reading this story and not feeling rather drained and exhilarated for having spent time in Sophie's shoes, heart, and body. I totally fell in love with her; she is such a trooper.
Several amazing characters pass through Sophie's life and they are all treasures, but her immediate family were simply extraordinary and delightfully down to earth. Mary, Sophie's mother, carries the greatest burden through the years, but willingly hangs in and offers as much strength, guidance, and love to Sophie even when during the early years, Sophie refused everything on occasion. Holly is Sophie's older sister and even though they are quite different there was a beautiful sisterly bond that served them both during different struggles and life's demands. Max, Sophie's father, is not as closely in the picture, but he commands a respect, an admiration, and huge hunk of love, too. He wasn't just a taciturn man of the soil, but he certainly passed his love of the land onto Sophie.
This book is a journey...an extraordinary one that I hope everyone takes. So many twists and turns as Sophie tries to fit in somewhere. Some folks will be able to commiserate from personal life challenges more than others, but I feel everyone will be able to learn and feel from a deeper and wider perspective if you follow Sophie's journey till where the author takes you. I really treasure stories where I can get totally immersed, cry, laugh, and touch the heart of the universe!
NOTE: This book was provided by Bold Strokes Books for the purpose of a review on Rainbow Book Reviews.
Sophie started her life with an "X" on the line for her gender. That is an amazing understatement. She went through some heavy duty shit before she sort of understood what had happened to her and then spent years studying the condition in depth and still not grasping it entirely. Her studies told her the proper term for her condition was 'Intersexual'. Sophie started off life with both male and female genitalia. The exhausting and painful medical procedures left monumental physical and emotional scars. Life situations added more emotional scars. I felt as if I lived in Sophie's heart and mind through years of lows and a few blips on the high scale. I cannot imagine anyone reading this story and not feeling rather drained and exhilarated for having spent time in Sophie's shoes, heart, and body. I totally fell in love with her; she is such a trooper.
Several amazing characters pass through Sophie's life and they are all treasures, but her immediate family were simply extraordinary and delightfully down to earth. Mary, Sophie's mother, carries the greatest burden through the years, but willingly hangs in and offers as much strength, guidance, and love to Sophie even when during the early years, Sophie refused everything on occasion. Holly is Sophie's older sister and even though they are quite different there was a beautiful sisterly bond that served them both during different struggles and life's demands. Max, Sophie's father, is not as closely in the picture, but he commands a respect, an admiration, and huge hunk of love, too. He wasn't just a taciturn man of the soil, but he certainly passed his love of the land onto Sophie.
This book is a journey...an extraordinary one that I hope everyone takes. So many twists and turns as Sophie tries to fit in somewhere. Some folks will be able to commiserate from personal life challenges more than others, but I feel everyone will be able to learn and feel from a deeper and wider perspective if you follow Sophie's journey till where the author takes you. I really treasure stories where I can get totally immersed, cry, laugh, and touch the heart of the universe!
NOTE: This book was provided by Bold Strokes Books for the purpose of a review on Rainbow Book Reviews.
April 10, 2014
A child is born with both female and male genitalia- the doctor proposes the best choice is to make the child a female. As a parent what would you do? This is the opening scene of the book and the situation could start quite a debate.
Mary and Max Schmidt bring home "Sophie" and pray she will have a "normal" life despite the X next to gender on the birth certificate. As Sophie grows older she struggles and doesn't care for the pink frills and dolls type of play that other little girls like. Mary constantly battles guilt and second guesses herself on the decision she made after pressure from the doctors.
As Sophie reaches adolescence and high school she encounters more problems fitting in, struggles with her body, and pushes people away before they can get close to her. Ultimately, Sophie learns to accept herself and let others love her but not without a difficult journey!
This book covers a long span of time in the characters' life and focuses on themes such as the definition of gender, family, love, and trying to exist in a microcosm of a society that won't accept shades of grey. I was pleasantly surprised to learn the setting takes place in my home state- and that made this book all the more real to me. I could understand the characters and their attitudes and motivations were realistic of people in the Midwest.
In Between is a wonderful debut novel and well-researched with factual information. There is an overall message of acceptance- acceptance of oneself, acceptance of others, and eliminating emphasis on having to fit in a squared definition- be it gender or sexuality. This book will make you feel, make you question society, and make you want to yell to Sophie and others like her "Hello I will be your friend! You are not alone."
Reviewed at: Lipstick Lesbian Reviews.
The doctors had said, "Raise a girl and you'll have a girl," but things didn't always seem to be progressing in that direction.
Mary and Max Schmidt bring home "Sophie" and pray she will have a "normal" life despite the X next to gender on the birth certificate. As Sophie grows older she struggles and doesn't care for the pink frills and dolls type of play that other little girls like. Mary constantly battles guilt and second guesses herself on the decision she made after pressure from the doctors.
As Sophie reaches adolescence and high school she encounters more problems fitting in, struggles with her body, and pushes people away before they can get close to her. Ultimately, Sophie learns to accept herself and let others love her but not without a difficult journey!
"From now on, I'm going to be whoever I think I need to be. No more checkups. No surgeries. No more doctors touching me. From now on, I decide. From now on, it's all on me. At least I won't lie to me." -Sophie
This book covers a long span of time in the characters' life and focuses on themes such as the definition of gender, family, love, and trying to exist in a microcosm of a society that won't accept shades of grey. I was pleasantly surprised to learn the setting takes place in my home state- and that made this book all the more real to me. I could understand the characters and their attitudes and motivations were realistic of people in the Midwest.
In Between is a wonderful debut novel and well-researched with factual information. There is an overall message of acceptance- acceptance of oneself, acceptance of others, and eliminating emphasis on having to fit in a squared definition- be it gender or sexuality. This book will make you feel, make you question society, and make you want to yell to Sophie and others like her "Hello I will be your friend! You are not alone."
Reviewed at: Lipstick Lesbian Reviews.
December 5, 2013
I feel that the synopsis of this book is confusing. It almost seems a little sci-fi from the description. Instead what we have is the story of Sophie was born intersexual, or basically with both male and female genitalia. When she was born her doctors strongly encouraged her parents to give Sophie a surgery that would make her all "female". Not knowing any other solution her parents take this route and thus our story begins.
This novel is not a romance at all really. Despite what the synopsis wrongly suggests Sophie doesn't meet her love until nearly the end of the novel. Instead this is a novel about Sophie coming to terms with who she is and the journey that she and her family go through to accept this challenge in their lives. Often the story is told through each family member's point of view so you just don't only see things from Sophie's point of view. I almost enjoyed seeing things from Mary's (Sophie's mom) POV the most. Overall there is a very enjoyable family dynamic going on here.
My negatives are small ones. The last 1/3 of the novel dragged a little and I think time could have been better spent focusing on Sophie's romantic relationship versus going to bars and such. Just seemed like there were a few wasted words here. I would have liked to gotten to know Alice a bit more.
If you enjoy coming of age themes then this is a good one. Sophie and her family are all sympathetic characters and I personally appreciated how much Sophie's parents truly loved her.
This novel is not a romance at all really. Despite what the synopsis wrongly suggests Sophie doesn't meet her love until nearly the end of the novel. Instead this is a novel about Sophie coming to terms with who she is and the journey that she and her family go through to accept this challenge in their lives. Often the story is told through each family member's point of view so you just don't only see things from Sophie's point of view. I almost enjoyed seeing things from Mary's (Sophie's mom) POV the most. Overall there is a very enjoyable family dynamic going on here.
My negatives are small ones. The last 1/3 of the novel dragged a little and I think time could have been better spent focusing on Sophie's romantic relationship versus going to bars and such. Just seemed like there were a few wasted words here. I would have liked to gotten to know Alice a bit more.
If you enjoy coming of age themes then this is a good one. Sophie and her family are all sympathetic characters and I personally appreciated how much Sophie's parents truly loved her.
May 17, 2014
This book is a totally different story in the genre of Lesbian Fiction. It is a story of how Sophie Schmidt, who is born with both sets of genitals, but is operated on as a very young baby and brought up as a girl. On learning this and the problems it has left her with, she has to come to terms with who she is before she can find peace and romance. It is a heart warming story about a young person finding out who she truly is before she can settle and make a life for herself! Would highly recommend this book as a good read.
July 9, 2018
This is a book that covers a wide variety of time which is mainly focusing on Sophie life. Her parents and sister are mentioned when involving Sophie. From Sophie birth to adulthood she dosesn't know of her intersex condition until her teen years from then on, she comes to terms to her condition. She is a constant what makes me female or what makes me male as she learns not everything is black and white. male or female.
As a transgender male reading this book I felt the pains that Sophie went through- even though I never had anatomy removed from my own body. I have gone years questioning my gender and still do even though I have come out as trans. I worry about love and if I can be loved for being the way I am. It's all that has consumed me some days just like Sophie.
What I liked about the book was that it is about finding yourself and how romance won't make your life perfect. You have to do work to get to a more positive area in life, It focus is on discovery and growth. while I don't think that the pronoun usage was right around trans persons and I can get behind that is just the time era/confusion level of trans people when first meeting them (that being is she once a he or vice versa).
As a transgender male reading this book I felt the pains that Sophie went through- even though I never had anatomy removed from my own body. I have gone years questioning my gender and still do even though I have come out as trans. I worry about love and if I can be loved for being the way I am. It's all that has consumed me some days just like Sophie.
What I liked about the book was that it is about finding yourself and how romance won't make your life perfect. You have to do work to get to a more positive area in life, It focus is on discovery and growth. while I don't think that the pronoun usage was right around trans persons and I can get behind that is just the time era/confusion level of trans people when first meeting them (that being is she once a he or vice versa).
January 18, 2014
Disclaimer: I received this e-galley from NetGalley in exchange for my honest review.
Review:
The beginning of this book was very predictable as I had done a lot of research on this condition for my own interest. So I already knew about the condition that Sophie Schmidt was born with.The author really makes us feel sympathy for Max and Mary, Sophie's parents, as they grapple with the information that they receive upon Sophie's birth. You can tell that they love their child and are so scared of making the "wrong" decision. Well Mary more than Max.
Their decision not to say anything to anyone seemed cruel. Not only are they punishing Sophie by not being honest with her, they are also punishing their friends and family and most notably Sophie's older sister Holly. When Sophie discovers the truth at age 14, she is overcome with anger, horror and disgust. Most of it directed at her parents but she saves some of that disgust for herself as she begins to take a closer look at her own body.
She's furious that her parents kept the secret from her for so long. She feels ashamed of herself. She feels ugly and repulsive. Not totally unexpected given her age as most girls feel that way at some point during their teen years. But for her it's different. SO different.I was so, so happy that Holly didn't abandon her sister after learning the truth. I was so afraid that Holly would call her sister terrible names and when that didn't happen, I breathed a huge sigh of relief.
Sophie had a lot of family support in the book which was really nice to see.Except her grandmother was not the most supportive woman in the world and in fact did not know of Sophie's condition until after Sophie had been told.Mary had been very protective of Sophie and she had been afraid that her devout Catholic mother would have something terrible to say or criticize Sophie on.
Watching Sophie blossom into a young lady, moving far away from home, was exciting. I did understand her reluctance to get into a relationship though. She didn't want to get close to someone only to have them repulsed by her condition which was something she couldn't help.
I had never read a book dealing with this, oftentimes still taboo subject. All I had read about this condition involved research papers and case studies. Interesting yes, but they didn't talk about the emotional side of things like this book did.
I loved the characters and the setting. Not too many books are in a farm setting which I think is such a SHAME. The characters were interesting definitely not flat... well with the small exception of Max. I don't feel like I got to know him nearly as well as I got to know the others,but from what I did see of him, I liked him.
I am really, really glad that I took a chance on this book. I didn't love the ending and I wished that it had been longer or that there had been an epilogue or something to tie up some loose ends. Also, I didn't really get emotional during this book. I was really bummed and I had hoped that this book would bring me serious feels and it did not. So that's why the book will be getting 4 stars.
Review:
The beginning of this book was very predictable as I had done a lot of research on this condition for my own interest. So I already knew about the condition that Sophie Schmidt was born with.The author really makes us feel sympathy for Max and Mary, Sophie's parents, as they grapple with the information that they receive upon Sophie's birth. You can tell that they love their child and are so scared of making the "wrong" decision. Well Mary more than Max.
Their decision not to say anything to anyone seemed cruel. Not only are they punishing Sophie by not being honest with her, they are also punishing their friends and family and most notably Sophie's older sister Holly. When Sophie discovers the truth at age 14, she is overcome with anger, horror and disgust. Most of it directed at her parents but she saves some of that disgust for herself as she begins to take a closer look at her own body.
She's furious that her parents kept the secret from her for so long. She feels ashamed of herself. She feels ugly and repulsive. Not totally unexpected given her age as most girls feel that way at some point during their teen years. But for her it's different. SO different.I was so, so happy that Holly didn't abandon her sister after learning the truth. I was so afraid that Holly would call her sister terrible names and when that didn't happen, I breathed a huge sigh of relief.
Sophie had a lot of family support in the book which was really nice to see.Except her grandmother was not the most supportive woman in the world and in fact did not know of Sophie's condition until after Sophie had been told.Mary had been very protective of Sophie and she had been afraid that her devout Catholic mother would have something terrible to say or criticize Sophie on.
Watching Sophie blossom into a young lady, moving far away from home, was exciting. I did understand her reluctance to get into a relationship though. She didn't want to get close to someone only to have them repulsed by her condition which was something she couldn't help.
I had never read a book dealing with this, oftentimes still taboo subject. All I had read about this condition involved research papers and case studies. Interesting yes, but they didn't talk about the emotional side of things like this book did.
I loved the characters and the setting. Not too many books are in a farm setting which I think is such a SHAME. The characters were interesting definitely not flat... well with the small exception of Max. I don't feel like I got to know him nearly as well as I got to know the others,but from what I did see of him, I liked him.
I am really, really glad that I took a chance on this book. I didn't love the ending and I wished that it had been longer or that there had been an epilogue or something to tie up some loose ends. Also, I didn't really get emotional during this book. I was really bummed and I had hoped that this book would bring me serious feels and it did not. So that's why the book will be getting 4 stars.
February 22, 2017
Sophie was born not clearly male or female, but with aspects of both. Her parents, frightened and confused by the news, take the doctor's recommendations for surgery to make her more clearly a girl, and not to tell her the truth of her birth. Sophie grows up on a farm in rural Wisconsin, never feeling quite right, but not knowing why until she learns the truth when she is 14. While some of the descriptions were overly detailed (I really don't need to know what setting the burner was on when Sophie's mom was cooking dinner!), the recountings of the emotions, not only Sophie's, but those of her parents and sister, ring true--parents questioning their decisions, family dynamics, Sophie's anger and confusion. A good story to delve into what the intersex experience might be like, with a main character you keep rooting for
December 23, 2013
This was a thoughtful and well written look into the life of a family dealt the hand of having an intersexed child. The story is mostly told from the perspective of that child Sophie, as she grows from a little tomboy who wants to stand up and pee like the neighbor boy to the teenager who learns the truth of her birth and the difficult decisions made by her parents at the insistence of their doctors. We follow as she navigates her life from high school and beyond, terrified to let anyone get too close for fear of rejection, but always hoping to find love as she searches to understand her history as well as her unique physiology.
The novel also shares the perspective of her parents, from the angst of whether their choices were correct, to their unconditional love for Sophie and hope that she will love a happy life. The characters were realistic, interesting and likable. The novel completely held my interest throughout.
The novel also shares the perspective of her parents, from the angst of whether their choices were correct, to their unconditional love for Sophie and hope that she will love a happy life. The characters were realistic, interesting and likable. The novel completely held my interest throughout.
January 30, 2014
If you are looking for a story that will make you think, read this book. If you are looking a for a character who will stay in your head days after you read her story, this is it. It's not a romance, or intrigue. It's general fiction, which usually goes to bottom of my "to read" pile. But I moved this to the top of the stack on the recommendation of a friend and I'm glad I did. Born with both male and female genitalia, Sophie's rocky journey to figure out exactly who she-he is goes much deeper than her physical body.
August 19, 2016
Meh. The writing was so-so, but easy to read at least, but the amount of transmisogyny and weird shit in this book was absurd. 10 pages didn't go by where someone mispronouned or misgendered a trans woman. Without knowing who the author is, or if she has any intersex experience, this also reads like someone's "fun exploration" of a real identity and personhood... like a gross onlooker. It's particularly boring when I realize that this came out the same year as Nevada. Lol
Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews