Summary

Miss Appleton reprimands Claude for attempting to use the boy’s bathroom at school, and Victoria Revels calls Penn to say that “we can treat your child as a boy. Or we can treat your child as a girl. But we cannot treat him as … well, I don’t even know what else there is” (91). Penn is livid. Later, when Claude states he wishes to change his name, Penn assures him, “They can’t make you change your name” (93). However, Claude insists he wants to, provoking more resistance from his brothers. Rosie is also skeptical, but when Claude says he wants to rename himself Poppy, she is deeply moved.

The next chapter, “Push,” finds Poppy, who has not yet changed his pronouns, seeming much happier than before and starting to become friends with girls. Rosie is suspicious that the parents...