Grayson knows that he's not really a boy--that he's always been a girl. At least, he knows that he's in a boy's body and tries to act like a boy, tries to swallow the urge to put on skirts and gossip with the girls. He lives with his aunt and uncle (his parents died when he was young) and isn't about to confide in them--or in his cousin, who already harasses him regularly. A decision to audition for the school play brings Grayson out of his usual comfort zone--and a spontaneous decision to audition for the part of Persephone brings him out of a lot more. 
 I really liked the idea here--a book about a transgender student who is not already in high school or beyond. I'm a little irked at the usual "non-heteronormative kid finds Self and Acceptance in theatre" but I guess it's an obvious place if your story is about finally dropping the act of "normalcy." I'm also irked that Grayson talks about wishing he were a girl, but I don't know if the author meant that he truly was a girl, and though the book is told in the first-person, there's never any correction to pronouns (referring to Grayson as "she," which would be appropriate) and I didn't get much from Grayson about whether he thought of himself as a girl or if he just wanted to be. 
 The book ends with Grayson (sort of) coming out--returning to class in a sparkly shirt--but again, I don't feel like this is the beginning of transition so much as the beginning of self-acceptance. 
 I'm glad to see this plot for a middle-school audience--I just wish it had felt more realistic, instead of idealistic.