Lily and Dunkin

Gephart, D. (2016). Lily and Dunkin. New York: Delacorte Press.

Summary: Lily Jo McGrother is about to enter the eighth grade. But there she will be known as Timothy McGrother, her birth name. Lily is a girl in the wrong body. She has decided that this year will be a year of big changes, big risks, and attempting to show the world who she really is. 

Norbert Dorfman has recently moved to humid Florida from New Jersey. An incident with his father has brought him and his mother to live with his Bubbie. He hates his name and loves Dunkin Donuts which is how he earned his nickname from Lily. He is also bipolar. His mother trusts him to take his medication every day. But in an effort to make friends at his new school, Dunkin begins to make some poor decisions. 


The two become friends before school begins, but both of them carry their secrets deep. What will happen when the secrets no longer stay hidden? 

Reaction: Lily and Dunkin contribute to creating a more empathetic society. By writing a book that not only focuses on mental illness but on a transgender person, Gephart is allowing the world a look into what the world is like for these people. Lily is supported by everyone in her family other than her father and grandmother. She is bullied incessantly in school before even having the courage to be Lily. And Dunkin tricks himself into thinking he doesn’t really need his medication, something that happens all too often to those in his position. 

The two characters don’t have a lot of scenes together. The first chunk of the book has the characters meet and become friends. Then school beings and they go their separate ways. It isn’t until towards the end of the book they really unite. Gephart has written a book with parallel lives that manage to intersect at the most important events for each character. 

The most frustrating part of Lily and Dunkin is unresolved bullying. Vasquez, a basketball star, pulls Lily’s pants down in the locker room. He in no way has to suffer the consequences of his actions. Instead, he makes it seem as though Lily has the power to get him kicked off the basketball team. Which, in a way, Lily does. But NO ONE seems to see the bullying other than Dunkin, Dare, and maybe another minor character or two. How is this left unresolved? 

The audio version of this book has a male reading the part of Lily. This makes sense for the first half of the book when she is still trying to come out of her shell and is referred to as Timothy. Towards the end of the book, however, she becomes Lily. At this point, it would have made sense for the narrator to be female. 

The bullying and narration aside, this is an important book for middle grade and young adult readers. This is a time when they are discovering who they are and who they are going to be. This book allows them to understand that they are not alone in their struggles for gender identity or mental illness. It opens up conversations and minds. Hopefully, it will open the door to more books like this.

Connections: 

Activities: 

Have students create a KWL chart on either or both terms “transgender” and “bipolar”. 

Lily wrote a letter to the city council regarding a tree in front of her local library. What changes in your community have you disagreed with? Write a letter to your city council regarding the change and why you disagreed with it. 

Dunkin does a lot of things to be friends with the basketball team that doesn’t reflect well on him. Describe a time when you tried to fit in by being someone you weren’t. 

Have students complete a research project on different mental illnesses. Make sure they add celebrities, inventors, etc. that have contributed to society in some way. 

Have students complete the discussion questions at the end of the book. 

Author Donna Gephart was inspired to write Dunkin after first-hand experience with her son. Who in your life would inspire you to write a book? Why? 

Transgender/Gender Variance Resources: 

Home. (n.d.). Retrieved from https://www.genderspectrum.org/ 

Education and Support Services. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://www.genderdiversity.org/ 

Saving Young LGBTQ Lives. (n.d.). Retrieved from https://www.thetrevorproject.org/#sm.0001yu4r910m8f8211k1ugp7175nf 

Kuklin, S. (2014). Beyond magenta : transgender teens speak out. Somerville, Massachusetts: Candlewick Press.

Bipolar Resources: 

Bipolar Disorder in Children and Teens. (n.d.). Retrieved from https://www.nimh.nih.gov/health/publications/bipolar-disorder-in-children-and-teens/index.shtml 

Smith, H. (2010). Welcome to the jungle : everything you ever wanted to know about bipolar but were too freaked out to ask. San Francisco, CA: Red Wheel/Weiser.

Federman, R. & Thomson, J. (2010). Facing bipolar : the young adult's guide to dealing with bipolar disorder. Oakland, CA: New Harbinger Publications.

Walters, J. (2011, May). On Just Being Crazy Enough. Retrieved from https://www.ted.com/talks/joshua_walters_on_being_just_crazy_enough?utm_campaign=tedspread&utm_medium=referral&utm_source=tedcomshare