Welcome to St Hell: My Trans Teen Misadventure - Book Review

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Hancox, L. (2022). Welcome to St. Hell: My Trans Teen Misadventure: A Graphic Novel. Scholastic. Link to Image

Lewis Hancox is a filmmaker, comedian, author and illustrator who was born female but identifies as male. Hancox creates trans-related content and comedy sketches online where they play a variety of different characters. When they were growing up Hancox didn’t know what it meant to be transgender. All they knew was that they did not identify with being female and they would’ve been a lot happier if they’d been born male. Hancox didn’t start medically transitioning until age 20. They truly believe that if there had been more positive trans role models around when they were a kid they would’ve started transitioning much sooner.

Welcome To St. Hell: My Trans Teen Misadventure is a 304-page graphic novel memoir written and illustrated by Lewis Hancox. It is his debut graphic novel which he narrates as a trans adult looking back on his childhood. Welcome to St. Hell was published by Scholastic Books on 19 July 2022 and is suitable for readers 14-years-old and older. I thought that Welcome to St. Hell was a very humorous and heartwarming book. Hancox breaks the fourth wall in the book to address his younger self, which he calls by his deadname Lois, and he uses she/her pronouns to describe her. Hancox gives off a warm big brother energy to Lois as he follows her around. He knows she doesn’t like her body and is confused about what clothes to wear and who to kiss. Lois just wants to be “normal” and to fit in but doesn’t know how to be a girl. They try to “bottle up the boy inside” and act like a girl but it doesn’t feel right to them. Hancox doesn’t shy away from showing the difficult moments he went through as a kid. He keeps a faithful step alongside Lois and promises her that one day she will figure it all out. The problem is Lois isn’t ready to listen to him yet.

What I found really interesting about this book is how Hancox explains that being transgender is NOT a lifestyle choice or a phase. He is honest when he talks about the pain and confusion it caused him growing up. He was assigned female at birth but that did not connect with the gender identity that he developed as he grew older. He hated being labelled a girl because he knew it was not him. He has always identified as male. Hancox wrote Welcome to St. Hell because he thinks that there isn’t enough stories about transgender men and it shouldn’t be taboo to talk openly and honestly about what it is like to be transgender. I liked that he wrote the book as a love letter addressed to his younger self. The book felt like a big warm hug from a loving older brother. It brought such a big smile to my face. I really liked Hancox’s sense of humour and his depiction of his loving, over-protective Mum.

I think it is really important that stories like Welcome to St. Hell are published. The more discussion we have about what it means to be transgender can help foster compassion, understanding, and acceptance. It can also educate people about how lifesaving and important gender-affirming care can be to those who need it. I think this book is a must-read that will become a classic held in high esteem alongside similar books like Flamer by Mike Curato and Gender Queer by Maia Kobabe.

Summary: Welcome to St Hell: My Trans Teen Misadventure is a coming-of-age novel from trans author illustrator Lewis Hancox written to their awkward, younger teen self.
Websites:
Welcome to St. Hell: My Trans Teen Misadventure: A Graphic Novel - Scholastic
Follow Lewis Hancox on TikTok , Instagram , Facebook , Youtube
Cost $29.99
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