A.C. Harper grew up in the Pacific Northwest, in a time before transgender was a word in common use. It took until age eighteen, after nearly two decades of quietly searching, for that word to finally arrive, and with it, a way to name a long-felt experience.
Harper writes coming-of-age fiction centered on transgender characters. Stories meant to be relatable for readers walking a similar path, comforting for those still finding the language, and a window into empathy for everyone else.
Harper's debut novel, Hi, My Name Is Alex, is the long version of that journey. Set in a time when information was harder to find and being different often meant feeling completely alone, it is a love letter to anyone still searching for the right words to name themselves.
Alexandria knows two things for sure.
She doesn't fit in with the other girls.
And she definitely doesn't have the words to explain why.
Growing up in the late 90s, Alexandria spends years trying to become the person everyone expects her to be. During a family trip to Maui, she experiences feelings she can't explain.
Back home, she falls deeply in love with her best friend while secretly creating an online identity that feels more authentic than her real life.
By college, the distance between who she is and who she's pretending to be becomes impossible to ignore.
As friendships deepen, hearts break, and first loves come and go, Alex searches for answers in all the wrong places: relationships, the internet, and the versions of herself she creates for other people.
But the truth she's been running from has been there all along.
Spanning adolescence through early adulthood, Hi, My Name Is Alex is a heartfelt coming-of-age novel about identity, friendship, first love, and the long journey toward self-acceptance.
Set during a time when information was harder to find and being different often meant feeling completely alone, Alex's story is a reminder that sometimes the hardest person to become is yourself.
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