I was hesitant to read this book at first. Since it was first published, it has been received with glowing reviews by both critics and the general book-reading public. But there was one little thing that made me hesitate: the Oprah’s Book Club sticker on the front. I’ll admit I can be a total book snob sometimes.

Middlesex is the story of how Callopie Stephanides, a young Greek girl growing up in Detroit, becomes Cal, a teenage boy. In order to explain this transition, Eugenides delves into Cal’s heritage, beginning 80 years ago in a small village in Asia Minor and moving through Detroit, Germany, Prohibition, and the 1967 race riots. He also deftly spins stories of genetic history, shameful family secrets, and sexual confusion.

The first half of the novel starts slowly with the story of Cal’s grandparents and how they came to the United States. By the time I was at the hundredth page, I was thinking, “where’s all the hermaphrodite stuff we were promised?” Gradually, though, the reader becomes immersed in the fascinating tale of this one family and the secrets they all possess.

Cal’s sexual identity is the main driving force of the narrative, but the novel goes beyond the story of one person’s gender issues. It is also about how much of our ancestry defines who we are, despite our best attempts to remove ourselves from our families. Although the novel begins as more of a history lesson, it is this lesson that is indirectly responsibly for Cal’s birth and identity. Had Eugenides not told this part of the story, the second half of the novel—when Cal’s issues are brought to focus—would lack emotional heft.

I don’t need to embellish Eugenides’s credentials (he wrote The Virgin Suicides) or his writing talent. What I most marvel at is his ability to cross gender lines and write young female protagonists with such delicate understanding. Cal’s story wouldn’t have been nearly as compelling or skillfully told in the hands of a lesser writer.

Please ignore the Oprah’s Book Club sticker (I know!) on the cover and read this book if you haven’t already. There’s a reason it has been so well-received since publication.