title: Xander's Story
author: Alejandro Garcia-Halenar
description: "This picture book tells the story of how one little boy, Xander, came to be the son of his two loving dads through surrogacy.<br /><br />The underlying message that love is what brings a child into the world shines all the way through this book from start to end. When Dad and Papa met, they fell in love, travelled the world, celebrated life with friends and family, and knew they wanted more: a child of their own to love. They go in search of a perfect egg and a safe place to keep the egg cozy and warm so that it can grow. Aunt Stacie has a perfect and special place: her tummy. The egg grows from the size of a bean, to an orange, to a football, and (after nine months) a beautiful little baby. Now the family is complete. "Love is what inspired our special family. And our love grows more and more each day."<br /><br />The authors have done a nice job of simplifying the scientific process of surrogacy for a young audience, while also making it as fun as looking for special treasure. While the digital images are not entirely scientific (the eggs look more like a chicken egg), they purposely create relatable and entertaining analogies so that the idea of surrogacy is easy to connect with and process.<br /><br />Xander's Story would be a great choice for any parents looking to introduce the concept of surrogacy while demonstrating the power of family and unconditional love."<br /><br /> <b>- The Children's Book Review</b> (www.thechildrensbookreview.com)
zlib_text: _A single stroke can change your world._
  
  
  Xander Fairchild can’t stand people in general and frat boys in particular, so
  when he’s forced to spend his summer working on his senior project with Skylar
  Stone, a silver-tongued Delta Sig with a trust fund who wants to make Xander
  over into a shiny new image, Xander is determined to resist. He came to
  idyllic, Japanese culture-soaked Benten College to hide and make manga, not to
  be transformed into a corporate clone in the eleventh hour.
  
  
  Skylar’s life has been laid out for him since before he was born, but all it
  takes is one look at Xander’s artwork, and the veneer around him begins to
  crack. Xander himself does plenty of damage too. There’s something about the
  antisocial artist’s refusal to yield that forces Skylar to acknowledge how
  much his own orchestrated future is killing him slowly…as is the truth about
  his gray-spectrum sexuality, which he hasn’t dared to speak aloud, even to
  himself.
  
  
  Through a summer of art and friendship, Xa