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nerdysread's review against another edition
emotional
funny
inspiring
lighthearted
reflective
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.0
A really good book about a trans teen who wants to who wants to live a « normal » Life. But then he falls in love and he starts questioning himself and ignore has to tell the girl he loves if he’s trans.
Also his friend wants him to come out. Not hide himself and live his true self.
So Pony has to navigate a new life trying to be a new Him, without loosing himself.
But seriously some things really felt problematic. Like Georgia feeling betrayed because Pony didn’t tell her he’s trans. Like??? It’s dangerous. Max pressuring Pony to come out. But for this I kinda of get both of their pov on the question.
Also his friend wants him to come out. Not hide himself and live his true self.
So Pony has to navigate a new life trying to be a new Him, without loosing himself.
But seriously some things really felt problematic. Like Georgia feeling betrayed because Pony didn’t tell her he’s trans. Like??? It’s dangerous. Max pressuring Pony to come out. But for this I kinda of get both of their pov on the question.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Bullying, Deadnaming, Hate crime, Homophobia, Suicidal thoughts, Transphobia, Outing, and Dysphoria
Moderate: Emotional abuse, Physical abuse, and Violence
Minor: Vomit
cryscries's review against another edition
emotional
reflective
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
2.75
I’m being generous about the rating because genuinely the first half of the book was cute - cringe but cute. The second half was not as great and overall there was just a lot of things about this book that I wish was developed a bit better.
Pros: there is a trigger warning in one of the pages before the story begins in the paperback version.
Cons:
1. It was hard to root for the main two characters - especially the main love interest. Georgia is supposed to represent probably a typical cis person reaction but i found it so hard to feel bad for her and her issues. I find her to be rather self centered (even tho she is characterized to kinda be insecure) - throughout the story even though she “gets better” as a person it still doesn’t make up for how she’s acted in the rest of the book. Very passive with standing up for her friends and pony, thoughts of outing him out of jealousy, definitely needs new friends who should be supportive.
2. Everything kinda just works out in the end for pony but it feels a little lack luster in the end of how he gets to where he is - his change feels more said than done.
3. Major problems with the side character max- tho I feel there was a lot of stereotypes in this book, o felt Max’s character was rather toxic. FIRST THINGS FIRST, you do not need to come out if you are not ready and you do not need to come out to show that you are supportive of the community. Do things at your own time. I had problems with max being rather pushy towards pony in wanting him to come out when it is definitely not safe to, have him drop the friendship because pony doesn’t want to be out, and then says he’s proud of pony for coming out at the cost of being beaten up because “it happens everyday”
There were some cute moments in this book but there was too much problems to overlook that.
Pros: there is a trigger warning in one of the pages before the story begins in the paperback version.
Cons:
1. It was hard to root for the main two characters - especially the main love interest. Georgia is supposed to represent probably a typical cis person reaction but i found it so hard to feel bad for her and her issues. I find her to be rather self centered (even tho she is characterized to kinda be insecure) - throughout the story even though she “gets better” as a person it still doesn’t make up for how she’s acted in the rest of the book. Very passive with standing up for her friends and pony, thoughts of outing him out of jealousy, definitely needs new friends who should be supportive.
2. Everything kinda just works out in the end for pony but it feels a little lack luster in the end of how he gets to where he is - his change feels more said than done.
3. Major problems with the side character max- tho I feel there was a lot of stereotypes in this book, o felt Max’s character was rather toxic. FIRST THINGS FIRST, you do not need to come out if you are not ready and you do not need to come out to show that you are supportive of the community. Do things at your own time. I had problems with max being rather pushy towards pony in wanting him to come out when it is definitely not safe to, have him drop the friendship because pony doesn’t want to be out, and then says he’s proud of pony for coming out at the cost of being beaten up because “it happens everyday”
There were some cute moments in this book but there was too much problems to overlook that.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Bullying, Deadnaming, Hate crime, Homophobia, Self harm, Sexual assault, Suicidal thoughts, Transphobia, Outing, Gaslighting, and Dysphoria
amelia_22's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Deadnaming, Homophobia, Suicidal thoughts, Transphobia, Violence, Outing, and Dysphoria
therainbowshelf's review against another edition
emotional
funny
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
This is your typical boy meets girl out of his league but she's tired of the social roles she plays anyway type stories, but make one of them trans. The characters are fun and their exploration of themselves is typical but rewarding. I was a little surprised that one character never has a learning moment about how trans people don't owe you a sex reveal, though.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body shaming, Bullying, Deadnaming, Hate crime, Homophobia, Infidelity, Sexism, Suicidal thoughts, Transphobia, Violence, Vomit, Medical content, Grief, Lesbophobia, Outing, Abandonment, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Grief and Dysphoria
elliizzzabeth's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
lighthearted
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
This book was sweet and fun but a little strange in places. 2/3rds of the book is a sort of will they won't they between our protagonists Georgia and Pony which is sweet. Then the end takes a bit of a turn.
Georgia was kind of annoying. I warmed up to her but she is a compulsive liar. But not in a believable way, she instead tells these crazy stories like 'a giraffe broke my car' or 'my dog had kittens'. It came off in the most annoying 'lol I'm so random!!' way it kinda made me hate her at the start. She also is very transphobic ar first which may be hard to read for some people but I thought it was a nice depiction of cluelessness from a straight girl.
Also Max was almost unbearable. He shames Pony for being stealth and then drops him when he won't do something that could out him. It was so insufferable, I wish he had learnt from his actions in a better way than just reacting to the ending.
Speaking of the ending:
I wish that it didn't have to come down to an outing and a hate crime. It just feels very cliche and plays into tropes of queer people having miserable lives. Also Pony standing on stage an outing himself felt more awkward than heroic. It would have been better if we had known about the girls' relationship and knew the stakes rather than it being a surprise.
If you want a similar story that is more positive I would recommend the unpopular vote by Jasper Sanchez. I read that one before this and it was a bit of a let down compared to that one
Georgia was kind of annoying. I warmed up to her but she is a compulsive liar. But not in a believable way, she instead tells these crazy stories like 'a giraffe broke my car' or 'my dog had kittens'. It came off in the most annoying 'lol I'm so random!!' way it kinda made me hate her at the start. She also is very transphobic ar first which may be hard to read for some people but I thought it was a nice depiction of cluelessness from a straight girl.
Also Max was almost unbearable. He shames Pony for being stealth and then drops him when he won't do something that could out him. It was so insufferable, I wish he had learnt from his actions in a better way than just reacting to the ending.
Speaking of the ending:
If you want a similar story that is more positive I would recommend the unpopular vote by Jasper Sanchez. I read that one before this and it was a bit of a let down compared to that one
Content Warnings
Graphic: Hate crime, Homophobia, Suicidal thoughts, Transphobia, Violence, and Outing
Moderate: Deadnaming, Dysphoria, and Injury/Injury detail
amcswede15's review against another edition
dark
emotional
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Dysphoria
Moderate: Bullying and Transphobia
Minor: Lesbophobia
Did the job of a coming out story, but didn’t stand out in the way I hoped it would.sam_rami's review against another edition
emotional
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
3.75 stars
This book was something. I enjoyed it! Though I wish I loved it more because of the transgender representation.
-
A trans senior, named Pony, is in high school going stealth. He doesn't want people to know, he wants to live in peace. But he sees a cheerleader and they lock eyes.
Georgia, the cheerleader is just trying to have a quiet senior year, she wants to maintain her reputation after what happened at a party a while back, straying her from any type of romantic entanglement.
-
I love the fact that it has dual POV and doesn't just switch at every chapter. I like that is switches multiple times in each chapter though that may bother some. It is first person POV. The book did say 'fire' once and it made me cringe to death though, I did enjoy every other aspect.
-
Some of the characters were too harsh in my opinion.
For example Max, a trans man, is trying to force Pony to come out and post petitions. As Max is an out and proud trans person. As an out and proud trans person myself who lives in the south (a democratic part, luckily) it is much easier to stay in the closet at times and I do so. The fact that he pressured him to come out for representation, isn't what friends would do. Though he does learn from his mistakes, I wish it was just written differently. There is a gray area in the trans community, it isn't all black and white. Though all the characters are likeable except some others that suck. (I would say who but that would give up plot points)
-
I do wish we got to see more of the film job, it would've been great, and also I wished we could see more of the relationship growing instead of it just being like friends to wham kissing. Overall the book is enjoyable and trans rep is very important so it's just good to see a happy ending trans romance.
This book was something. I enjoyed it! Though I wish I loved it more because of the transgender representation.
-
A trans senior, named Pony, is in high school going stealth. He doesn't want people to know, he wants to live in peace. But he sees a cheerleader and they lock eyes.
Georgia, the cheerleader is just trying to have a quiet senior year, she wants to maintain her reputation after what happened at a party a while back, straying her from any type of romantic entanglement.
-
I love the fact that it has dual POV and doesn't just switch at every chapter. I like that is switches multiple times in each chapter though that may bother some. It is first person POV. The book did say 'fire' once and it made me cringe to death though, I did enjoy every other aspect.
-
Some of the characters were too harsh in my opinion.
For example Max, a trans man, is trying to force Pony to come out and post petitions. As Max is an out and proud trans person. As an out and proud trans person myself who lives in the south (a democratic part, luckily) it is much easier to stay in the closet at times and I do so. The fact that he pressured him to come out for representation, isn't what friends would do. Though he does learn from his mistakes, I wish it was just written differently. There is a gray area in the trans community, it isn't all black and white. Though all the characters are likeable except some others that suck. (I would say who but that would give up plot points)
-
I do wish we got to see more of the film job, it would've been great, and also I wished we could see more of the relationship growing instead of it just being like friends to wham kissing. Overall the book is enjoyable and trans rep is very important so it's just good to see a happy ending trans romance.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Hate crime, Transphobia, Outing, and Dysphoria
Moderate: Cursing, Deadnaming, Homophobia, and Suicidal thoughts
Minor: Panic attacks/disorders
lixard's review against another edition
challenging
dark
lighthearted
medium-paced
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
1.5
- advertised as a romantic ya story between trans boy and a cis girl of different parts of the hs hierarchy......... what we got was much darker and more traumatic than promised
- i am not trans so i redirect you to check out some ownvoices reviewers but after reading/watching other such reviews,, i am better able to catch the unaddressed misogyny, (internalized and external) transphobia, and how the characters never seemed to grow out of that mindset or properly apologize for their actions and words
- it felt like that era of fanfiction that wrote super traumatic whump for the angst that you would read and cry to, which is valid in its own way, but definitely not forewarned, which seems problematic, esp. when targeted towards young (trans) audiences
- extra 0.5 stars because their flirty banter was nerdy and fun and made me chuckle and the writing (audiobook) was able to wring some tears from my eyes; the rest of the banter was a little far on what "teen-speak" is, though based on my old croon's 4 year old memory of high school
Content Warnings
Graphic: Deadnaming, Hate crime, Misogyny, Sexual assault, Suicidal thoughts, Transphobia, and Dysphoria
Moderate: Alcohol
ohnoits_arcturus's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
lighthearted
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Bullying, Deadnaming, Hate crime, Homophobia, Suicidal thoughts, Transphobia, Violence, Outing, and Dysphoria
Moderate: Death and Self harm
Minor: Vomit
cheye13's review against another edition
emotional
reflective
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
4.0
I actually quite liked this story a lot, right up until the last few chapters. I understand the purpose and the message, but it seemed out of step with the rest of the story to me. It surprised me just how much I loved both Georgia and Pony as characters, and I enjoyed seeing their relationship blossom.
There were two thorns in my side through the whole book, though: 1. The whole friendzone™ vibe. Pony rejecting friendship with Georgia bc she wouldn't date him is still bullshit. It could definitely have been written/handled worse, but I didn't like reading it. 2. The debate around Pony not being out. The current mainstream conversations around "coming out" and "passing" have taken complex concepts and boiled them down to black and white that just doesn't work. Having another trans teen borderline harrass Pony for not being out felt wrong. Likely something that happens and should be talked about, but didn't sit well while reading this story.
There were two thorns in my side through the whole book, though: 1. The whole friendzone™ vibe. Pony rejecting friendship with Georgia bc she wouldn't date him is still bullshit. It could definitely have been written/handled worse, but I didn't like reading it. 2. The debate around Pony not being out. The current mainstream conversations around "coming out" and "passing" have taken complex concepts and boiled them down to black and white that just doesn't work. Having another trans teen borderline harrass Pony for not being out felt wrong. Likely something that happens and should be talked about, but didn't sit well while reading this story.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Deadnaming, Hate crime, Suicidal thoughts, Transphobia, Violence, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Homophobia, Medical content, Lesbophobia, Outing, and Dysphoria
Minor: Bullying and Sexual harassment