Reviews tagging 'Child abuse'

Pageboy: A Memoir by Elliot Page

183 reviews

imscrem's review against another edition

dark emotional hopeful reflective sad tense fast-paced

2.5

I appreciate that Elliot Page took the time to write down his story. I listened to the audiobook, and found it difficult at times to understand what time period in his life he was writing from due to the somewhat jumpy narrative.  I didn’t enjoy hearing about his sexual escapades or the many, many times he was sexually abused, but I have to acknowledge that these are true parts of his story and the book would not have been complete without them. It was uncomfortable to hear about who licked what while I rode the subway. Overall, I this book definitely wasn’t what I expected — I thought it would be a more uplifting take on the trans experience, but came out thinking it’s more of a dismal array of all the ways that people can be horrific to someone for being different. I wish the world was kinder. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcoholism, Bullying, Child abuse, Cursing, Drug abuse, Drug use, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Hate crime, Homophobia, Infidelity, Mental illness, Misogyny, Panic attacks/disorders, Pedophilia, Rape, Self harm, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic relationship, Transphobia, Blood, Stalking, Lesbophobia, Outing, Gaslighting, Toxic friendship, Alcohol, Sexual harassment, Dysphoria, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Cancer, Deadnaming, Death, Physical abuse, Medical content, Kidnapping, Religious bigotry, and Death of parent

Minor: Vomit, Car accident, and Pandemic/Epidemic

jess_always_reading's review against another edition

challenging emotional hopeful reflective

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Bullying, Child abuse, Homophobia, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, Transphobia, and Sexual harassment

clacksee's review against another edition

dark informative inspiring reflective slow-paced

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Child abuse, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Homophobia, Panic attacks/disorders, Sexual assault, Transphobia, Gaslighting, and Dysphoria

mons278's review against another edition

challenging emotional reflective

3.5

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Child abuse, Deadnaming, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Homophobia, Self harm, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic relationship, Transphobia, Outing, and Gaslighting

joisaddler's review against another edition

emotional sad fast-paced

2.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body shaming, Bullying, Child abuse, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Homophobia, Mental illness, Sexism, Sexual content, Transphobia, Violence, Blood, Dysphoria, and Injury/Injury detail

seulgireads's review against another edition

emotional hopeful inspiring reflective sad medium-paced

3.0

Elliot Page didn't use a ghostwriter for his memoir and his writing is decent enough. Yes, on the one hand the tendency toward fragments, unnecessarily detailed descriptions and laboured metaphors was a bit tiresome. On the other, Page's sincere voice is genuinely touching at times.

I didn't read this as a fan, I was interested in this as a memoir by a famous trans man. And while the topic of being trans was obviously present throughout, the book really chronicles an emotional journey from self-denial to self-acceptance and -assertion, not only with regards to queerness and transness but also in relationships of all kinds. The narrative's foregoing of a chronological sequence of events aids in highlighting Page's internal development.

As I should have expected, this book deepened my loathing for all the worst things about of Hollywood (anyone who liked I'm Glad My Mom Died by Jennette McCurdy will appreciate this aspect of Pageboy). What I did not expect was Page's recounting of the Halifax Explosion, which, alongside some other digressions into the historical backdrops of the narrative, was my favourite part of the book. I don't see myself ever re-reading this, but it did make me want to pick up more autobiographical works by trans authors.

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Child abuse, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Homophobia, Transphobia, and Dysphoria

Minor: Suicidal thoughts

wrenisreading's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional hopeful inspiring reflective sad tense medium-paced

5.0

A tender and gorgeously written memoir chronicling pivitol moments in Elliot Page's life. 

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Content Warnings

Minor: Child abuse, Emotional abuse, Homophobia, Self harm, Sexual assault, Transphobia, and Lesbophobia

jem_carstairs's review

emotional inspiring reflective

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Bullying, Eating disorder, Transphobia, Alcohol, and Dysphoria

Moderate: Child abuse, Emotional abuse, Hate crime, Homophobia, and Gaslighting

Minor: Pandemic/Epidemic

winter_b's review against another edition

dark emotional funny inspiring reflective sad tense medium-paced

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Eating disorder, and Emotional abuse

robinks's review against another edition

emotional reflective sad medium-paced

3.25

I was excited to see that Page read his own audiobook - memoirs always seem to have a greater impact on me when done this way. However, the chapters felt so disorganized to me, both in chronology and topic. While I appreciate Page’s acknowledgement of his privileged identities, I want to read more memoirs by trans folks of color.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body shaming, Child abuse, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Hate crime, Homophobia, Mental illness, Misogyny, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Toxic relationship, Transphobia, Blood, Medical content, Stalking, Lesbophobia, Outing, Gaslighting, Sexual harassment, and Dysphoria

Moderate: Bullying, Deadnaming, Drug use, Rape, Self harm, Sexism, Sexual assault, and Alcohol

Minor: Racism, Suicidal thoughts, and Pandemic/Epidemic