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c4y's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
funny
informative
reflective
medium-paced
4.5
therkive's review against another edition
4.0
I really like the bit at the end about forgiveness - and how the author chooses to not forgive her parents, not yet at least, for their homophobic treatment of her after she was outed and lack of apology for this treatment as well.
sadiealloway's review against another edition
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
medium-paced
3.5
rainestor_5's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
informative
inspiring
reflective
sad
medium-paced
4.25
This memoir was very inspiring, and to learn the tough things Lil had to go through was refreshing.
questingnotcoasting's review
emotional
medium-paced
3.5
I wanted to like this more but I just didn't click with it as I'd hoped. I feel bad criticising such a personal memoir and I think it's just a case of me preferring a more introspective writing style.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Homophobia, Lesbophobia, Outing, Abandonment, and Alcohol
hazel_oat's review against another edition
3.0
really hated the first half but the second half redeemed this!
michellefrances's review against another edition
emotional
funny
medium-paced
5.0
I’m always down to consume lesbian media. Unfortunately, we don’t get a fat lot of it that’s any good - settling for the same old tired coming out story (hot, usually engaged, straight girl meets sexy soft butch in a suit who can’t settle down, straight girl questions her sexuality, hot futch freaks out about falling in love, then after a brief period of inner turmoil for both parties they get together and live happily ever after) so when I find a good one, you can bet your sweet bippy I’m going to savour every moment. I locked out all distractions, turned off notifications, hopped into bed with a cup of tea, and devoured this book - chewing every word slowly and basking in the glow of a story that felt so real that I could nearly reach out and touch it.
Not That I’d Kiss a Girl is beautiful, heartbreaking, raw and so real - maybe because it’s a homegrown coming out story (literally, she’s from the same city as me so I could visualise the spaces so clearly) but also because Lil has written it so damn well you can FEEL her pain on the pages. You can see her coping mechanisms right there on the page.
I loved the Coop storyline - because I had one too, she was my best friend and even though I was “straight” kissing her was my favourite pastime (until she told everyone I was crazy and a stalker... #trauma, let’s not get into it) and I also had so many intense female friendships in a way that I simply could not bond with men.
I loved the way Lil put into words a terribly deep fear that stood in the way of me coming out - “who is this girl who thinks she can join our community when she doesn’t fit in?” because I knew I didn’t fit in either and I was so afraid of A) being told to jog on, and B) having to be vulnerable and admit that I *wanted* to be gay.
I loved how so many of her experiences mirrored my own. And I thought it was extremely brave that she not only wrote down what happened with her parents, but that she published it for so many people to read - especially since her parents(/mother) are described as caring so much what others think. I would love to know how that went down and how they responded to the book being published!
Not That I’d Kiss a Girl is beautiful, heartbreaking, raw and so real - maybe because it’s a homegrown coming out story (literally, she’s from the same city as me so I could visualise the spaces so clearly) but also because Lil has written it so damn well you can FEEL her pain on the pages. You can see her coping mechanisms right there on the page.
I loved the Coop storyline - because I had one too, she was my best friend and even though I was “straight” kissing her was my favourite pastime (until she told everyone I was crazy and a stalker... #trauma, let’s not get into it) and I also had so many intense female friendships in a way that I simply could not bond with men.
I loved the way Lil put into words a terribly deep fear that stood in the way of me coming out - “who is this girl who thinks she can join our community when she doesn’t fit in?” because I knew I didn’t fit in either and I was so afraid of A) being told to jog on, and B) having to be vulnerable and admit that I *wanted* to be gay.
I loved how so many of her experiences mirrored my own. And I thought it was extremely brave that she not only wrote down what happened with her parents, but that she published it for so many people to read - especially since her parents(/mother) are described as caring so much what others think. I would love to know how that went down and how they responded to the book being published!
camerongib's review against another edition
2.0
meh. not spectacularly well written really. a memoir about a pretty awful experience without much in the way of wisdom or ~lessons learned~. not introspective enough maybe? sort of just; “here is what happened, it made me feel conflicting things and my life went on” the end.
it’s hard to write a negative review about a book like this but regardless of the deeply personal and devastating subject matter i just wasn’t impressed by the quality of the writing
it’s hard to write a negative review about a book like this but regardless of the deeply personal and devastating subject matter i just wasn’t impressed by the quality of the writing