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iqlofty's review against another edition
emotional
informative
reflective
fast-paced
4.75
Content Warnings
Moderate: Dysphoria
Minor: Blood and Medical trauma
alisonannk's review
emotional
informative
sad
fast-paced
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body horror, Body shaming, Sexism, Blood, Outing, and Dysphoria
Minor: Homophobia, Misogyny, Transphobia, and Lesbophobia
ashley_mrose530's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
informative
reflective
fast-paced
4.25
I really enjoyed the art style of this one. It was simple and concise even though the content was deep, emotional, and sometimes difficult to read. I applaud the author for writing about eir experiences of being nonbinary in a forced binary world. It couldn't have been easy to relive some of these things while writing and drawing them.
I really appreciated the look into an experience much different from my own to see how much nonbinary people have to go through and try to see my own misgivings and ways I could try to help make things easier.
The main criticism I have is that this jumped around quite a bit and some of the things I didn't think were entirely necessary. I know memoirs are difficult and sometimes don't work chronologically but I do prefer them to be as chronological as possible and I think this one was better than some others I've read but it still felt a little choppy to me and unorganized. I also felt like some things were brought up but didn't really have anything to do with the overall story. Like the snakes thing was brought up but then never mentioned again. I don't know if it was included just to give personality and show how "tomboy"-ish the author was or what. If that was the case, I feel like it could have been incorporated a little bit better rather than just randomly inserting it in the beginning with no connection to anything else.
Besides that, this was a really good graphic novel and I would definitely recommend it to anyone who wants to be a better ally to the trans and nonbinary community.
I really appreciated the look into an experience much different from my own to see how much nonbinary people have to go through and try to see my own misgivings and ways I could try to help make things easier.
The main criticism I have is that this jumped around quite a bit and some of the things I didn't think were entirely necessary. I know memoirs are difficult and sometimes don't work chronologically but I do prefer them to be as chronological as possible and I think this one was better than some others I've read but it still felt a little choppy to me and unorganized. I also felt like some things were brought up but didn't really have anything to do with the overall story. Like the snakes thing was brought up but then never mentioned again. I don't know if it was included just to give personality and show how "tomboy"-ish the author was or what. If that was the case, I feel like it could have been incorporated a little bit better rather than just randomly inserting it in the beginning with no connection to anything else.
Besides that, this was a really good graphic novel and I would definitely recommend it to anyone who wants to be a better ally to the trans and nonbinary community.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual content, Blood, Medical trauma, and Dysphoria
mostlykenny's review
emotional
hopeful
informative
inspiring
fast-paced
4.75
A beautiful and inspiring Memior !! I definitely think people should read this if they are experiencing and question about their own gender and/or queer identity :) A must read !!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Blood and Dysphoria
knkoch's review
emotional
hopeful
informative
reflective
medium-paced
5.0
I was blown away by how beautiful and heartfelt this memoir is. Unfortunately, it has become a cultural flashpoint in the current conservative book-banning backlash. I didn't go into this with any expectation of disapproval, but I was curious to understand the controversy. All that was washed away in the joy of Kobabe's beautiful drawings and deep honesty. Eir gradual journey to understanding eir needs and wants coupled with advocating for and explaining emself amongst family and community was beautifully rendered in thoughtful, at times quite conceptual art. This is one of the frankest explorations of the experience of being assigned female at birth I've ever seen in writing and illustration. Even though this is just one nonbinary person's account, I learned a lot and I hope more stories like this get published going forward, and I'm committed to continue seeking out the ones that already exist. It's sad that such an empathetic and hopeful story spurred such reactionary suppression. It's the kind of story I hope anyone ignorant to gender identity discussions could read and then get, and thus empathize with someone whose life they don't understand. But to do that, one has to be willing to actually read the text and open themselves to other perspectives. Finally reading this, and seeing how many people missed the point of it, makes me a bit less hopeful right now of people's willingness to be open like that.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Sexual content and Blood
lenaslesegirlera's review against another edition
emotional
informative
reflective
fast-paced
3.5
i especially picked out this read because i saw a of the most-banned books in the us.
and the only „disturbing“ (quote from sources across the internet that explained why they banned this book) thing about this graphic novel are the horrible reviews by the TERs, transphobes or ignorant people on here.
this graphic novel depicts the process of gender-identity finding in a beautiful and relatable way that gives cis-gender people an opportunity to comprehend the struggles of trans* people in general and the author and eir journey more.
additionally, this book is very educational and e.g. explains the biological factors that determine whether someone is trans* in a way that is very easy to read.
i understand that this is for a bit of an older audience since it does have a few content warnings but these should just be pointed out, instead of banning the whole book.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Blood, Vomit, Medical trauma, and Dysphoria
justcallmeemily's review
funny
informative
lighthearted
reflective
medium-paced
4.0
Content Warnings
Moderate: Transphobia, Blood, Vomit, and Dysphoria
Minor: Cancer, Medical trauma, and Acephobia/Arophobia
jenny_d's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
reflective
fast-paced
5.0
Content Warnings
Moderate: Sexual content, Transphobia, and Blood
sabrinaleaf's review
challenging
emotional
informative
reflective
fast-paced
4.5
4.5 ⭐️
Reading banned books likes its my mission on earth
Reading banned books likes its my mission on earth
Content Warnings
Graphic: Deadnaming, Homophobia, Sexual content, and Transphobia
Moderate: Blood
Minor: Sexism
greta_1251's review
adventurous
emotional
lighthearted
fast-paced
4.75
I opened this book maybe 50 minutes ago and only put it down because I turned the last page. I absolutely adored the journey that reading this took me through and am incredibly happy that this book exists. Maia Kobabe is such a talented storyteller. E made me tear up in recognition at least 4 times even as I quickly tore through the book. The art was perfect with the tone of the story and really added to my experience. The way E flowed from topic to topic and anecdote to anecdote was very smooth and natural and made me feel like I was listening to em speak rather than just reading. Overall one of my favourite books I've read this year if not a top book in general!
Content Warnings
Moderate: Transphobia
Minor: Sexual content, Blood, and Vomit