Reviews with content warning for Deadnaming - Man o' War

Reviews tagging 'Deadnaming'

windermerepeak1's review

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challenging emotional reflective 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

3.75

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colormecaro's review against another edition

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challenging emotional hopeful sad

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes

3.75

I was ready to give up on this book until I got to about 40%. I didn’t click with the at times unrealistic/cheesy writing (might be because I’m not used to reading YA). I also felt that at the beginning of the book the very emotionally heavy topics seemed to lack depth and there were some jumps in the timeline where big developments happened to the main character but the reader isn’t part of them.
I also don’t think the Arab-American aspect was fully fleshed out. It was hinted at occasionally but never explored with enough depth, and I think this could have been a really interesting angle.
I wasn’t a particular fan of Indigo who is essentially the MC’s manic pixie dream person, and a lot of their conversation just seemed too unrealistic.
That all aside, the emotional depth in the second half of the book makes up for all the things I didn’t like, and often brought tears to my eyes.

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dani794's review against another edition

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4.25

“All of this was a part of me, and it wasn’t a reason to give up the war against hate, it was the reason to fight a lot harder for joy.”

This was a wonderful read. Although gender dysphoria isn’t something I personally relate to, I’m sure this would be really supportive to any type of trans kid that is worried about their future.

I liked River’s personality and their journey coming to terms with the internalised homophobia/transphobia that they had and it did feel natural.
Their journey accepting their Arab side was interesting too.

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blakeandbooks's review

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emotional funny hopeful reflective medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes

5.0

What a raw, honest, gorgeous, heartbreaking, joyful, witty, beautiful exploration of authenticity, love, and self-exploration. McCarthy not only shows you River’s experiences, but you feel them as if they were your own. Following River from their high school to college years while discovering what makes them feel the most comfortable and authentically themselves was an experience I feel so grateful to have read. Working through and processing in real time pronouns, name change, dysphoria, and more felt so authentic and true to River’s character. Watching them discover such a full and authentic life was such a joy. River and Indy’s relationship, how they come together, fall apart, and find one another again, was so complicated and beautiful and messy. The ending of the book truly reminded me that there are books that are essential in this world, and I believe this is one of them.

The ending acknowledgements from McCarthy were so kind and left me emotional. Like River, Knowing that McCarthy is also an Arab-American, nonbinary trans person, who also swam competitively, was so incredible to know how important this story was to McCarthy and his experience.

Finally, E.R. Fightmaster did an outstanding job narrating this book.

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ashaberstroh's review against another edition

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challenging emotional hopeful informative reflective medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.5

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felishacb's review

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emotional funny hopeful inspiring reflective 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? No

5.0

This might be the best fiction book I've read about a young person exploring and discovering their gender identity. Man o' War is an own voices tale from a transmasc nonbinary author who is Irish and Arab American.

As a cis person who is "constantly exploring the evolution of my relationship to gender as a construct, and my own indentit(ies),"* I also think this book is a generous bridge offered to cis folks.

Cis folks and conventional tropes of heteronormativity are referred to as 'dinosaurs' or 'the way of the dinosaurs' in this book, with familiarity, exhaustion, derision, and acceptance. I can see why people who are scared of removing boxes and barriers might find this scary, but trans people (and this book) make it very clear that you are invited to expand, too. Find out what lies beneath and between the labels you did not pick

McCarthy doesn't only show, rather than tell you, River's story in Man O' War; McCarthy's words help the reader *feel* the story.

The metaphor and parallels with marine biology and the man of war, specifically, offer an extra layer to understand the main character's story. McCarthy talks about how this piece helped illustrate the "cultural captivity" River feels being closeted, and how McCarthy felt growing up.

One reason this book will stick with me is the ability that McCarthy has to show the fluidity and flexibility of gender and expression in an authentic, organic way for both Indy and River. (The best names, btw!).

McCarthy also explores how River's Lebanese mother and background play into their life. There are discussion of race, Islamaphobia and colorism while still allowing River to exist as an individual who experiences life through a variety of lenses.

*quote from Rebecca Minor

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mj_86's review against another edition

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emotional reflective

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

5.0

Any words I could use to describe this book would come up short. A heart-wrenching journey of self, McCarthy weaves a tale that reverberates truth down to its core. This book is a must read, especially for allies and members of the LGBTQIA+ community.

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