Reviews with content warning for Sexual content - Man o' War

Reviews tagging 'Sexual content'

blakeandbooks's review

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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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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anarmandameg's review against another edition

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dark emotional funny inspiring 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

5.0

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mattyb's review

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adventurous emotional funny hopeful informative inspiring 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

5.0

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niararain's review against another edition

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challenging emotional hopeful informative inspiring reflective tense fast-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

4.5

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aromarrie's review against another edition

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challenging emotional reflective slow-paced

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

4.5

i loved this book.

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betweentheshelves's review against another edition

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dark reflective medium-paced

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

4.0

I'm honestly not 100% sure how to rate this book because the beginning was a bit all over the place for me. The overall pacing of the book felt off, and at times, it was a little difficult to follow what was happening. There were some time jumps, and they weren't necessarily consistent, which definitely made the story difficult to follow a lot of the time.

But! I do think this is an important story. River is not the most likeable main character, especially at the beginning. They're very sarcastic, guarded, and have definitely taken on the beliefs of their small town in Ohio. Like, at times, it's painful to read their inner thoughts and how they interact with other people. But I also think this was kind of the point? There are a lot of trans people who do grow up in these situations, and McCarthy gives them a voice in this.

My favorite aspect of this was probably the core relationship, which wasn't always healthy but still felt realisitc. You're rooting for River and Indy, and you get to see how they both evolve throughout the book. By the end, I had come to love them both, and the book was difficult to put down.

Despite my mixed feelings about the pacing and the voice, I get why this one is getting buzz. If you're looking for an unflinching, a bit dark look at a trans experience, I'd recommend picking this one up.

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kayladaila's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional funny hopeful informative inspiring 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

5.0

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caseythereader's review against another edition

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dark emotional funny hopeful 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? It's complicated

5.0

- Oh my goodness, this book. MAN O' WAR is one of those very special books that only comes along every few years. It is full of feelings: intensity, confusion, attraction, hate, love.
- I love the depiction here of River coming out as lesbian and then realizing that label doesn't quite fit, and starting over again.
- I also appreciated the way this book shows how sometimes a family isn't understanding or supportive of queerness, but also doesn't kick their child out. I feel like teen coming out stories are often binary: a fully supporting family or immediate disownment, when realities are often messier than that.

Content Warnings