Reviews with content warning for Dysphoria - Lakelore

4.25⭐ 😭 I'm not crying, you're crying.

When the guy looks at me, he sees a brown girl. And I am a brown girl, just like I’m a brown boy, just like I’m both and neither, in different proportions depending on the day. I’m the gradients of blue and green and violet and silver that the lake turns.

This is one of those books that I am so glad exists for adolescents today. I wish younger me had these kinds of books with this kind of representation.

On the surface, it’s a story told in dual POV about two trans teens, Bastian and Lore, and their discovery of a mysterious world beneath the lake. But when the world beneath the lake begins integrating with their real world, they must figure out a way to stop it.

This is also a story of two teens meeting and feeling fully seen for the first time by one another. Not only for being latine, queer, and trans, but also for their neurodivergency. And all of the intricate ways they must navigate society- Bastian with their ADHD and Lore with their dyslexia.

Once you get past the fear of being seen, you can get to the part where you know you’re not alone.

The depiction of these characters experiences with ADHD and dyslexia were so poignant. It’s so clearly personal to the author, but it also brought tears to my eyes because my neurodivergent ADHD brain felt so seen in those moments.

How do you tell someone that you had to work to learn not follow every impulse your brain has?... That you came into the world with so much quicksand you needed professional help to learn to steer around it?

Beautiful writing. Wonderful representation. A book everyone should read.

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oliverreeds's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional hopeful 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? Yes

3.75

i fought with this rating and im still unsure in my decision but im sticking with it for now. the dialogue was good, the scenes were great, the mix of lake and reality and the characters were phenomenal. sometimes i just got a bit frustrated with how much the author leaned on adhd and dyslexia for these characters. it sometimes felt like there wasnt anything else to them and maybe that was the point— that your brainscape makes up and defines your reality but i think it may have been better to also focus on things the characters do that werent particularly relevant to their neurodivergency.

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thebookpaiges's review against another edition

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emotional hopeful inspiring 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? Yes

5.0

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kalmia31's review against another edition

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emotional hopeful inspiring mysterious medium-paced

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

4.5

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tinyjude's review against another edition

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emotional hopeful inspiring reflective 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? Yes

5.0

Mágica, vívida y extremadamente creativa. Las descripciones de los paisajes y las emociones de les protagonistas me llegaron al alma. También el hecho de que ambes sean no binaries y usen los pronombres elle. También tiene representación de TDAH y dislexia según las vivencias de le autore. Una lectura maravillosa para aprender a aceptarnos en todas nuestras facetas y aspectos. Ojalá muches niñes queer, neurodivergentes y/o racializades lo encuentren cuando más lo necesiten y se sientan reconfortades y escuchades.

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hmatt's review against another edition

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emotional slow-paced

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

2.0

I always have trouble with YA, but I really struggled to finish this one. I hope the trans/enby/dylexic/ADHD/etc. rep in this one is helpful for anyone in the intended audience reading it, but the writing of it seemed a bit too on-the-nose and pedantic for me. I felt like it completely overshadowed the premise of the novel by the end. It's also too long IMO, and as much as I really want to, I don't super love Avi Roque as a narrator.

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cameronreads's review against another edition

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4.0

The discussions around being Latiné, non-binary and neurodivergent in this book were some of the best I’ve ever read. Bastián is Mexican, non-binary and has ADHD, and Lore is Mexican, non-binary, and has dyslexia. There were so many ways these identities are discussed and every one of them was incredible. The differences in how the two experience gender, with Bastián identifying as a trans boy, just one who uses they/them pronouns, and Lore’s identity being more fluid, and how this effects them differently: Basitián’s experience with starting T and how to tell people in his life, and Lore’s experience with people perceiving them solely as a girl and not understanding why they would ‘chose’ to sometimes not be. Asking explicitly what words you use to describe yourself, and understanding this can be both abstract and change from day to day. As a non-binary person, this is probably one of the best reps I’ve read.
Watching Bastián properly come to terms with their ADHD was so powerful. They’ve been diagnosed since before the book starts and already have plenty of coping mechanisms - but also many things they still struggle with, one of which being not allowing themselves to come to terms with their bad days and letting that swallow them up. Watching them learn how to communicate and reconcile with themself was exactly what I needed. I may not have ADHD so couldn’t relate to the intricacies of what Bastián was going through, but I am autistic and the broader struggle of coming to terms with having aa neurodivergent brain was explored wonderfully.
Similarly, Lore’s dyslexia was explored very well, and there were some wonderful metaphors and explanations that really helped me, as someone who doesn’t have nor knows anyone who has dyslexia, understand at least a little of what it is like. I think it was really interesting to discover, as Lore does, (potential spoiler here) that it isn’t really the fact they’re dyslexic that bothers them, but rather who people see them as someone with dyslexia (as well as someone who is brown and non-binary).
Personally, I wasn’t that connected to the plot, and whilst this was a bit of an issue for my overall enjoyment of the book, I don’t think it matters for the book as a whole, as really it felt like a metaphor to allow these two characters to come to terms with themselves
The romance, whilst perhaps not necessary, was sweet, and I did really appreciate the open communication at the end.
The writing, whilst not my favourite style, was well done, both as a mode of communicating the discussions it had and creating an atmosphere for the main plot. The characters were relatable and flawed, and we all know those are my two buzzwords for characters.
Overall, this was well-done, and I’d definitely recommend.

Content Warnings

readandfindout's review against another edition

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emotional hopeful medium-paced

Diverse cast of characters? Yes

3.5

Style/writing: 4 stars
Themes: 4.5 stars
Characters: 3 stars
Plot: 3 stars
Worldbuilding: 3.5 stars

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