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maggies's review
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
2.0
Moderate: Toxic friendship and Dysphoria
Minor: Transphobia and Lesbophobia
sophie42's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.5
Graphic: Deadnaming, Homophobia, Transphobia, Lesbophobia, and Dysphoria
Moderate: Racism and Outing
Minor: Eating disorder, Vomit, Acephobia/Arophobia, Alcohol, and Classism
therainbowshelf's review
- 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
4.0
Graphic: Homophobia, Racism, Lesbophobia, and Dysphoria
Moderate: Transphobia
Toxic parent, detached parentlauralintunen's review
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.25
Graphic: Racism and Dysphoria
Moderate: Misogyny and Sexism
Minor: Deadnaming, Homophobia, Transphobia, Acephobia/Arophobia, and Lesbophobia
corrinr's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
Graphic: Misogyny, Racism, Lesbophobia, and Dysphoria
Moderate: Homophobia and Transphobia
Minor: Sexual harassment
17 year old character is asked explicit questions about their sex life by a middle aged woman (this is brushed off). A Black woman is harassed offscreen to further the plot for White protagonists. MC espouses author’s weird misogynistic and lesbophobic ideals throughout.lexnicole's review against another edition
2.75
Graphic: Deadnaming
Moderate: Homophobia, Misogyny, Sexism, Lesbophobia, and Dysphoria
thebookpaiges's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Graphic: Deadnaming and Dysphoria
Moderate: Cancer, Homophobia, Racism, Acephobia/Arophobia, and Alcohol
Minor: Drug abuse
betweentheshelves's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.5
Though Lily plays a queer girl on screen, she recently has starting struggling with her gender identity and whether the term "girl" really applies to her. Through her online gaming community, she's able to find her true identity. And if she's lucky, she maybe will even find love.
Thanks to NetGalley and HarperTeen for an advanced copy of this book to review! I was intrigued by the premise, but unfortunately the actual book fell a little flat. I think it's partially because there are a lot of characters and things going on in this book that it was difficult for the author to develop any one aspect of the story well.
Before reading this, I didn't know about the author's problematic comments about the lesbian community, but I unfortunately thing they also come out in this book. It's like the author thinks that there's just one way of being queer, and if you don't fit that mold, you can't be a part of that community. There's one moment where, after being dressed up in a gown for an event, the main character says "You can't see a trace of queer on me." While that may be true for Frey, implying that being dressed super feminine somehow makes you less queer is....not great. It's little moments like that peppered throughout the book that really made me inwardly cringe.
However, there is ace representation and I did appreciate the conversations about sex not proving your identity. Those are important in the context of the LGBTQ community, I just wish it hadn't sort of brought down other people who may identify as a part of that community.
All in all, there was potential, but much of this book fell flat. There's lots of other LGBTQ+ YA that I'd recommend instead.
Graphic: Dysphoria
Moderate: Deadnaming, Racism, and Sexism
Minor: Cancer, Drug use, and Homophobia
ezwolf's review against another edition
- 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? It's complicated
3.0
Having any nonbinary/transmasculine characters is so refreshing to me when I think I read maybe one book with a gay character in it growing up, so to see the kind of progress that's being made is wonderful. And also to have an asexual character, which are even rarer to come across! Lily (Frey's, I don't want to deadname them but I'm not sure how to go about it in a review without causing confusion if people haven't read the book) struggle with gender and dysphoria, even in such a public setting, was something I could relate to.
There was great commentary on how "bury your gays" is still so prominent in media (see Killing Eve) and how harmful it is to have actors of color act out story lines that play into stereotypes (like a black man killing the white love interest) as well as how being out and queer can still hinder an actor's career.
But also have pop culture references always been so popular in YA? I know I read a lot when I was younger and I've been reading more again, but I feel like a lot of what I've read recently has had an over the top amount. There was also an odd shift between current references like "Catradora" but then having the characters use Pinterest to share fandom content, which seems outdated.
There was also at least twice where Lily (Frey) mention either eating or hugging a cactus and that was just an odd bit that stood out to me.
The story itself had a lot of potential and I was interested in seeing how Frey would manage to turn the tide on having the white male writers change Alietta's death, but I honestly didn't see any chemistry between them and Greta. I know a lot of it was meant to come from "Aida", but when your characters spend most of the book not knowing the real person they're talking to, it takes away from any rapport that's been built.
Thank you to Net Galley for making this book available in exchange for an honest review!
Graphic: Dysphoria
Moderate: Deadnaming, Racism, Sexism, Acephobia/Arophobia, and Classism
Minor: Cancer, Drug use, and Homophobia