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hazelwood's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
funny
reflective
sad
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
For those who feel dead inside and don't understand why: Read this book before you buy $400 of heroin, steal your ex's car, and drive across the country hoping to figure out why you feel so empty. Hint: you're probably transgender and dealing with the trauma of repressing it for so long.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Addiction, Cursing, Drug abuse, Drug use, Mental illness, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, Transphobia, Medical content, Lesbophobia, Alcohol, and Dysphoria
redefiningrachel's review against another edition
emotional
funny
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Drug abuse, Drug use, Homophobia, Transphobia, and Alcohol
Moderate: Bullying, Cursing, Hate crime, and Suicidal thoughts
alphabetmafiamember's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Cursing, Drug abuse, Drug use, Suicidal thoughts, Transphobia, Alcohol, and Dysphoria
Moderate: Homophobia, Misogyny, Sexual content, and Vomit
Minor: Chronic illness, Racism, and Classism
chase0w0's review against another edition
emotional
funny
inspiring
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Deadnaming, Drug abuse, Drug use, Suicidal thoughts, Transphobia, and Dysphoria
bookishmillennial's review against another edition
disclaimer: I don’t really give starred reviews. I hope my reviews provide enough information to let you know if a book is for you or not. Find me here: https://linktr.ee/bookishmillennial
Okay, so half of this book felt as if it was second-person because often during the narration, the narrator would say “you know” etc. so I think that made me enjoy it even more — I love a tangential stream of consciousness hahaha!
I loved that we leave Maria in the first part and then move to James, who meets her a month after the events of the first part take place. It was a funny time jump and I didn’t expect that level of spontaneity hahaha.
I also thought it was so fascinating how short Maria & James’ intersecting parts were after they met; the complete lack of closure could ring anticlimactic to some readers but whenever this happens, I just think it’s a fantastic parallel to real life. We don’t always get closure, sometimes we have to make peace with that and just keep it moving!
I’m also glad I read this with the updated author’s note at the end, because Imogen provided helpful context and perspective of why she wrote that ending for both Maria & James.
I am loving finding new authors (to me, not to the world) this week & I’m so grateful for the #TransRightsReadathon for providing that impetus.
Okay, so half of this book felt as if it was second-person because often during the narration, the narrator would say “you know” etc. so I think that made me enjoy it even more — I love a tangential stream of consciousness hahaha!
I loved that we leave Maria in the first part and then move to James, who meets her a month after the events of the first part take place. It was a funny time jump and I didn’t expect that level of spontaneity hahaha.
I also thought it was so fascinating how short Maria & James’ intersecting parts were after they met; the complete lack of closure could ring anticlimactic to some readers but whenever this happens, I just think it’s a fantastic parallel to real life. We don’t always get closure, sometimes we have to make peace with that and just keep it moving!
I’m also glad I read this with the updated author’s note at the end, because Imogen provided helpful context and perspective of why she wrote that ending for both Maria & James.
I am loving finding new authors (to me, not to the world) this week & I’m so grateful for the #TransRightsReadathon for providing that impetus.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Drug abuse, Homophobia, Suicidal thoughts, and Transphobia
libbyluvr's review against another edition
funny
hopeful
informative
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
these are maybe some of the most real characters I’ve ever read. definitely up in the top 10— all of them were so different, even when they were similar; that made it such a fun journey. not to mention, imogen binnie is great at making every bit of word salad into a beautifully plated meal. her stream-of-consciousness writing is one she dips in and out of so effortlessly, and I ate it up big time! when it’s done well, I love it, and this was done more than just well
Content Warnings
Graphic: Drug use, Suicidal thoughts, Transphobia, and Alcohol
Moderate: Misogyny, Sexual content, Toxic relationship, Toxic friendship, and Dysphoria
adragoninspace's review
adventurous
challenging
funny
inspiring
reflective
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: Drug use, Suicidal thoughts, and Alcohol
carly_they_themsen's review against another edition
dark
emotional
funny
sad
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
wow! lovely. 3 stars, just shy of 4. the writing style wasn't my favorite, and i didn't love all the new york stuff, but the second half of the book, especially the ending, was fantastic. im OBSESSED with the last chapter of this book. the afterword was lovely too and gave me a lot of recommendations to read more stuff [:
Content Warnings
Graphic: Drug use, Sexual content, and Transphobia
Moderate: Suicidal thoughts
detailed discussion of autogynephilia and other transphobic tropeswrittenontheflyleaves's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
emotional
funny
hopeful
informative
lighthearted
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Nevada by Imogen Binnie 🚘
🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟
🚘 The plot: Maria is a trans woman in her thirties, and she's in crisis. Her girlfriend has broken up with her because she's never really present in the relationship, and Maria decides the solution to her predicament is to "borrow" (read: steal) her ex's car and go on a cross-country road trip. On the way, she meets James, a young stoner who is locked in a struggle of his own, and the two form an unlikely connection.
This was lent to me by a friend and it turned out to be my first five star read of the year! Maria was a brilliant protagonist: Binnie lets you right into her head as soon as you open the novel, but doesn't shy away from puncturing the seriousness of her inner monologue, for instance by pointing out that the crisis she's in is actually part of a pattern she hasn't recognised yet.
As well as being really funny, this means you get the benefit of Maria's musings on discovering her own transness while also seeing the bigger picture of her flaws and where she is in her personal growth.
This is thrown into particular relief when Maria meets James. James is questioning his gender and Maria instantly recognises her younger self in him and wants to impart her knowledge. Binnie says in the afterword that her goal with the novel was partly to explore the wish she'd often had that she'd had a "trans fairy godmother" to let her know who she was sooner, and to show that it probably wouldn't have shortened the timeline of her transition.
James and Maria's relationship does this brilliantly, because it shows that being told something by someone else can't deliver the felt truth of it like discovering it for yourself. Nor can imparting past knowledge to someone else help you out of your present confusion. I found this super relatable to all kinds of self-understanding, not only of gender: that all the time we look back on as wasted, when we were denying the truth to ourselves or making ourselves miserable, was actually grist to the mill of who we'd become. No shortcuts in life folks!! We're all taking the long way round!!
I loved this novel and highly recommend it!!
🚘/🚫 Read/ avoid in comments 👇
🚘 Read it if you love a conversational writing style with a sense of humour, discussion of interesting social issues without being preachy, and any novel that discusses self-discovery. Also if you like Torrey Peters as she's cited this book as a big influence!
🚫 Avoid it if you find chaotic/messy main characters a bit of a headache, or if you want there to be a clear plot or ending to your stories. Also check TWs before reading if transition is a sensitive topic for you!
🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟
🚘 The plot: Maria is a trans woman in her thirties, and she's in crisis. Her girlfriend has broken up with her because she's never really present in the relationship, and Maria decides the solution to her predicament is to "borrow" (read: steal) her ex's car and go on a cross-country road trip. On the way, she meets James, a young stoner who is locked in a struggle of his own, and the two form an unlikely connection.
This was lent to me by a friend and it turned out to be my first five star read of the year! Maria was a brilliant protagonist: Binnie lets you right into her head as soon as you open the novel, but doesn't shy away from puncturing the seriousness of her inner monologue, for instance by pointing out that the crisis she's in is actually part of a pattern she hasn't recognised yet.
As well as being really funny, this means you get the benefit of Maria's musings on discovering her own transness while also seeing the bigger picture of her flaws and where she is in her personal growth.
This is thrown into particular relief when Maria meets James. James is questioning his gender and Maria instantly recognises her younger self in him and wants to impart her knowledge. Binnie says in the afterword that her goal with the novel was partly to explore the wish she'd often had that she'd had a "trans fairy godmother" to let her know who she was sooner, and to show that it probably wouldn't have shortened the timeline of her transition.
James and Maria's relationship does this brilliantly, because it shows that being told something by someone else can't deliver the felt truth of it like discovering it for yourself. Nor can imparting past knowledge to someone else help you out of your present confusion. I found this super relatable to all kinds of self-understanding, not only of gender: that all the time we look back on as wasted, when we were denying the truth to ourselves or making ourselves miserable, was actually grist to the mill of who we'd become. No shortcuts in life folks!! We're all taking the long way round!!
I loved this novel and highly recommend it!!
🚘/🚫 Read/ avoid in comments 👇
🚘 Read it if you love a conversational writing style with a sense of humour, discussion of interesting social issues without being preachy, and any novel that discusses self-discovery. Also if you like Torrey Peters as she's cited this book as a big influence!
🚫 Avoid it if you find chaotic/messy main characters a bit of a headache, or if you want there to be a clear plot or ending to your stories. Also check TWs before reading if transition is a sensitive topic for you!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Drug use
Moderate: Transphobia and Dysphoria
Minor: Suicidal thoughts
lidia7's review against another edition
challenging
inspiring
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Cursing, Drug abuse, Sexual content, Toxic relationship, and Alcohol
Moderate: Toxic friendship and Dysphoria
Minor: Deadnaming, Infidelity, Suicidal thoughts, Vomit, and Medical content