im_just_vidu's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Graphic: Sexual harassment, Sexual assault, Hate crime, Bullying, Homophobia, and Panic attacks/disorders
Moderate: Emotional abuse and Physical abuse
Minor: Cursing, Suicidal thoughts, and Suicide attempt
beeoe'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? No
3.75
Graphic: Transphobia, Violence, Sexual violence, Suicide attempt, Self harm, Physical abuse, and Panic attacks/disorders
zulliekinz'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? Yes
5.0
Garvin's ability to present us with Riley, a gender queer teenager, and showcase the struggles of wanting to present as gender fluid - in modern society that cannot understand or fully accept - was heartbreaking and inspiring all at once. Garvin takes care not share Riley's gender assigned at birth and the reader must ask themselves why they want to know this, as Riley themselves struggles with other characters in the book who also feel like they "need" to know.
I absolutely adored the characters, the writing, the journey and honestly didn't want it to end! Can we get more of Riley please Garvin??!
So pleased with this recommendation from the StoryGraph - I was definitely in the mood for it and now it's my first 5* read of the year! Awesome!
Graphic: Bullying, Physical abuse, Emotional abuse, Transphobia, and Homophobia
dlrosebyh'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
3.25
Graphic: Bullying, Transphobia, Homophobia, Panic attacks/disorders, Mental illness, and Sexual assault
Moderate: Suicidal thoughts and Suicide
Minor: Emotional abuse, Physical abuse, Child death, and Hate crime
w_t_effi's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.75
Spoiler
Things I liked:
- that Riley's assigned gender was never revealed
- the emphasis on how important online communities are for trans teens
- that the right terms were used to describe being trans
- the accurate description of anxiety and dysphoria (at least accurate to me)
- the happy ending
Things I didn't like/found weird:
- Riley pretending to be able to tell what Bec's gender identity is without asking
- Riley asking for Bec's "real name" (like what was that all about, surely a trans person would know that the name a person uses for themselves is their real name?)
- the incessant use of "he - or she" instead of they (the English language has an inclusive gender neutral pronoun. a gender fluid person would probably know to use it.)
- the brief mentioning of Solo's race at two points in the book when it was otherwise not included in the story at all. this felt a bit like wanting to include a non-white character to be more "diverse", so basically tokenism.
- something about the author being a cis man and writing this book makes me uncomfortable. maybe it's just the fact that he's making money off of marginalised people's issues, or maybe I especially didn't like how this story focuses so much on bullying, abuse, and even (attempted) suicide. I think if you're gonna write about trans people as a cis person, you shouldn't make the violence we face one of the main topics. I don't think it's a cis person's place and it felt like misery porn to me.
- the author's note made me extremely uncomfortable. the story about the author's friend talking about a trans girl by using the words "probably just a pervy boy trying to see some boobs" and nobody saying anything was honestly just painful to read.
- the failure to use content/trigger warnings is not uncommon with books but should still be mentioned as well
Graphic: Bullying, Death, Emotional abuse, Hate crime, Homophobia, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Sexual assault, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Suicide attempt, Transphobia, and Violence