Reviews tagging 'Medical trauma'

All Boys Aren't Blue by George M. Johnson

9 reviews

strawberrytheauthor's review

challenging dark emotional informative reflective sad fast-paced

5.0

I read this for a college course and it was so good. I don’t know if I personally would categorize it as YA because the sexual and violent scenes were quite graphic. I identified with the book which surprised me because I am a cisgendered white woman. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Racism, Rape, Alcohol, Sexual content, Transphobia, Blood, Cursing, Deadnaming, Sexual assault, Death, Drug use, Grief, Homophobia, Racial slurs, Bullying, and Incest

Moderate: Gun violence, Medical trauma, and Medical content

Minor: Child death

yourbookishbff's review against another edition

challenging emotional funny hopeful inspiring reflective sad medium-paced

5.0

 Written for a YA audience, Johnson's reflections are striking in their vulnerability and transparency - they insist on honesty with themselves and with you, the reader, in an effort to create space for a generation of young LGBTQIAP+ people learning to own and protect their identities in an oppressive and often violent world. Broken into short essays, interspersed with letters and reflections written to, for and from family members, Johnson's stories are as much for themselves as they are for others, a chance to reconcile their Black and queer identities and communities. By the conclusion, it is clear that they see these identities as inextricably linked, essential parts of their whole, existing without conflict when they can exist authentically (outside the oppressive structures of a white cultural and political monolith).

I came away from this read in awe of the gift Johnson is giving young readers, the trust and respect afforded them. That this is one of the most banned books in the United States underscores exactly how rare this level of trust and respect is given young people, particularly young people who identify as LGBTQIAP+. Johnson so clearly navigated their own life without a roadmap and is committed to ensuring others like them don't feel similarly confused and alone.

It's important to note that this DOES entail on-page trauma. I do NOT think this limits its accessibility or appropriateness for young adult readers. I caution ANY reader to be sensitive to content warnings and give themselves grace in what they choose to read. It's appalling, though, that this book has been so frequently banned on these grounds, as though teens are incapable of reading about things they are *already experiencing.*

I would recommend this to any reader, but feel it's particularly powerful for those who work with young people (or are parents to teens). 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Homophobia, Deadnaming, Racial slurs, Racism, Sexual assault, Incest, and Sexual content

Moderate: Bullying, Medical trauma, Death, Outing, and Medical content

mme_carton's review against another edition

challenging emotional hopeful informative inspiring reflective fast-paced

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Cursing, Deadnaming, Death, Death of parent, Drug abuse, Grief, Homophobia, Incest, Injury/Injury detail, Racism, Violence, Medical content, Medical trauma, Racial slurs, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual harassment, Terminal illness, Chronic illness, Blood, Bullying, Cancer, and Transphobia

Moderate: Alcohol, Cultural appropriation, Outing, and Mental illness

Minor: Fire/Fire injury

deadeye's review against another edition

emotional hopeful reflective medium-paced

4.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Cursing, Deadnaming, Grief, Racial slurs, Transphobia, Hate crime, Incest, Racism, Sexual content, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Violence, Death, and Homophobia

Moderate: Dysphoria

Minor: Police brutality, Medical trauma, Misogyny, Outing, Alcohol, Drug use, and Medical content

anna_l's review

emotional reflective slow-paced

4.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Cancer, Child abuse, Deadnaming, Death, Grief, Hate crime, Homophobia, Incest, Medical content, Medical trauma, Mental illness, Murder, Outing, Racial slurs, Racism, Sexual assault, Sexual content, and Transphobia

Moderate: Alcohol, Drug use, and Police brutality

arlangrey17's review against another edition

challenging emotional funny hopeful inspiring lighthearted medium-paced

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcohol, Cancer, Deadnaming, Death, Grief, Homophobia, Incest, Medical trauma, Outing, Racial slurs, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Terminal illness, Transphobia, and Violence

berodatheelf's review against another edition

emotional informative medium-paced

4.5

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Addiction, Bullying, Cancer, Deadnaming, Death, Drug use, Gore, Grief, Homophobia, Medical trauma, Outing, Racial slurs, Racism, Sexual assault, and Sexual content

_malia_pt's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional hopeful informative inspiring reflective sad tense slow-paced

4.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Death, Hate crime, Homophobia, Incest, Medical trauma, Murder, Racism, and Sexual assault

eff_reads's review

adventurous funny hopeful informative inspiring lighthearted medium-paced

5.0

beautiful story. it tackles multiple subjects including coming out, homophobia, transphobia, queerness, Blackness, going to a private school etc. a lot of things i could relate to and others that i found really informative. i recommend the audiobook format because George M. Johnson does a great job at narrating their own story. i’m rating this a 5/5  because of the things i’ve learned and how seen i felt in this novel, not because i’m rating the authors life or their life experiences. everyone has their own and i’m so thankful they decided to share their story for Black queer children who might need to hear it. we need more Black queer stories and we need more representation for those who never had any. this book also talked about how sometimes George didn’t even have answers themselves. it was all learning and going, i liked how realistic they were about their experiences. being queer and Black is a multitude of goodness and badness. and sometimes an in between, this is not everyone’s own journey but i loved that did show what it looked like for most Black queer ppl especially in America and especially with transphobia and  homophobia within our our own communities. All Boys Aren’t Blue is a story about hope but also grief and what it means to is discover who you are for your self. it’s beautiful and something i’ll keep with me forever <3

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Homophobia, Racial slurs, Racism, Rape, and Transphobia

Moderate: Chronic illness, Death, Medical content, and Medical trauma