aotrejo's review
2.0
Overall I liked the story. My issue was the font size was too small. I had to take breaks in between reading because my eyes would start to hurt.
liralen's review
3.0
Up until about halfway through this book, I thought it was fantastic. It's on point, it's funny, and the red-black-white illustrations really make the book.
To an extent, the book remains its funny and on-point self (the illustrations, certainly, are still terrific), but by the time I reached the end I had soured on the narrator. Maybe it was the switch to a focus on drugs (doing them, dealing them), which I didn't expect -- but I think that more than that it was the lack of depth.
I wasn't sure at first what I didn't care for in the second half. I went away for a few days and had to leave the book at home; would I have liked the second half as much as the first if I'd read it all in one go? Or would I still be disenchanted? But then it clicked. The illustrations -- I know; I said this already (and will say it again) -- really make the book. The writing's pretty interesting, sort of stream-of-consciousness mini-essays that connect but most of which could be read independently of one another. But it's pretty...one-sided.
In the first half of the book, the writing has a point to make. The narrator isn't always sympathetic, but it was definitely interesting to get her perspective (even if it was pretty limited) on the sex trade. Do I wonder whether Steph was really as toxic as she suggests? Yes. Do I wish she'd commented on things like legalisation of prostitution? Yes. That said, it was funny and often biting.
The second half more or less loses the plot, though. The focus switches from prostitution to drugs -- but I don't think there really was a perspective here, or a point, except that making money by selling drugs to "friends" was harder than they'd thought and she didn't like working. It wasn't particularly interesting to me (this was also the point at which I started getting irritated by the typos), and although I did appreciate the artwork, it shouldn't be doing so much of the heavy lifting.
I'm glad I read this, though, especially coming so close on the heels of [b:Paying for It|10108380|Paying for It|Chester Brown|http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1317067463s/10108380.jpg|15005677]. I just found the first half more compelling than the second half.
To an extent, the book remains its funny and on-point self (the illustrations, certainly, are still terrific), but by the time I reached the end I had soured on the narrator. Maybe it was the switch to a focus on drugs (doing them, dealing them), which I didn't expect -- but I think that more than that it was the lack of depth.
I wasn't sure at first what I didn't care for in the second half. I went away for a few days and had to leave the book at home; would I have liked the second half as much as the first if I'd read it all in one go? Or would I still be disenchanted? But then it clicked. The illustrations -- I know; I said this already (and will say it again) -- really make the book. The writing's pretty interesting, sort of stream-of-consciousness mini-essays that connect but most of which could be read independently of one another. But it's pretty...one-sided.
In the first half of the book, the writing has a point to make. The narrator isn't always sympathetic, but it was definitely interesting to get her perspective (even if it was pretty limited) on the sex trade. Do I wonder whether Steph was really as toxic as she suggests? Yes. Do I wish she'd commented on things like legalisation of prostitution? Yes. That said, it was funny and often biting.
The second half more or less loses the plot, though. The focus switches from prostitution to drugs -- but I don't think there really was a perspective here, or a point, except that making money by selling drugs to "friends" was harder than they'd thought and she didn't like working. It wasn't particularly interesting to me (this was also the point at which I started getting irritated by the typos), and although I did appreciate the artwork, it shouldn't be doing so much of the heavy lifting.
I'm glad I read this, though, especially coming so close on the heels of [b:Paying for It|10108380|Paying for It|Chester Brown|http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1317067463s/10108380.jpg|15005677]. I just found the first half more compelling than the second half.
mhall's review
2.0
I started editing it in my head - in my dream version of this book, instead of being a mix of text and one portrait on each page, it's a traditional panel-format graphic novel. This would force the author to tighten up the storyline and maybe take out a big chunk of the middle. The most interesting parts were the beginning, when she starts working as an escort, and near the end, when she and her girlfriend start trying to sell cocaine and briefly go back into the escort business together.
dominic_t's review
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
fast-paced
4.5
The book is fast-paced and interesting, but the illustrations are what really sets it apart. The art style really works with the tone of the writing, and it is both rough and lifelike. Each drawing really gives off the vibe of the writing, and the writing and illustrations really build on each other.
Michelle's stories about her time as a sex worker are interesting, and she has some really interesting insights into the industry. She really pushes back on the idea that sex work is just like any other form of work, but she doesn't argue for criminalization. She doesn't talk much about the political/legal landscape for sex workers. She really focuses on how it impacted her and tells some stories about the people she met along the way. It was also really interesting hearing about performing full service sex work as a lesbian, and I loved seeing her relationships unfold.
The last chapter is much longer and details a period of her life instead of focusing on vignettes like earlier chapters; the pacing is completely different and just seems a bit out of sync with the rest of the book. It drags a bit, and I think it would have benefitted from being split into shorter chapters.
She also shares details of drug use, and her descriptions are super vivid. A lot of her descriptions are really vivid, and her stylistic choices around dialogue work really well. Overall, it was a super interesting and unique book.
Michelle's stories about her time as a sex worker are interesting, and she has some really interesting insights into the industry. She really pushes back on the idea that sex work is just like any other form of work, but she doesn't argue for criminalization. She doesn't talk much about the political/legal landscape for sex workers. She really focuses on how it impacted her and tells some stories about the people she met along the way. It was also really interesting hearing about performing full service sex work as a lesbian, and I loved seeing her relationships unfold.
The last chapter is much longer and details a period of her life instead of focusing on vignettes like earlier chapters; the pacing is completely different and just seems a bit out of sync with the rest of the book. It drags a bit, and I think it would have benefitted from being split into shorter chapters.
She also shares details of drug use, and her descriptions are super vivid. A lot of her descriptions are really vivid, and her stylistic choices around dialogue work really well. Overall, it was a super interesting and unique book.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual content, Drug abuse, Drug use, Alcohol, and Alcoholism
Moderate: Emotional abuse
deadnberried's review
2.0
This was not at all what I thought it was going to be. I was hoping for a little more reflection, but it was a fairly sparse memoir. I also felt the ending was abrupt, and left much to be desired in terms of the character development you hope to see at the end of a book--lessons learned, wisdom gained, etc-- but we leave 30 year old Michelle in much the same state as we found her. An under-payed, underemployed, sometimes sex worker essentially living in a flop house. At least her choice of girlfriend has improved...in some respects.
wrenwood's review
5.0
I looked for this book forever. And finally found it in San Francisco. It was immediately stolen by my best friend, Myriah, who then gave it to our other best friend, April, who I imagine I will never get it back from... I just need to face the facts and get back to the bookstore...
corncobwebs's review
I was expecting a traditional graphic novel-style book with panels and speech bubbles and all that, but this was pretty different. It's drawings done from pictures of posed models with the text in a traditional prose format. I continue to love Michelle Tea's writing, how it's so stream of consciousness and richly descriptive. This book details a pretty gritty time in her life, which was interesting to read about since it's so far removed from what my life is like. It seems to repeat a lot of what she's written about in other books, but the illustrations give the narrative a new dimension. Glad I read it, and can't wait for her new book to come out.