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bookishcookiemonster's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
Such an honest look at what womanhood means for (some) Trans-Women, juxtaposed next to what it means for Cis-women of colour, and the struggles of coming to motherhood.
I have learned so much from this book.
Graphic: Sexism, Abortion, Violence, Miscarriage, Transphobia, Suicide attempt, Suicide, Sexual content, Dysphoria, Physical abuse, Outing, Injury/Injury detail, Infidelity, Hate crime, Panic attacks/disorders, and Grief
luxxltyd's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Graphic: Miscarriage, Pregnancy, Infidelity, Transphobia, and Homophobia
Moderate: Outing, Suicide attempt, Sexual content, and Abortion
Minor: Toxic relationship and Injury/Injury detail
natalienicholas's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Graphic: Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Toxic friendship, Suicide attempt, Toxic relationship, Physical abuse, Pregnancy, Sexism, Suicide, Violence, Dysphoria, Miscarriage, Abortion, Blood, Death, Homophobia, Injury/Injury detail, and Transphobia
malayapapaya's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Graphic: Outing, Toxic relationship, Miscarriage, Physical abuse, Self harm, Transphobia, Cursing, Dysphoria, Hate crime, Infidelity, Injury/Injury detail, and Violence
Moderate: Car accident, Blood, Deadnaming, Abortion, Pregnancy, Suicide, and Infertility
thewordsdevourer's review against another edition
- 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
peters incisively and grippingly examines motherhood, the trans experience, gender, identity politics, sex and sex work in this book, stripping layer upon layer of complexity thats enmeshed in a dash of political correctness, making her characters bare all, voicing taboos and things that are oft unspoken - representational politics be damned - to exhilarating effect. indeed, there were moments that simply stupefied me of how good this book is. and i learned a lot abt transness, this book having depicted in a humane sense many terms i merely know of but have never truly understood in depth.
meanwhile, the characters (and esp reese) are a hot mess - in a sense that theyre all each deep in a certain level of shit - specifically life shit - and trying to navigate thru a surprise pregnancy in different ways, each forced to face their own issues in the process. the ability to make readers empathize w/ characters who they sometimes also want to throttle is certainly a hallmark of a great writer, but peters, imo, goes above and beyond here. this esp pertains to ames/amy, whose story connects w/ me in a visceral way; we couldnt be more different, but her story deeply affects me in a way fiction rarely ever does, reading it was def sth else. it's indeed a lil baffling that her accidental outing plotline's suddenly dropped near the end: whatever happens after katrina's advice-seeking w/ reese and her friends? whats ames' reaction upon finding out the company supposedly knowing her secret?
and the book's last 15% and ending are less stellar than the rest, imo. the former feels awkward to me, like the author's trying to tie it all up but ends up veering into a slightly strange territory. i also wish we heard more from ames aside from that bit near the end. as for the ending, it does annoy me w/ how vague and slightly ~kumbaya~ it is, its tone a lil jarring w/ the book's irreverent tone.
even so, this is an undeniably thought-provoking, impactful, and even humorous novel, one that reads like a queer classic, and an amazing and welcoming addition to mainstream trans lit.
Graphic: Hate crime, Infidelity, Dysphoria, Outing, Sexual content, and Transphobia
Moderate: Domestic abuse, Injury/Injury detail, Medical content, and Violence
Minor: Death, Drug abuse, Suicide, and Abortion
kaii's review against another edition
- 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
4.5
Graphic: Sexual content, Transphobia, and Pregnancy
Moderate: Infidelity
Minor: Abortion, Classism, Injury/Injury detail, Lesbophobia, Violence, Suicide, Suicide attempt, Grief, and Domestic abuse
thevampiremars'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
Exceptionally well-written, until the ending where it felt like the brakes were slammed; it faltered then just kind of stopped, and not in a satisfyingly unsatisfying way. Still, I liked it a lot.
Graphic: Grief, Infidelity, Outing, Dysphoria, Sexism, Misogyny, Pregnancy, Sexual content, Stalking, Toxic relationship, and Transphobia
Moderate: Abortion, Hate crime, Homophobia, Physical abuse, Alcohol, Alcoholism, Deadnaming, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Panic attacks/disorders, Suicide attempt, Blood, Chronic illness, Suicide, Violence, Cursing, Injury/Injury detail, Miscarriage, Self harm, and Sexual assault
Minor: Ableism, Animal cruelty, Pedophilia, Rape, Suicidal thoughts, Lesbophobia, Medical content, Classism, Forced institutionalization, Incest, Murder, Racism, Eating disorder, Trafficking, Car accident, Infertility, Adult/minor relationship, Animal death, and Colonisation
karolinaz's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Graphic: Misogyny, Violence, Grief, Hate crime, Pregnancy, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic relationship, Toxic friendship, Transphobia, Infidelity, Lesbophobia, Medical trauma, Self harm, Sexism, Body horror, Emotional abuse, Homophobia, Infertility, Injury/Injury detail, Medical content, Miscarriage, Body shaming, Dysphoria, Outing, Physical abuse, Sexual harassment, Suicide, and Suicide attempt
lixard'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? Yes
5.0
another is the conversation between reese & katrina about how race and gender and class intersect with motherhood, that women are not all given the same assumption of/decision for motherhood.
oh! and i loved the elephant metaphor, the wim hof method, the sex and the city problem, etc. just so much thought put into how each of the characters see the world. good on ya.
i have nothing else to add except that i wished we knew what happened to their little trio family :(
without further ado some quotes
“She’s suggested, in the way that naive cis people do, with a hint of self-congratulation at their own broad-mindedness, that it seems like trans people are starting to be everywhere, that maybe gender doesn’t matter that much. In his reply, he can’t help but let loose an old defensiveness on this topic. “I think it’s the opposite,” he says too sharply. “The whole reason transsexuals transition is because gender matters so incredibly much.”
“Yes and no. Some days I still love you and some days I don’t.”
Reese waited, sensing there was more. So he let her have as much of the truth as he could bear. “But the days I don’t love you…I have to work hard to make those days happen. The days I do require nothing of me.”
Graphic: Pregnancy, Sexual content, Suicide attempt, Dysphoria, Physical abuse, Self harm, Violence, Injury/Injury detail, Transphobia, Homophobia, Sexual violence, and Suicidal thoughts
Moderate: Abortion and Deadnaming
alid73'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
5.0
Graphic: Abandonment, Abortion, Deadnaming, Domestic abuse, Dysphoria, Emotional abuse, Grief, Hate crime, Homophobia, Infertility, Infidelity, Injury/Injury detail, Outing, Physical abuse, Pregnancy, Sexual content, Toxic relationship, Transphobia, and Violence
Moderate: Misogyny
Minor: Bullying, Suicide attempt, and Religious bigotry