Reviews tagging 'Alcoholism'

Stay Gold by Tobly McSmith

5 reviews

yikeslou's review against another edition

dark emotional funny hopeful informative reflective sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

2.5

Pony is a sweet, hilarious, and relatable MC who is surrounded by a troop of assholes (mostly teens which is semi excusable, they're still finding themselves and learning etc etc, kids are inherently a little self centered, still frustrating to read). Everything wrapped up VERY quickly compared to the slow burning romance plot, but hey I love a happy ending so I can't complain too much

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Bullying, Hate crime, Suicidal thoughts, and Transphobia

Moderate: Alcoholism

Minor: Deadnaming, Death, Eating disorder, Sexual assault, Lesbophobia, Outing, Alcohol, and Dysphoria

readingwithkaitlyn's review against another edition

challenging fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Body shaming, Bullying, Deadnaming, Emotional abuse, Hate crime, Mental illness, Misogyny, Sexual assault, Terminal illness, Transphobia, Violence, Lesbophobia, Outing, Toxic friendship, Dysphoria, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Child abuse, Death, Drug use, Infidelity, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic relationship, Medical content, Alcohol, and Sexual harassment

Minor: Alcoholism, Biphobia, Child death, Death, Physical abuse, Self harm, Sexual content, Suicide, Excrement, Vomit, Murder, and Fire/Fire injury

use of f slur

grace_koalateareads's review against another edition

challenging emotional funny hopeful informative tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

“We can’t change those people’s minds. We just love louder and harder than they can hate.”

Stay Gold by Tobly McSmith was a difficult  yet important read. The story is split into Pony’s (a trans boy) and Georgia’s (a cis girl) point of view. Both are seniors at a Texas high school just outside of Dallas. For Pony it’s all about going “stealth” and just being a normal guy, for Georgia it’s about cheerleading and being the person people expect her to be. I loved both of them so much, they had great personalities and felt real and genuine. I loved the puns, the banter and the deep and meaningful conversations. 

“When the school treats trans students like they’re different, it gives the green light for the other kids to do the same, but kids are way meaner.”

The side characters were where my discomfort started, especially with Max, Pony’s “out and proud” best friend, who came across very “black and white” and wanting him to share things on social media that made him feel uncomfortable. I know the ending sort of cleared those things up, but it felt too rushed and too shiny (or gold, if you will) like it wasn’t real.  Being “out and proud” is great, it’s awesome, but not if it isn’t safe to do so. It also made me uncomfortable with the amount of trans and queer slurs, especially as they didn’t need to be written down to get the point across.

“Some days, I barely think about being trans. And other days, it’s an obstacle course.”

Don’t get me wrong, I did enjoy the book, just not as much as I was expecting. A lot of really heavy topics were covered, such as transphobia, misgendering and forced outting - these weren’t the reason for my lower rating, but more how they were handled/written especially when a character was the one causing said topics. I was definitely hooked and finished the book in just over a day. It’s one that I think a lot of people, who don’t understand what being trans means, should read, however, overall it just made me feel drained.

“I raise my glass in toast and say (but not too loudly, “Here’s to being trans in Texas.””

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Deadnaming, Emotional abuse, Hate crime, Homophobia, Suicidal thoughts, Transphobia, Violence, Outing, Toxic friendship, and Dysphoria

Moderate: Bullying, Toxic relationship, Lesbophobia, and Injury/Injury detail

Minor: Alcoholism, Body shaming, Drug use, Vomit, Medical content, Grief, and Alcohol

whosfernn's review against another edition

challenging emotional hopeful inspiring medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

5.0

I knew almost nothing about this book when I picked it up. Looking at the cover and the blurb, I assumed it would be a cute coming-of-age romance. What it actually is is probably the best, most moving tale of a trans boy I've ever read. It's a very realistic look at the trans experience, especially how it can be to be trans in southern America. Beautiful. One of my favourites, probably my favourite read of 2023 so far. Please read this book.

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Deadnaming, Death, Drug use, Homophobia, Suicidal thoughts, Transphobia, Violence, Medical content, Lesbophobia, Outing, Toxic friendship, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Bullying, Infidelity, Mental illness, Abandonment, and Alcohol

Minor: Alcoholism, Body shaming, Emotional abuse, Grief, and Religious bigotry

dealingwithdragons's review against another edition

emotional funny hopeful informative medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Bullying, Deadnaming, Emotional abuse, Homophobia, Physical abuse, Transphobia, Violence, Medical content, Lesbophobia, Outing, Dysphoria, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Suicidal thoughts, Toxic friendship, Abandonment, and Alcohol

Minor: Alcoholism