Reviews with content warning for Transphobia - Any Man

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this was a great read (not necessarily because of the story since it discusses r*p* and s*x*u*l a*s*u*t, but the way it was told). It's multiple pov and can get pretty graphic. I wish we got a little bit of expansion on Michael and Sebastian as they were the victims we got the least amount of time with. I also didn't love the ending, but it was wrapped up nicely enough for me with how the victims coped and tried to heal.

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aaliyahmaybe's review against another edition

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dark emotional reflective sad medium-paced

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

4.25

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ellebosco's review against another edition

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4.0

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snerp_reads's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional reflective medium-paced

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

4.0

Firstly, the prose in this book is absolutely beautiful, and really makes me want to look into Tamblyn's other works. While yes, it is very poetic at times, there are very clear distinctions between the voices of the main characters, both in speech patterns and personality. If I was basing my review based off quality of prose alone, this book would be a solid 5 stars.

I was a little unsure going into this book because of the framing of the perpetrator; expecting her story to follow the archetypal 'Stranger Danger' plotline so often used in stories of sexual assault, despite only making up a fraction of the actual crimes. However, I think Tamblyn utilized this archetype very well, and was actually beneficial when reading the survivors' stories as both personal accounts, and as an exploration of the larger culture around these topics.
My main critiques are of the character Michael, and of the ending. I disliked that the only trans male character was the only victim to entirely lack a voice of his own; we only got to learn about him through social media posts (largely targeted at him through transphobia). While I was very hopeful to see a trans man being represented in a book about sexual assualt, I feel his story was the least fleshed out of all of them. This was especially disappointing considering that trans men have the highest rates of sexual violence against them, even compared to cis women. Giving a voice to a trans male character would've greatly benefited both the story, and the readers, especially compared to how long was spent giving a voice to an extremely misogynistic cis gay man instead.
The ending was slightly confusing, and I feel it flew over my head, which is my only critique of it.

Overall, a very well written book, diverse cast, but does fail to equally represent certain minorities portrayed.

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americattt's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional fast-paced

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? It's complicated

4.5

“I am in a body. It is not the one I came here with, but it is the one I’ll leave here in. I will take care of it. It belongs to me now. My pain, I will take care of it. It belongs to me now. My heart, I will take care of it. It belongs to me now. My story, I will take care of it. It belongs to me now."

Highly recommend the audiobook version of this, with a full cast that made everything feel so much more real. A very difficult read that made me feel sick to my stomach a few times, but I think the core material/message is important.

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mfrisk's review

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challenging dark emotional hopeful reflective sad tense medium-paced

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? It's complicated

5.0

This book was like nothing I’ve ever read before. I want to strongly encourage folks to check the content warnings prior to delving into this book but once you’ve done that if you’re at a place where you feel you can read this book I’d highly recommend it.

This book follows several men who’ve been raped by an unknown woman and we’re following them as they work to pick up the pieces within their lives and regain some sense of normalcy or something new. We follow them through journal entries, internet searches, online chats, and media reactions and they all come together to make a rich story that is able to delve into difficult topics including sexual assault and rape as it relates to racism, homophobia, transphobia, sexism, toxic masculinity, media coverage and our criminal justice system.

This was an incredibly difficult read but I’m so glad I read it and I can tell I’ll be thinking about the questions it raised for years to come.

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mortiffa's review

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challenging dark sad 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? It's complicated

4.5

I'll be honest - after about 30 or so pages, I wasn't sure how I felt about this book. Tamblyn's writing style is stunning and unique, but... There was something I wasn't sure about.

Fast forward a few hours later and I've finished. It's a difficult, but readable, read. I think the author does an incredible job writing about the culture surrounding sexual assault. It is brutal at times, but extremely honest.

Extremely difficult read but am glad to have read it.

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eme_'s review against another edition

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dark emotional sad fast-paced

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? No

4.0

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