maeverose's review against another edition
It just wasn’t really what I was expecting. I’m not exactly sure what I was expecting. The main characters are very messy people who make questionable decisions, which on one hand is nice to see because it allows trans people to be messy and human just like everyone else without the expectation of perfect representation, but on the other hand, I don’t really care to read about Reese’s questionable sex life for a huge chunk of the book (well, the beginning at least). I feel like all I know about her is she’s trans, has terrible taste in men and little self worth. I also (as a childfree person) really didn’t like how the characters were going about the whole parenting thing. I stopped somewhere in the middle of chapter two, but the way Katrina was like ‘I’m only having the baby if I have a co parent’ made me feel like she didn’t actually want a baby and should probably just get the abortion. As well as Ames using the pregnancy seemingly just as an excuse to kind of get back together with Reese in a way. It bothers me so much seeing people become parents for stupid reasons, and the characters in this book were all way too messy to care for a child, and two of them didn’t even seem like they wanted to.
I have no objective issues with the book, it’s just not for me.
Graphic: Misogyny, Pregnancy, Toxic relationship, Transphobia, Sexual content, and Infidelity
Moderate: Miscarriage, Physical abuse, Gore, and Animal death
Minor: Abortion, Infertility, Antisemitism, and Racism
The gore is just animal gore, at least as far as I readmmikenaite's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Graphic: Hate crime, Dysphoria, Outing, Sexual content, Toxic relationship, and Abortion
Moderate: Body shaming, Miscarriage, Racism, Suicidal thoughts, Sexism, and Transphobia
megelizabeth's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
2.5
However, I did struggle with this book because it's very much character-driven and I really didn't connect to or particularly like any of the main characters. I'm sure they're supposed to be viewed through a critical lens, but that knowledge didn't help me during the many insufferable parts, the plot and the themes not being enough to make me appreciate the characters also. I also can't not mention the fact that this book contains a graphic depiction of underage sex, which there's literally no reason or excuse for; the points being made about the character involved could easily have been done so without including this. To a lesser, but still frustrating, degree, there's also an odd comment about hysterectomies being 'widely available', which again was maybe supposed to be viewed critically, but surely didn't come off that way.
Graphic: Miscarriage, Violence, and Transphobia
Moderate: Abortion, Infidelity, Homophobia, Blood, Drug use, and Death
Minor: Racism and Suicide
bookwormbi'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? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
I got the impression that much of what I disliked about Detransition, Baby was Peters’s attempt to be write a story that could ostensibly be for all trans women from a very narrow perspective, instead of owning that narrowness. The best parts of the book—the Sex and the City Problem, the juvenile elephants, the journeys of Reese and Ames’s transitions and detransition and the dissolution of their relationship—were the parts where Peters wrote as a white trans woman for white trans women. In the wider book landscape, there are very few trans stories, and even less stories about trans women, and I understand Peters’s desire to try to universalize her experience a little bit. To her credit, she rarely tries to speak for trans women of color (although she certainly speaks for cis women of color via Katrina), and much of the discussion about race and racism seems to be a well-intentioned attempt to telegraph her awareness of her privilege, so people don’t say things like what I’m saying right now. To be frank, I wish this book could be the trans version of one of the thousands of TV shows that centers cishet white men and doesn’t trouble itself to think about anybody else. Peters is not the first queer or trans writer whose anxiety over whether or not Twitter would call them racist I could feel through the page. I’m tired of it, frankly. I am a trans person of color, I know I am exactly who Peters is afraid of, and I understand why. I can see a version of this book that I dislike because there are no people of color in it and the characters’ racial insensitivities go unchallenged. But to be honest? I think I’d respect that version of the book a bit more.
Graphic: Sexual content, Miscarriage, Misogyny, Domestic abuse, and Transphobia
Minor: Racism
lily_peach's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.25
Graphic: Toxic friendship, Toxic relationship, Infidelity, and Violence
Moderate: Transphobia, Racism, Outing, Homophobia, Sexual content, Suicide, and Suicide attempt
Minor: Body shaming
maarigirl's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
Moderate: Sexual violence, Toxic relationship, and Transphobia
Minor: Suicide attempt, Racism, Miscarriage, Mental illness, Lesbophobia, Abortion, Pregnancy, Outing, Infidelity, and Hate crime
leadpal'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? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Graphic: Transphobia, Sexual content, Misogyny, Miscarriage, Toxic relationship, Infidelity, Infertility, Toxic friendship, and Dysphoria
Moderate: Suicide attempt, Violence, Pregnancy, Stalking, Self harm, Hate crime, and Abortion
Minor: Cultural appropriation, Racism, Rape, Medical content, Homophobia, Mental illness, Alcoholism, and Eating disorder
auudrey'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
5.0
Graphic: Physical abuse, Violence, Emotional abuse, Deadnaming, Outing, Pregnancy, and Transphobia
Moderate: Miscarriage, Racism, Sexism, Body shaming, Toxic friendship, Toxic relationship, and Hate crime
talonsontypewriters'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
4.0
Graphic: Homophobia, Hate crime, Panic attacks/disorders, Toxic relationship, Outing, Infidelity, Misogyny, Grief, Dysphoria, Transphobia, Sexual content, Pregnancy, Sexism, and Violence
Moderate: Miscarriage, Emotional abuse, Suicide, Deadnaming, Drug use, Classism, Medical content, Sexual harassment, Sexual assault, Domestic abuse, Stalking, Abortion, Racism, Death, Suicide attempt, and Alcohol
Minor: Suicidal thoughts, Alcoholism, Pedophilia, Animal death, Car accident, Murder, Eating disorder, Rape, War, Colonisation, Ableism, and Incest
annabulkowski's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Graphic: Death of parent, Racism, Self harm, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, Homophobia, Mental illness, Misogyny, Suicide attempt, Abortion, Alcohol, Body shaming, Cultural appropriation, Dysphoria, Emotional abuse, Grief, Body horror, Car accident, Cursing, Fatphobia, Sexual violence, Toxic relationship, Death, Domestic abuse, Eating disorder, Sexual harassment, Infidelity, Lesbophobia, Panic attacks/disorders, Alcoholism, Biphobia, Hate crime, Suicide, Blood, Miscarriage, Police brutality, Sexism, Transphobia, Classism, Deadnaming, Gaslighting, Ableism, Adult/minor relationship, Bullying, and Pregnancy