Scan barcode
theotheleo'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
4.75
Graphic: Deadnaming, Hate crime, Homophobia, Miscarriage, Sexual content, Suicide, Toxic relationship, Transphobia, and Dysphoria
Moderate: Infidelity, Car accident, Abortion, and Pregnancy
Minor: Alcoholism, Eating disorder, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Forced institutionalization, Medical content, and Murder
neverlandpages4's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
1.0
I get why most people like this book. It’s edgy, it’s quotable, and it discusses important topics. But other than that, it’s a whole mess.
All the characters were unlikable, especially Reese. A lot of her beliefs about what it is to be a woman and a lot of the things that she makes excuses for, like domestic abuse, were just horrible to read about. I know it’s from a place of trauma and hurt but I really didn’t like her or her notions about womanhood and how fragile and submissive women should be.
At one point in the book, Katrina asks Reese “are we playing oppression Olympics?” And that’s exactly what they continued to do till the end of the book. Instead of validating each other’s struggles, they were constantly trying to take the upper hand of “I have it worse than you.” It was honestly disheartening and annoying at the same time. They both struggled so much, Katrina with her background and her being mixed race and Reese as a trans woman who clearly didn’t get the support she needed. But them constantly going back and forth on who has it worst and who wants to be a mother more made it such a distasteful book to read.
I was fully expecting this to be a 5 star read because of how many good things I’ve heard about it, but it was just all over the place. The characters are extremely unlikable, it constantly goes on tangents about unimportant things like the projects they do at work, nothing is happening the majority of the time, and to quote the book itself “The book was deadly boring.” I also hated how it’s left open-ended.
I liked a few things like the writing and how the book discusses tough topics like destransitioning, divorce, and miscarriages. And the cover is beautiful. But that’s pretty much it.
It hurt me to rate this book this low. But I can’t lie to myself or others just because it’s a highly rated book.
Graphic: Homophobia, Infidelity, Miscarriage, Misogyny, Suicide, Transphobia, Suicide attempt, and Murder
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: Hate crime, Homophobia, Infidelity, Misogyny, Panic attacks/disorders, Sexism, Sexual content, Toxic relationship, Transphobia, Violence, Grief, Pregnancy, Outing, and Dysphoria
Moderate: Deadnaming, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Miscarriage, Racism, Sexual assault, Suicide, Medical content, Stalking, Abortion, Suicide attempt, Alcohol, Sexual harassment, and Classism
Minor: Ableism, Alcoholism, Animal death, Eating disorder, Incest, Pedophilia, Rape, Suicidal thoughts, Car accident, Murder, Colonisation, and War
klimatyczny_bluszcz's review
- 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
Graphic: Homophobia, Sexual content, Transphobia, Grief, Abortion, and Dysphoria
Moderate: Mental illness, Sexism, Toxic relationship, Suicide attempt, Murder, Pregnancy, and Outing
Minor: Miscarriage and Police brutality
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: Infidelity, Misogyny, Sexism, Sexual content, Toxic relationship, Transphobia, Grief, Stalking, Pregnancy, Outing, and Dysphoria
Moderate: Alcoholism, Chronic illness, Cursing, Deadnaming, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Hate crime, Homophobia, Miscarriage, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Self harm, Sexual assault, Suicide, Violence, Blood, Abortion, Suicide attempt, Alcohol, and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Ableism, Adult/minor relationship, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Eating disorder, Incest, Infertility, Pedophilia, Racism, Rape, Suicidal thoughts, Forced institutionalization, Medical content, Trafficking, Car accident, Murder, Lesbophobia, Colonisation, and Classism
toofondofbooks_'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
3.0
I thought this book was overall, impressive. It is whip smart, funny, and often heartbreaking. It offers a window into a situation unlike anything I've ever read. The characters are complex and have diverse points of view and the dynamics between characters are incredibly interesting. The writing is beautiful and extremely smart - often a little too smart for me.
The issues I have with it don't necessarily have to do with the quality of the book itself and more with me. I thought that the book was going to be faster paced, and that we were going to see more of the interesting throuple-but-not dynamic than we actually got to see. There is a lot of backstory, which was excellent and told me a lot about Reese and Amy/Ames as people, but not a lot of plot to work with in the present day, which became frustrating for me toward the end. Ultimately, I think that this book is great, and reads quickly despite the slower pacing.
Graphic: Bullying, Cursing, Deadnaming, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Hate crime, Homophobia, Infidelity, Mental illness, Miscarriage, Misogyny, Racism, Suicide, Toxic relationship, Transphobia, Medical content, Grief, Abortion, Suicide attempt, Murder, Lesbophobia, Outing, Toxic friendship, Dysphoria, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism
Moderate: Pedophilia, Rape, and Self harm
kylieqrada's review against another edition
- 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
4.0
Graphic: Body shaming, Deadnaming, Infidelity, Transphobia, and Abortion
Moderate: Chronic illness, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Hate crime, Miscarriage, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Rape, Self harm, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Terminal illness, Toxic relationship, Medical content, Grief, Suicide attempt, Murder, and Outing
taleofabibliophile'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? It's complicated
3.75
Graphic: Cursing, Infidelity, Sexual content, Toxic relationship, Transphobia, Abortion, and Pregnancy
Moderate: Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Hate crime, Miscarriage, Racial slurs, Racism, Sexual violence, Suicide, Violence, Medical content, Car accident, and Murder
Minor: Adult/minor relationship, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Deadnaming, Death, Drug use, Eating disorder, Mental illness, and Suicide attempt
greydaze'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
4.75
Graphic: Domestic abuse, Homophobia, Miscarriage, Suicide, Transphobia, Violence, and Suicide attempt
Minor: Murder
donutlookaway's review against another edition
- 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
Graphic: Physical abuse and Suicide
Moderate: Homophobia, Transphobia, Suicide attempt, and Murder