Reviews

Little Fish, by Casey Plett

Only show reviews with written explanations

anovellaidea's review

Go to review page

challenging dark emotional reflective sad medium-paced

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

3.25

moonyreadsbystarlight's review against another edition

Go to review page

emotional reflective tense

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

4.5

This has been on my TBR for quite a while and I honestly don't know how I've only just now read it. It's messy queer lit fic with little plot and lots of theme - definitely the kind of book for me.

The story starts when Wendy goes back to her Mennonite grandparents' small town to go to her grandmother's funeral. While there, she gets a call from a family friend who can no longer keep her late grandfather's secret queerness to herself. The speculation of the details of this secret and the nature of his queerness stays in the background as Wendy's life continues. Through the mundane details of her life, we see Wendy navigate alcoholism as she encounters several big life events. Some things are resolved eventually and others aren't, but I think this tension (or lack thereof in some cases) makes it feel more real.

As we see these events unravel, there is so much going on thematically. Many issues that lots of trans women face are brought up in the plot but even beyond that, there is discussion of transness, community, queer time, religion, family, and so much more. The most compelling thing to me, aside from the realness and vulnerability of the story, are the thematic elements (hence why today's experiment with picture editing features a theme word cloud). This is one that I think I could read multiple times and piece together more of what it has to say each time.

Content Warnings

cottersbookcollection's review

Go to review page

emotional hopeful reflective sad 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

amethyst_hearts_books's review

Go to review page

5.0

This novel is both incredible and a little heartbreaking.

averyjaye's review

Go to review page

challenging mysterious reflective 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

An incredibly moving meditation on the meaning of transness, coping mechanisms, social responsibility, queer temporality, and the normative scripts we use to navigate the world.

Elements of this book are equal parts hard to look at, hard to look away from, and demand to be seen, understood, reinterpreted, and reunderstood. Casey Plett understands exactly what she is trying to say about the world, what experiences she's trying to share, and communicates it perfectly in a layered and intricate character-driven story that is, at times uncomfortable, yet tremendously eye-opening.

Content Warnings