Reviews with content warning for Homophobia - Stay Gold

Reviews tagging 'Homophobia'

Stay Gold by Tobly McSmith

94 reviews

mstormodolge's review against another edition

dark emotional hopeful inspiring reflective medium-paced

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

4.0

Honestly I wanna start this review with a statement: I don’t think my review for this book is the most important review for this book. I am not trans and as a cis woman it’s hard to understand and fathom some of the struggle that Pony goes through within this story. However, with that being said I did see a LOT of the struggle he faced being queer in a red state and his mental health issues as someone who has faced both of those. And with that being said:
I think this book was really beautiful. It was genuine and mature while also giving into that ‘teenage’ angst that isn’t always as serious as it feels. I love how quickly they fall in love and how deeply slight drama hit home- but I also appreciate the issues that were also faced that even many adults haven’t faced. Idk how to describe it lol but from what I’ve experienced, a lot of the pain Pony feels is realistic. To the point where his mental health stuff was not smart for me to be reading in the mindset I was in lmao but it was realistic. The ending was good and very teen vibes but the struggle to that ending point? Spoiler here: but the way that the asshole characters physically assault Pony at the prom is despicable. It’s disgusting and I know it’s realistic and I hate that. I was hoping to give this book to Jay as a ‘here’s a trans masc story woo!!’ But what pony goes through makes me hesitate bc I can’t imagine putting Jay through reading about that. I know something had to happen, but why that? Why so much detail? It hurt even me.
Overall, I thought this book was interesting. I think the main two characters are really well made and I think the banter and interactions they have are well done. Sometimes this book felt more like mansplaining queer/trans troubles but honestly I’ll take it haha because the rest of it was really good. I enjoyed the internal battles both leads faced about how to show themselves and I liked their personal growth. I wish it just hadn’t come at the cost of this book being triggering imo

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inmyromancenovelera's review against another edition

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emotional inspiring reflective medium-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? It's complicated

5.0

I happened upon this book while browsing a closing sale and am so incredibly thankful that I did. Everyone needs this book in their lives. It should be required reading as far as I'm concerned.

I truly have no words for how much I loved this book and I recommended it to at least 100 people before I even finished it because every second was that compelling.

Honest, important, heartwarming, relatable, staggering, genuine, inspiring, thought-provoking....this book is EVERYTHING. No matter who you are, where you come from, what you believe, you NEED to read this book. It will change your life for the best.

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bwithwings's review against another edition

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challenging emotional hopeful inspiring reflective sad 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? It's complicated

4.5

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bookobsessedmommy's review against another edition

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challenging emotional hopeful 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

4.25

Pony is a trans boy who decides to go stealth at his new school, which isn't a proble until he falls for a cheerleader, Georgia, and needs to tell her his secret. This book was equal parts heartbreaking, infuriating, and sweet. These kids have to deal with the typical Hugh school concerns of popularity and reputation, but when you add in being trans, especially in the south, things get a lot more complicated and even dangerous. Pony's relationship with Georgia is central, but I wanted more with his friend Max. His sister Rocky is my hero. 💜 I would love a little epilogue, but the ending really suited the story well.

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cadriel221's review against another edition

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emotional funny hopeful informative 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

5.0

This book made me cry but in a good way

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khakipantsofsex's review against another edition

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dark emotional medium-paced

3.0

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michaelion's review against another edition

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dark emotional funny hopeful informative inspiring tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

My ex bought me this for our one month anniversary and I finally read it two years later hoping the book would be bad so I could give it away but it was so good! So cue so sweet. I shall be keeping it.

I was so sure that The Outsiders wasn't canon in this world and then she mentioned it! It's nitpicky but naming yourself after Ponyboy is much cooler than just naming yourself after an animal randomly. That boy got to senior year and didn't read The Outsiders?! It's so gay he would've loved it.

A great book for explaining what a trans person is to kids / teens. It has a perfect mixture of people familiar with the world and explaining to someone who knows nothing. Great writing. I laughed a plenty.

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grace_koalateareads's review against another edition

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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.””

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eruanna317's review against another edition

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emotional hopeful medium-paced

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

4.25

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loiseigenraam's review against another edition

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dark emotional funny informative inspiring sad 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? Yes

4.0

I really appreciate this book for the story it tells, but it being a YA story I'm just 'too old' to really appreciate the teenage drama that is going on in the book. Things like the prank war between the football team and the cheerleading squad or the 'jokes' Georgia made really had me rolling my eyes.

Besides that, I did enjoy the book and the story. I found it very interesting, and heart wrenching, to see the world through a transgender boy's eyes. I really liked Pony as a character too. Lets just not talk about his name though... I also sobbed my eyes out ofc. I agree with all the reviews saying this book should come with trigger warnings. Please look those up if you have any triggers before you read this book.

I definitely recommend this book for the transgender POV and learning more about that. And if you're a younger reader, you might also enjoy the whole story around that too.

Something that annoyed me very much was Pony's friend Max. I understand him wanting Pony to be out and proud and wanting him to be an advocate. But as someone who’s gone through the same process and is also a receiver of transphobia and harassment, you’d think he’d have more of an understanding towards Pony’s hesitation to be out and would kindly nudge him in the right direction while respecting his choices and his personal timeline, instead of actually putting an ultimatum on their friendship.

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