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chemreader's review against another edition
challenging
informative
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
2.75
So many characters, plot lines and topics that are touched upon and then just dropped like a hot potato without ever being resolved or treated with the required depth. Additionally, the ending should have just been open in my opinion for the readers to make up their minds and challenge their own biases as the characters have to.
I also now know way more about bees and beekeeping than I ever imagined. However, the purpose of all this information for the book is still not clear to me. At best, the bees served as a blunt metaphor for the unfolding plot, but in most cases it did nothing for the story since everything was spelled out anyway. If everything bee related was deleted from the book, it would be at least 100 pages shorter and neither plot nor character development would suffer.
Lastly, this would have been a dnf for me, but am reading for a book club, so had to push through.
I also now know way more about bees and beekeeping than I ever imagined. However, the purpose of all this information for the book is still not clear to me. At best, the bees served as a blunt metaphor for the unfolding plot, but in most cases it did nothing for the story since everything was spelled out anyway. If everything bee related was deleted from the book, it would be at least 100 pages shorter and neither plot nor character development would suffer.
Lastly, this would have been a dnf for me, but am reading for a book club, so had to push through.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Domestic abuse, Suicidal thoughts, Transphobia, Violence, Suicide attempt, and Gaslighting
Moderate: Bullying, Abortion, Alcohol, and Sexual harassment
Minor: Body shaming, Physical abuse, and Toxic friendship
lupitaestela's review against another edition
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Physical abuse, Toxic relationship, Transphobia, Suicide attempt, Murder, and Outing
Moderate: Bullying, Child abuse, Misogyny, and Medical content
Minor: Abortion
notsocal's review against another edition
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Domestic abuse, Suicide, Transphobia, Violence, and Suicide attempt
alisonswing's review against another edition
emotional
informative
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: Domestic abuse, Suicide, Transphobia, Suicide attempt, and Murder
Moderate: Bullying, Child death, Deadnaming, Death, Misogyny, Gaslighting, and Dysphoria
kaitmorrison's review against another edition
emotional
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? Yes
5.0
Not only touched on so many important topics but was also so gripping and well written I could not put it down. I wasn’t the biggest fan of the twist at the end but not to the point that it took away from how much I loved this book over all. The two perspectives running alongside each other set at different times in the story kept the suspense of not knowing the truth and added so much to the atmosphere I just. Loved
Content Warnings
Graphic: Physical abuse and Suicide attempt
onlinesah's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
informative
inspiring
reflective
sad
tense
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
Content Warnings
Moderate: Domestic abuse, Transphobia, and Suicide attempt
samstopher's review against another edition
emotional
reflective
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual assault and Transphobia
Moderate: Self harm and Suicide attempt
norahc's review against another edition
emotional
mysterious
sad
slow-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
3.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Domestic abuse, Self harm, Transphobia, Grief, and Suicide attempt
Minor: Medical content and Abortion
sarahbeebe81's review against another edition
emotional
informative
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- 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
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Domestic abuse, Self harm, Transphobia, Grief, and Suicide attempt
Moderate: Deadnaming
electricjuicebox's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
informative
mysterious
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
I found myself very absorbed in this book and was excited to see where the story went. I opened it without knowing much about the story, so there were a few plot twists that really got me. I wouldn't have said I was a fan of courtroom dramas, but a large chunk of the plot takes place around a murder trial and I had a great time reading it. This made me want to look into some if Picoult's other works.
I think this is an important book! It felt very thoughtfully crafted, and I think it has the potential to be very educational about transgender people in America and the issues they face. Like, I can see someone's middle-aged mom who isn't openly transphobic but doesn't know any trans people and hears negative rhetoric from like, social media or fox news or whatever picking this up for a book club read and learning a lot, and hopefully developing some empathy. The downside of this is that there is a TON of exposition and sections that just serve to explain things to the reader (not just about trans people! about criminal law! and also bees!), and it causes the pace to drag at certain times. I don't feel I was the ideal target audience because I already knew most of this stuff, but I understand why the book includes so much informational content and I respect it. I should add that I'm a cis woman and absolutely not the definitive judge on Good Trans Lit.
I love that this was a collaborative work between the two authors and enjoyed learning about their writing process in the authors' notes after the book.
It seems like every chapter ends with a long reflection about bees that, uh, teaches you some bee facts, but may or may not be essential to the story, depending on your viewpoint. I do feel that the bee content could have been removed without impacting the meat of the story too much, but then again it's supposed to be a big theme throughout, and without it Liv would be a much flatter character. My book club was really torn on whether the bee facts were a fun addition or completely boring and unnecessary.
I think this is an important book! It felt very thoughtfully crafted, and I think it has the potential to be very educational about transgender people in America and the issues they face. Like, I can see someone's middle-aged mom who isn't openly transphobic but doesn't know any trans people and hears negative rhetoric from like, social media or fox news or whatever picking this up for a book club read and learning a lot, and hopefully developing some empathy. The downside of this is that there is a TON of exposition and sections that just serve to explain things to the reader (not just about trans people! about criminal law! and also bees!), and it causes the pace to drag at certain times. I don't feel I was the ideal target audience because I already knew most of this stuff, but I understand why the book includes so much informational content and I respect it. I should add that I'm a cis woman and absolutely not the definitive judge on Good Trans Lit.
I love that this was a collaborative work between the two authors and enjoyed learning about their writing process in the authors' notes after the book.
It seems like every chapter ends with a long reflection about bees that, uh, teaches you some bee facts, but may or may not be essential to the story, depending on your viewpoint. I do feel that the bee content could have been removed without impacting the meat of the story too much, but then again it's supposed to be a big theme throughout, and without it Liv would be a much flatter character. My book club was really torn on whether the bee facts were a fun addition or completely boring and unnecessary.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Transphobia
Moderate: Self harm and Suicide attempt