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zluke's review against another edition
emotional
sad
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.0
This was pretty bad overall. It reads like a parent's view of the struggles of being a teenager. I don't think it really captures what it feels like to be a queer teenager and it's just another story of abuse directed toward queer people.
I'm glad that the ending didn't 'forgive' Alex's mother entirely but on the other hand just painting her as 'mental' is not good either. She's a massive bigot throughout the book and engages in classic abusive & narcissistic behaviour. There doesn't seem to be any consequences for her actions and her forum posts make it seem like the reader is intended to sympathise with her at least a little. The posts were very accurate and almost too realistic though - exactly how some abusive parents write about their kids on the Internet.
I would have liked to see Alex gain more support from her father or possibly other family members throughout the book. The only person who seems supportive of Alex is Crockett and they are the only people who actually have real conversations. He seems to be the only one who even tries to understand Alex so that relationship is one redeeming aspect.
There being two Alex's was pretty confusing and a lot of the narration is jumbled because of this. It didn't read like a trans/intersex person talking about their identity and it didn't match up with Alex's very clear identification as a girl. She clearly identifies as a girl so it's very unlikely that she would be talking to herself as a boy.
I'd suggest giving this one a miss and I'll be looking out for better stories about intersex people.
I'm glad that the ending didn't 'forgive' Alex's mother entirely but on the other hand just painting her as 'mental' is not good either. She's a massive bigot throughout the book and engages in classic abusive & narcissistic behaviour. There doesn't seem to be any consequences for her actions and her forum posts make it seem like the reader is intended to sympathise with her at least a little. The posts were very accurate and almost too realistic though - exactly how some abusive parents write about their kids on the Internet.
I would have liked to see Alex gain more support from her father or possibly other family members throughout the book. The only person who seems supportive of Alex is Crockett and they are the only people who actually have real conversations. He seems to be the only one who even tries to understand Alex so that relationship is one redeeming aspect.
There being two Alex's was pretty confusing and a lot of the narration is jumbled because of this. It didn't read like a trans/intersex person talking about their identity and it didn't match up with Alex's very clear identification as a girl. She clearly identifies as a girl so it's very unlikely that she would be talking to herself as a boy.
I'd suggest giving this one a miss and I'll be looking out for better stories about intersex people.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child abuse, Emotional abuse, Homophobia, and Transphobia
Moderate: Physical abuse
akir's review against another edition
emotional
lighthearted
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.75
Content Warnings
Moderate: Dysphoria, Toxic relationship, and Homophobia
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