A review by paydendyer
Stay Gold by Tobly McSmith

medium-paced
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? No

2.5

Wish I would've read the other reviews before reading this. It started out good but had quite a lot of triggering things, especially for it being a YA novel. The ending felt very rushed, and the hate crime towards the end was alarming and graphic. I didn't like how the book focused so much on Pony not being out, and how everyone around him pressured him to be out. I think the author was maybe attempting to make a point of why it's not always safe for trans people to be out with the scene towards the end, but it just felt like a terrible way to do that. I don't like the idea that trans people have to be educating other people- some people choose to but nobody should have to. I didn't like Georgia's character and I definitely didn't like how it took Pony being hate crimed to make her want to be with him. Also the dad's words were very triggering as well. Realistic I guess, but just not the type of trans media I was searching for.
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