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A review by eeriewater
Stay Gold by Tobly McSmith
emotional
hopeful
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
4.5
I entered into reading this book prepared for it to be a decent read but not anything special. Fair to say it exceeded my expectations. The dual POV made me connect with, and understand the characters reasonings, even when I disagreed with their decisions.
In my opinion stay gold had the perfect balance of angst, love and wholesomeness.
The only thing I kind of disliked in this book is more about my personal preference and less about it actually being a bad thing. I did feel like this book, which is about a trans man, was mainly written for cishet people with little to none experience with LGBTQ+ people. At times the description of gender dysphoria, surgeries and other trans issues felt a bit too educational for my taste, but for someone who aren't educated on these topics before reading the book, this can be a positive thing.
LGBTQ+ rep: FtM main character, FtM side character (minor), other minor characters of varying sexualities and gender identities
I'm going to miss Pony a lot now that the book is over, and I truly wish there'd be a sequel where we could see him getting the money necessary for his top surgery and actually going through with it. I'd also love to see how Georgia slowly but surely becomes more comfortable being herself
In my opinion stay gold had the perfect balance of angst, love and wholesomeness.
The only thing I kind of disliked in this book is more about my personal preference and less about it actually being a bad thing. I did feel like this book, which is about a trans man, was mainly written for cishet people with little to none experience with LGBTQ+ people. At times the description of gender dysphoria, surgeries and other trans issues felt a bit too educational for my taste, but for someone who aren't educated on these topics before reading the book, this can be a positive thing.
LGBTQ+ rep: FtM main character, FtM side character (minor), other minor characters of varying sexualities and gender identities
Content Warnings
Graphic: Hate crime, Homophobia, and Transphobia
Moderate: Homophobia, Suicidal thoughts, Transphobia, Lesbophobia, Sexual harassment, and Dysphoria
Minor: Child abuse, Deadnaming, Homophobia, Sexual assault, Suicidal thoughts, Transphobia, Violence, Lesbophobia, and Sexual harassment