A review by mxbluet18
Being Jazz: My Life as a (Transgender) Teen by Jazz Jennings
hopeful
informative
inspiring
medium-paced
Trigger warnings for Being Jazz include: suicide, mental illness, and transphobia.
☆
☆
I don't think it's right to rate a book that is so personal and is an autobiography of someone's life and trauma.
~
There were a couple of aspects of things that were detailed in the book that I related to, which isn't really what you want in a nonfiction, especially when the topics being written about are traumatic events, mental illness and statistics around transgender people and suicide and self harm.
~
Every time the statistics around suicide and self harm were mentioned, I felt something. It wasn't a feeling of discomfort, but I'm also not totally sure what it was. In fiction I find that reading about those same topics doesn't typically affect me, but when it's nonfiction, and talking about real, living people, it's different. And I guess, when it's a statistic you are a part of, it makes it a little more challenging to read about I suppose.
~
It was insightful to read about Jazz's early life, the way she figured out she was transgender, and then consequently how she went about telling her family about it too. It also felt a little bittersweet, as I'm sure it would be for many trans people, to hear how her family was and is very accepting of who Jazz is, and how she was able to socially and medically transition at the age she did. For me certainly it felt bittersweet because while I'm happy for her, and I'm glad she was able to access the gender affirming care she felt necessary for her at the age she did, I know that that isn't possible for me, which makes me feel some things. Anyway, a slightly more personal review for this book.
☆
☆
I don't think it's right to rate a book that is so personal and is an autobiography of someone's life and trauma.
~
There were a couple of aspects of things that were detailed in the book that I related to, which isn't really what you want in a nonfiction, especially when the topics being written about are traumatic events, mental illness and statistics around transgender people and suicide and self harm.
~
Every time the statistics around suicide and self harm were mentioned, I felt something. It wasn't a feeling of discomfort, but I'm also not totally sure what it was. In fiction I find that reading about those same topics doesn't typically affect me, but when it's nonfiction, and talking about real, living people, it's different. And I guess, when it's a statistic you are a part of, it makes it a little more challenging to read about I suppose.
~
It was insightful to read about Jazz's early life, the way she figured out she was transgender, and then consequently how she went about telling her family about it too. It also felt a little bittersweet, as I'm sure it would be for many trans people, to hear how her family was and is very accepting of who Jazz is, and how she was able to socially and medically transition at the age she did. For me certainly it felt bittersweet because while I'm happy for her, and I'm glad she was able to access the gender affirming care she felt necessary for her at the age she did, I know that that isn't possible for me, which makes me feel some things. Anyway, a slightly more personal review for this book.