A review by kaarna
The Other Me by Suzanne van Rooyen
3.0
I have really contradictory feelings about this novel. On one hand, it felt way too long, but on the other, I thought it didn't get to the point until the very end. Reading from the back cover that one of the main characters "wants to be a boy" (I'm quoting because it's a problematic phrase, but it's the one the character/author used), and having been recommended this book as a YA novel with a trans main character, the huge plot twist wasn't really a plot twist at all, and that was a bit disappointing.
I'm wondering to what kind of reader is this book intended to. If you pick out the clues about the character's gender identity early, there is really no point to the story. If you don't pick them up, do you have enough knowledge on trans issues to feel like the story is complete? Doesn't it really leave everything hanging in the air?
I understand the need/want to write a book about someone who hasn't yet figured out their gender identity, and who does so during the book. That's an important point and very welcome to the genre, I think. (From my experience, most YA books with a trans main character go along the lines "I've always know and now I've decided to come out") But still, the story felt inconsistent. There wasn't much text/talk/pondering about gender or gender identity or expression. Of course the typical, "I don't want to wear a dress" type of speech was present, but it felt like the book was built on one metaphor (feeling like an alien because you're trans), and that's how far it got. Nothing to relate to, and the moment when Tristan realized they are trans, is just skipped over and left as "something huge to be revealed later".
I was a bit disappointed, and I'm giving the novel three stars mainly for the effort.
I'm wondering to what kind of reader is this book intended to. If you pick out the clues about the character's gender identity early, there is really no point to the story. If you don't pick them up, do you have enough knowledge on trans issues to feel like the story is complete? Doesn't it really leave everything hanging in the air?
I understand the need/want to write a book about someone who hasn't yet figured out their gender identity, and who does so during the book. That's an important point and very welcome to the genre, I think. (From my experience, most YA books with a trans main character go along the lines "I've always know and now I've decided to come out") But still, the story felt inconsistent. There wasn't much text/talk/pondering about gender or gender identity or expression. Of course the typical, "I don't want to wear a dress" type of speech was present, but it felt like the book was built on one metaphor (feeling like an alien because you're trans), and that's how far it got. Nothing to relate to, and the moment when Tristan realized they are trans, is just skipped over and left as "something huge to be revealed later".
I was a bit disappointed, and I'm giving the novel three stars mainly for the effort.