A review by elsieols
Stone Butch Blues by Leslie Feinberg

challenging dark emotional hopeful informative inspiring reflective sad fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

5.0

I was going to say that every queer person needs to read this book, but, actually, EVERYONE needs to read it. We need to read it, our allies need to read it, and even the people who hate us need to read it. This book tackles so many difficult issues in living as a queer person that so many shy away from, like the idea of a sympathetic protagonist being bigoted and growing out of it, like the complications of passing and the evolution of queer identity, like the way that the queer community itself can shut some of us out. One must not read only what they find relatable to themselves, but even so, I found myself in a few of the pages and dear friends of mine in even more. The tragedy, trauma, and injustice is balanced perfectly with hope, action, and perseverance, and it makes this book an incredible work of queer literature.