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jugglingpup's review against another edition
4.0
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I got an ARC of this book.
There are AMAZING parts of this book. I am mostly going to focus on those, because they are so very, very important to me.
1. The main character, Jason, is NEVER misgendered in the book. The characters never slip-up, especially the ones that know. There is a point in the book where Jason’s birth name/dead name/”old name” comes up. Another character, not revealed who, is the one who corrects the issue.
2. Jason’s transition is only talked about when it matters. There is a scene where he talks about how being on the bus is difficult, because of the issues he used to face before he passed. There is talk about him binding and packing. There is talk about his hormones. His transition was not the point of the book. The plot was not JASON IS TRANS like so many cis authors would do.
3. The author is trans. YES! You can tell a drastic difference when a cis author and when a trans author write a trans character. It is like when a male author writes a female author and it makes you cringe. Not every cis author is terrible at it, but I have yet to read any trans character from a trans author that is as bad as a trans character from a cis author. One day, it won’t matter, but for now I am going to celebrate that more trans people are being published and it makes me feel safer reading a book. I did not expect to be triggered or anything else negative. I could focus on if I liked the book or not, instead of how terrible I was feeling.
4. There was NO and I repeat NO sexual assault or murder for the trans character. He had a hard life, but that was not because he was trans. Being trans was just one element of who he was. I am just so tired of the only plots available to trans characters being sexual assault or death.
5. Jason was Jason. He was not perfect. He skipped school. He lied occasionally. He had anger issues. He was a trans teen. He was real. He was not the stereotypical trans teen (though I have seen one other teen like him in media). He was not ideal. He also wan’t a harmful representation of trans youth. He wasn’t a bad guy. He wasn’t problematic. He was just him. He could grow up to be amazing or he could grow up to be terrible, but he was allowed to grow up.
6. The book is written in a way that I could get my kids (kids in the county jail that I teach sex ed to) to read it. They could identify with being in a group home. They could identify with the anger and the fights. They could identify with the police not being the most helpful when you need them. There is so much here that I could share with them. This would help take the pressure off of me as their, usually, only trans representation outside of a certain afternoon talk show.
I got an ARC of this book.
There are AMAZING parts of this book. I am mostly going to focus on those, because they are so very, very important to me.
1. The main character, Jason, is NEVER misgendered in the book. The characters never slip-up, especially the ones that know. There is a point in the book where Jason’s birth name/dead name/”old name” comes up. Another character, not revealed who, is the one who corrects the issue.
2. Jason’s transition is only talked about when it matters. There is a scene where he talks about how being on the bus is difficult, because of the issues he used to face before he passed. There is talk about him binding and packing. There is talk about his hormones. His transition was not the point of the book. The plot was not JASON IS TRANS like so many cis authors would do.
3. The author is trans. YES! You can tell a drastic difference when a cis author and when a trans author write a trans character. It is like when a male author writes a female author and it makes you cringe. Not every cis author is terrible at it, but I have yet to read any trans character from a trans author that is as bad as a trans character from a cis author. One day, it won’t matter, but for now I am going to celebrate that more trans people are being published and it makes me feel safer reading a book. I did not expect to be triggered or anything else negative. I could focus on if I liked the book or not, instead of how terrible I was feeling.
4. There was NO and I repeat NO sexual assault or murder for the trans character. He had a hard life, but that was not because he was trans. Being trans was just one element of who he was. I am just so tired of the only plots available to trans characters being sexual assault or death.
5. Jason was Jason. He was not perfect. He skipped school. He lied occasionally. He had anger issues. He was a trans teen. He was real. He was not the stereotypical trans teen (though I have seen one other teen like him in media). He was not ideal. He also wan’t a harmful representation of trans youth. He wasn’t a bad guy. He wasn’t problematic. He was just him. He could grow up to be amazing or he could grow up to be terrible, but he was allowed to grow up.
6. The book is written in a way that I could get my kids (kids in the county jail that I teach sex ed to) to read it. They could identify with being in a group home. They could identify with the anger and the fights. They could identify with the police not being the most helpful when you need them. There is so much here that I could share with them. This would help take the pressure off of me as their, usually, only trans representation outside of a certain afternoon talk show.
mangoes4jace's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
slimbooks's review against another edition
adventurous
reflective
fast-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
3.5
Short read but interesting. It made me think more about how trans people are trans their whole life and it's not a sudden mind change when you're 16 and realize that you want to change genders LOL. Actually relating to the story though it was nice to see a story about building relationships as someone who doesn't usually have friends. I kind of thought we lost the plot line for a second but it resolved itself pretty good
kokeb's review
like ten pages long to make up for the lack of compelling conflict. if the narration hated addicts any more, it would be a DARE ad.
book_butterfly's review
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
2.0
phantomxlegend's review against another edition
dark
emotional
hopeful
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0
bruisedtigers's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
emotional
hopeful
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.5
I wanted to be just a little more excited by this. The story is simple, straightforward and well written, but needed just a bit more tension in regards to the ending reveal. I did appreciate the characters and loved the boxing setting.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Drug use and Transphobia
peyton_'s review against another edition
4.0
Good book with an interesting story. It’s a little bit mystery and a little but finding yourself. It’s a high interest book and a quick read. The characters and well created and the plot moves along well. Good book for anyone who wants just a little taste.
broomesbooks's review against another edition
3.0
I was a bit disappointed with this one. I haven't found many books featuring trans-characters so when I find one, I dive right in. This was a short, quick read. The plot, was eh. I expected there to be more of a mystery aspect to this, but it kind of gets forgotten. What I did like was the fact that the author didn't shy away from the main character using a binder, navigating boxing, and coming out to friends.
If there had been more written, I think this could have been an excellent story.
If there had been more written, I think this could have been an excellent story.
hexthebookworm's review against another edition
3.0
First the positives. I love that this is a YA novella about a trans guy. I have only read trans girl stories for young people so this is a nice change. Similarly but to a lesser extent, I like that the sport of choice is boxing. Boxing is generally not written about in and of itself and there are a lot of great storytelling opportunities available with it, some of which McAdam takes advantage of. I also like the complex feelings on display about Jason's living situation. Group homes are better than nothing but that doesn't mean they always feel like home.
Now for my one concern. I really wish this was fleshed out more into a full length novel. I really wanted to see the bonds between the teens developed out more and I would have even liked Jason's relationship with X developed out a bit to make the twist at the end feel more like a betrayal.
Now for my one concern. I really wish this was fleshed out more into a full length novel. I really wanted to see the bonds between the teens developed out more and I would have even liked Jason's relationship with X developed out a bit to make the twist at the end feel more like a betrayal.