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sglance9's review
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
Graphic: Homophobia, Bullying, Transphobia, Outing, Deadnaming, and Dysphoria
Minor: Suicide
galiotooo's review against another edition
Moderate: Homophobia
bookishmillennial's review against another edition
- 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
This was a lovely debut!!!!
Although I wanted to throw hands for my precious baby Dean at times, I felt that Ray wrote a tender and moving coming out story for Dean.
What I loved most was that even though some characters got it wrong or fumbled pronouns at times, Ray wrote compassion and determination into almost all of them. They all wanted to do better and to try for Dean.
I especially appreciated Dean’s theatre teacher, saying “I’m not experienced with this but how can I be here for you? How can I help?” Often, when we (humans) are presented with something new, we get anxious, fearful and defensive…. and unfortunately, we will often respond accordingly. However, for Dean’s teacher to not only acknowledge his own shortcomings in not being well-versed in the trans experience, he had the capacity to pause and ask what he could do for his student. He didn’t center himself or his own insecurities; he directly asked a student who felt safe enough to share with him how he could support them. I know this seems so small, but it was a powerful moment for me as an educator.
So grateful for this book and I highly recommend it!
Graphic: Homophobia, Deadnaming, Outing, Bullying, Violence, and Transphobia
lesbianelvira's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
3.5
Graphic: Hate crime
Moderate: Dysphoria and Transphobia
Minor: Outing, Homophobia, Suicide, and Deadnaming
yelloweyedbeta's review against another edition
3.75
“Queer and trans people everywhere: You are an endless source of wisdom, motivation, inspiration, imagination, innovation, beau-ty, joy, and resilience for me. Were here, and were not going any-where.”
Graphic: Transphobia, Bullying, and Violence
Moderate: Homophobia, Suicide, and Deadnaming
thebookpaiges's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.0
Graphic: Outing, Transphobia, Dysphoria, and Deadnaming
Moderate: Gaslighting and Homophobia
Minor: Lesbophobia
ivan_levitt's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0
Graphic: Dysphoria and Transphobia
Moderate: Homophobia, Outing, and Deadnaming
Minor: Violence
khakipantsofsex's review against another edition
4.0
Graphic: Transphobia, Dysphoria, and Bullying
Moderate: Homophobia, Hate crime, and Outing
Minor: Suicide
sopesock's review against another edition
4.5
"Between perfect and real" follows dean as he comes out as trans during his last year of high school.
so far i've only read books with trans characters who were already out, so this was a new perspective.
as a cis (?) person (????? as a person who is not currently considering correcting people assuming i am cis? ) it's difficult to imagine JUST how hard that entire process of coming out is. that phase when not everyone knows yet, someone taking your choice to come out away from you, and having to deal with cis grief all while managing transphobia and dysphoria - these were all themes stoeve depicted very well.
i think this book is so important and informative in that way.
considering the fact the book does and has to touch onto some potentially triggering topics (see cw's), i want to say well done to how the author executed this.
dean going by that name even before he was out was a smart way to avoid dropping his deadname.
(i'm thinking of the melissa/george debacle -- as a bookseller it really gets you in a tricky situation when the character is consistently deadnamed throughout a book because that makes recommending it extremely difficult and confusing; also and more importantly it might make it seem like an okay thing to do to uninformed readers)
it is just completely irrelevant to the reader to know the mc's deadname, so i was glad it was never mentioned.
in general there was just a good balance between depicting trans- and homophobia realistically without it being too violent or triggering.
plot-wise -- i liked that not everything works out for him and romance was not the end goal. i'm having a hard time reviewing this, but the point is i enjoyed it, even if it wasn't a five star read as i did have some problems with how zoe's and dean's relationship was written.
((((slight spoilers from here)))
it was basically clear from the beginning that things wouldn't work out between them, but i was so confused at times bc there were so many little moments of support from zoe that seemed very genuine only for her to suddenly make problematic comments out of the blue. i felt like it wasn't in character, or that her character just wasn't well thought out. the way we got to know her in the beginning, i would have expected her to talk openly about her concerns with dean's transition, not suddenly be bitchy about it. i guess i was a little disappointed in how all that was executed.
so i really can't give five stars.
nevertheless i will be recommending this --
it's as much a book for the community as it is from the community to people looking to understand what it means to be trans.
Moderate: Deadnaming, Transphobia, Dysphoria, Outing, Homophobia, and Bullying
kait_sixcrowsbooks's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Between Perfect and Real is a book I wish I could’ve had when I was in high school. Granted, I didn’t know I was genderqueer until I was 21 and starting grad school, but I think it may have helped me to at least explore that part of myself a little earlier. The way Dean relates to his transness isn’t the same as mine, but we have some similarities, and frankly it felt a bit validating to see a character in high school share that bit of myself.
And on top of that, I like how Dean was never framed as a perfect character. He’s a high schooler realizing he’s trans and wanting to transition, but not knowing how. He has a girlfriend, he’s trying to get into college, and he’s living with a parent who is trying to shove him into a pre-approved box regardless if that’s what he wants to do. He makes mistakes, but he tries to make the best out of everything. I dunno if I’m framing this well, I just think he’s a well-written character.
But…yeah, this was a wonderful book. I loved the characters, the plot, the themes. It was all great, and I can see a lot of trans kids relating to Dean.
Moderate: Homophobia and Transphobia
Minor: Suicide
Transphobia includes misgendering, deadnaming (the name isn’t stated on page), and general transphobic ideas Suicide includes the mention of a trans woman dying by suicide