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constant_reader's review
emotional
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.75
lsparrow's review against another edition
3.0
a YA trans coming out story. works hard to stay away from happily ever after or "they died a terrible death alone" extremes. took me forever to finish this because first I had to return it to the library and then it took me forever to take it out again.
kotareadsbooks's review
challenging
emotional
reflective
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
When high school lesbian thespian Dean is cast as Romeo in the fall play, Dean is sure the director either made a mistake or knows something he couldn’t possibly about Dean. And that’s that Dean is pretty sure he’s a trans guy. But there’s no way - Dean is out as a lesbian, with a lesbian girlfriend, Zoe, who loves “her” just the way “she” is. As Dean gets into the character, though, he starts to confront his feelings about being a guy and all the stresses of senior year. College, first love, coming out, and gender dysphoria all seem to snowball because of Romeo and Juliet. Good job, Mr. H.
If you want a lot of angst and emotion in a trans book, this is the one for you. Dean is Going Through It. Poor dude. But there’s a lot of eye opening experiences that he gets as a trans kid and it’s really great to see. I do think Zoe gets a bad rep in this - it’s over the course of a single semester, and not everyone can wrap their heads around so many changes that really did come out of the blue - but ultimately I think the book wraps up nicely and I think that’s great. Everything happens a bit fast for me personally, but that’s okay. Overall it’s a good coming of age and gender book. Very emotionally heavy. There’s also quite a bit of lesbo and trans phobia in it so be warned if that’s triggering for you.
If you want a lot of angst and emotion in a trans book, this is the one for you. Dean is Going Through It. Poor dude. But there’s a lot of eye opening experiences that he gets as a trans kid and it’s really great to see. I do think Zoe gets a bad rep in this - it’s over the course of a single semester, and not everyone can wrap their heads around so many changes that really did come out of the blue - but ultimately I think the book wraps up nicely and I think that’s great. Everything happens a bit fast for me personally, but that’s okay. Overall it’s a good coming of age and gender book. Very emotionally heavy. There’s also quite a bit of lesbo and trans phobia in it so be warned if that’s triggering for you.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Transphobia, Hate crime, and Lesbophobia
notblue's review against another edition
4.0
Read it as an audiobook.
I really enjoyed the characters in this book. Except for Blake. All my homies hate Blake.
4/5
I really enjoyed the characters in this book. Except for Blake. All my homies hate Blake.
4/5
gogurt's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
3.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: Dysphoria, Transphobia, and Hate crime
nettles's review against another edition
3.0
Edit: After thinking about this book for a few days, I’m changing my rating to three stars.
I was bothered by the writing. I’m not a fan of first person present tense for novels. It draws attention to itself and creates an urgency that usually isn’t sustainable for the length of a book, especially a slice of life story like this. There’s also a temptation for the author to include details that aren’t important to the story, to keep up with the flow from moment-to-moment which happens consistently in this book.
Also, all the characters seem to revolve around Dean, specifically how each responds to his identity.
The first half of this book is slow, but it all comes together in the second half. Dean’s growth as a person is satisfying to read, especially any time when he stands up for himself. Dean makes it clear that he just wants to be himself, and it’s not his job to make other people comfortable with that.
This book also has a lot of important information for transmascs who are starting to transition (such as not using tape as a binder).
I think it’s important to have informed lgbtq+ stories. Is this a perfect novel? No, but in the right hands it can make an important difference in someone’s life.
[ Now go read Felix Ever After if you haven’t already. nuance, complex characters, discussions of intersectionality, and gender euphoria. They don’t cover the same topics, so I didnt want to compare the two in my review despite reading them back to back ]
I was bothered by the writing. I’m not a fan of first person present tense for novels. It draws attention to itself and creates an urgency that usually isn’t sustainable for the length of a book, especially a slice of life story like this. There’s also a temptation for the author to include details that aren’t important to the story, to keep up with the flow from moment-to-moment which happens consistently in this book.
Also, all the characters seem to revolve around Dean, specifically how each responds to his identity.
The first half of this book is slow, but it all comes together in the second half. Dean’s growth as a person is satisfying to read, especially any time when he stands up for himself. Dean makes it clear that he just wants to be himself, and it’s not his job to make other people comfortable with that.
This book also has a lot of important information for transmascs who are starting to transition (such as not using tape as a binder).
I think it’s important to have informed lgbtq+ stories. Is this a perfect novel? No, but in the right hands it can make an important difference in someone’s life.
[ Now go read Felix Ever After if you haven’t already. nuance, complex characters, discussions of intersectionality, and gender euphoria. They don’t cover the same topics, so I didnt want to compare the two in my review despite reading them back to back ]
baroquecowboy's review
emotional
lighthearted
medium-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
2.5
i wanted to like this book so bad and a younger version of myself would’ve but i am at a point in my life where i am not the target audience for this book. really the only reason i finished this was to see how everything ended up.
to me the storyline felt rushed towards the end and some sections seemed to end abruptly. i also had a hard time connecting with the main character.
that being said, it has some emotional moments that hit a little close to home and did make me tear up. and i think a lot of trans people can probably relate to some of deans experiences.
to me the storyline felt rushed towards the end and some sections seemed to end abruptly. i also had a hard time connecting with the main character.
that being said, it has some emotional moments that hit a little close to home and did make me tear up. and i think a lot of trans people can probably relate to some of deans experiences.
ilopes18's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.5