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4.12 AVERAGE
4.12 AVERAGE
Unlike anything I’ve read for a few reasons:
- I’ve not read anything regarding intersexuality before. Not because I wouldn’t but cos I’ve simply never seen a book on it before
- Usually mums are the better parent and the parents end up (back) together in the end. Not saying it’s only a good thing Karen was how she was cos she was a very disturbing character but on some level I liked it that she was the bad guy and not the father like you’d expect from how Golden Boy started
- In the very early pages of the book there’s description of a rape and it was super unpleasant and almost made me put down the book before it had properly started. I wish books would have trigger warnings in cases like this
I liked how different voices Max, Sylvie and Daniel had and how Max’s character changed and developed during the book. Apart from the rape scene itself I really liked Golden Boy and hope it helps the parents of intersex children and intersex people themselves. If not for anything else, then for representation. As mentioned, it’s the first book I’ve seen on the issue.
- I’ve not read anything regarding intersexuality before. Not because I wouldn’t but cos I’ve simply never seen a book on it before
- Usually mums are the better parent and the parents end up (back) together in the end. Not saying it’s only a good thing Karen was how she was cos she was a very disturbing character but on some level I liked it that she was the bad guy and not the father like you’d expect from how Golden Boy started
- In the very early pages of the book there’s description of a rape and it was super unpleasant and almost made me put down the book before it had properly started. I wish books would have trigger warnings in cases like this
I liked how different voices Max, Sylvie and Daniel had and how Max’s character changed and developed during the book. Apart from the rape scene itself I really liked Golden Boy and hope it helps the parents of intersex children and intersex people themselves. If not for anything else, then for representation. As mentioned, it’s the first book I’ve seen on the issue.
Good, but overwhelming. It definitely made me think and I got caught up in the characters, but A LOT happened to this poor kid. It was almost too much.
But definitely promising from a writer who is barely older than I am!
But definitely promising from a writer who is barely older than I am!
I really wanted to love this book this book in its entirety. It begins with an intense and painful scene that is at the center of the novel. While the book does a good job exploring some of the questions of intersexuality, it fizzles in terms of pacing and plot.
It's the beginning of the third month of the year and I'm already certain this book will be in the top books of the year for me. It was absolutely stunning and I couldn't get my mind off it. As soon as I got my brain off any other stimuli, the first thing I began thinking of was this book. All I wanted was to know what would happen next and I felt so in tune with the story all throughout the book! If there's a definition for five stars, then this book is it!
Now, if this book sounds interesting to you and you are thinking about picking it up, I just have to say this early on. There are triggers in this book and I feel obliged to warn people of them, if you don't have any kind of problems with triggering subjects I don't want to "spoil" anything for you so I will put the trigger subjects in to this next 'spoiler section' TRIGGER WARNING: Rape, suicide
Okay, now, back to the book.
At the beginning when I listened to this book I didn't really care for any other chapters than Max's since I wanted to read this book to know more about intersex people and he was the only character in the book with the condition. But then, all other characters began to grow on me and in the end I absolutely loved Daniel and Silvia, too!The mother I was still a bit iffy about since she made choices that wasn't hers to make! Max's little brother's (Daniel's) chapter was so freaking sweet and I found myself laughing and 'aw'-ing during them!
One of my favorite parts was when Max told Silvi about his intersexuality and the rape! She reacted so perfectly and I couldn't love her more for it! (And then I was sad when she freaked out about the pregnancy but I understood why she reacted as she had but I just had hoped she wouldn't!)
I use to defy amazing books by the level of feelings they evoke in me. If it's a good book I may feel something but if it is a great one it will hit most of my feelings, and this book was one of the later. As I said, I laughed in Daniel's chapters, I aw-ed several times during the story! I felt myself falling for Silvi just as Max was and even though I'm not intersex I found myself feeling the agony it brought Max sometimes. When Max attempted suicide, I could feel his desperate feelings seeping in to myself and I was so freaking anxious when we couldn't find out if he was alive or not right after his father had found him! I cried in the fear of him dying and I also cried at the end when he sat at the graveyard! I could also relate to his indecisiveness about his abortion even though I have never been put in that situation. I could understand him so deeply that it sometimes felt like we were the same person. In the beginning of the book when Hunter forced himself upon Max, I felt sick to my stomach with it and after it had happened, I shared Max's fear for his former best friend. This book managed to make me feel so much for the story and the characters in it and that is rare, at least on this level of connection.
This is the kind of book I will find myself recommending to people in the future. It's the type of book that I think many people would like without them even realizing they would. When I first heard of it, I never thought I would read it. It was only because I had read None of the above previously and that book had sparked an interest on the subject that I picked it up. I wasn't even that intrigued by the book even after knowing that it would be about this subject and I'm so thankful I picked it up! Sometimes you just go in to a book with no expectations and find yourself coming out at the end of it and putting it on your favorite shelf. I really want to bu ya physical copy of this book just so I can have it and look at it. I listened to it on audio book and even though I love the narrators of it, how it was cut wasn't that great. There wasn't a proper order to how they ended chapters, like sometimes they just started the next chapter directly after the last word of the previous one and sometimes they let five seconds pass (which is preferred). I will probably want to re-read this book in the future just because I loved it so much and when I do, I definitely want to read it and not listen to it.
If you aren't bothered by any kinds of triggers, I implore you to pick this book up! It may not sound interesting but I promise you that you will not regret reading it!
Perfection.
Now, if this book sounds interesting to you and you are thinking about picking it up, I just have to say this early on. There are triggers in this book and I feel obliged to warn people of them, if you don't have any kind of problems with triggering subjects I don't want to "spoil" anything for you so I will put the trigger subjects in to this next 'spoiler section' TRIGGER WARNING:
Okay, now, back to the book.
At the beginning when I listened to this book I didn't really care for any other chapters than Max's since I wanted to read this book to know more about intersex people and he was the only character in the book with the condition. But then, all other characters began to grow on me and in the end I absolutely loved Daniel and Silvia, too!
One of my favorite parts was when Max told
I use to defy amazing books by the level of feelings they evoke in me. If it's a good book I may feel something but if it is a great one it will hit most of my feelings, and this book was one of the later. As I said, I laughed in Daniel's chapters, I aw-ed several times during the story! I felt myself falling for Silvi just as Max was and even though I'm not intersex I found myself feeling the agony it brought Max sometimes.
This is the kind of book I will find myself recommending to people in the future. It's the type of book that I think many people would like without them even realizing they would. When I first heard of it, I never thought I would read it. It was only because I had read None of the above previously and that book had sparked an interest on the subject that I picked it up. I wasn't even that intrigued by the book even after knowing that it would be about this subject and I'm so thankful I picked it up! Sometimes you just go in to a book with no expectations and find yourself coming out at the end of it and putting it on your favorite shelf. I really want to bu ya physical copy of this book just so I can have it and look at it. I listened to it on audio book and even though I love the narrators of it, how it was cut wasn't that great. There wasn't a proper order to how they ended chapters, like sometimes they just started the next chapter directly after the last word of the previous one and sometimes they let five seconds pass (which is preferred). I will probably want to re-read this book in the future just because I loved it so much and when I do, I definitely want to read it and not listen to it.
If you aren't bothered by any kinds of triggers, I implore you to pick this book up! It may not sound interesting but I promise you that you will not regret reading it!
Perfection.
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
dark
emotional
reflective
sad
fast-paced
3.5*
The themes in this book were amazing and need to be talked about more. The way that the author went about these themes again I liked and found it informative.
However the characters just fell so flat for me. I struggled through the book because I just wasn't enjoying any of the characters. Max was alright and his character was the most developed, for obvious reasons, but the others were bland and I didn't enjoy any of them.
The family aspects were realistic and I loved that about it but I just can't find it in me to give this any higher a rating. I was so excited to pick this one up after the rave reviews I had been seeing on it but it just wasn't what I wanted. Character development is just to big of a factor for me when enjoying a book.
The themes in this book were amazing and need to be talked about more. The way that the author went about these themes again I liked and found it informative.
However the characters just fell so flat for me. I struggled through the book because I just wasn't enjoying any of the characters. Max was alright and his character was the most developed, for obvious reasons, but the others were bland and I didn't enjoy any of them.
The family aspects were realistic and I loved that about it but I just can't find it in me to give this any higher a rating. I was so excited to pick this one up after the rave reviews I had been seeing on it but it just wasn't what I wanted. Character development is just to big of a factor for me when enjoying a book.
challenging
reflective
sad
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
I loved everything about this book. It is so full of wisdom it's ridiculous. This book is about identity and how gender doesn't define nor limit you. It's about finding your inner voice and being brave enough to voice it. It deals with choices and how we need to stand up for ourselves and make our own. It's also about being a teenager and being confused about who we are and who we should be. I loved Max. He is such a decent and nice guy. I love nice people.
This book broke my heart. I've learned so much already through it. I feel like it has opened my mind a little more. I loved Daniel, Max's little brother. He is so pragmatic and brutally honest. I loved how for him Max was not a boy nor a girl. He was just Max, his big brother, his hero. I loved Steve too. Everyone assumes he is conservative and narrow minded because he is in politics. But he was supportive and wanted Max to be himself from the start. I hated Karen at times but we get how where is coming from. She was scared for her child because she knew how society pressure people into fitting in proper boxes.
The writing was so addictive and I felt that the storyline was so well constructed. You feel the tension building up and when everything gets so overwhelming you know something bad is about too happen. I had to put the book down so many times. It was intense, gripping, emotional and so memorable.
One thing bothered me though. Because of this book I've run out of sticky notes and honestly those were supposed to last me at least a month. But other than that, this book deserves all the love and support. HIGLY RECOMMEND.
(trigger warning : this book deals with rape (very graphic scene )
This book broke my heart. I've learned so much already through it. I feel like it has opened my mind a little more. I loved Daniel, Max's little brother. He is so pragmatic and brutally honest. I loved how for him Max was not a boy nor a girl. He was just Max, his big brother, his hero. I loved Steve too. Everyone assumes he is conservative and narrow minded because he is in politics. But he was supportive and wanted Max to be himself from the start. I hated Karen at times but we get how where is coming from. She was scared for her child because she knew how society pressure people into fitting in proper boxes.
The writing was so addictive and I felt that the storyline was so well constructed. You feel the tension building up and when everything gets so overwhelming you know something bad is about too happen. I had to put the book down so many times. It was intense, gripping, emotional and so memorable.
One thing bothered me though. Because of this book I've run out of sticky notes and honestly those were supposed to last me at least a month. But other than that, this book deserves all the love and support. HIGLY RECOMMEND.
(trigger warning : this book deals with rape (very graphic scene )
This book explores parenting and intersex experience incredibly well, it’s riveting and you won’t be able to put it down. However, since it revolves around the victim of a sexual assault, it may be more emotionally triggering than other books that contain this, so be very ready.