Reviews with content warning for Misogyny - Stay Gold

Reviews tagging 'Misogyny'

Stay Gold by Tobly McSmith

8 reviews

readingwithkaitlyn's review against another edition

Go to review page

challenging fast-paced

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

3.0

Content Warnings

lixard's review against another edition

Go to review page

challenging dark lighthearted medium-paced

Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

1.5

advertised as a romantic ya story between trans boy and a cis girl of different parts of the hs hierarchy......... what we got was much darker and more traumatic than promised
i am not trans so i redirect you to check out some ownvoices reviewers but after reading/watching other such reviews,, i am better able to catch the unaddressed misogyny, (internalized and external) transphobia, and how the characters never seemed to grow out of that mindset or properly apologize for their actions and words
it felt like that era of fanfiction that wrote super traumatic whump for the angst that you would read and cry to, which is valid in its own way, but definitely not forewarned, which seems problematic, esp. when targeted towards young (trans) audiences
extra 0.5 stars because their flirty banter was nerdy and fun and made me chuckle and the writing (audiobook) was able to wring some tears from my eyes; the rest of the banter was a little far on what "teen-speak" is, though based on my old croon's 4 year old memory of high school

Content Warnings

rayne_1906's review against another edition

Go to review page

challenging dark medium-paced

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

2.0

Audiobook - 6 hours 12 minutes - I have a lot of issues with this book. I think there were bad messages and representation present in the book. On the surface, the plot is fine. It's very cliched, and predictable and convenient, but not bad. Just not particularly good. I found the characters very shallow and boring. I couldn't really tell you anything about the main characters. Pony doesn't really seem to have many personality traits other than 'trans' and 'obsessed with girl he just met'. While being trans can be a massive part of someone's life, it isn't the only part, and I think this just made the character feel two-dimensional and hard to connect with. He just never felt like a real person. Georgia felt a little 'not like other girls'. She wasn't a huge offender, not compared to some main characters in other books, but it still felt like she was 'special' for having a personality outside of cheerleading. She was also very shallow at times, and this didn't make her very likeable at all.
However, there are parts of this book that just really don't sit right with me. For one, the message being conveyed seems to be 'if you aren't openly trans, you are not a good person'. While the opposite is touched upon, the overarching theme is that the main character is a better person once he starts becoming an 'activist'. Activism is obviously important, but I think its wrong to assume a trans person must actively be 'helping' the community to have worth. Trans people should be allowed to exist just as they want to. Being openly trans is obviously what some people want, but the expectation that this applies to all trans people just isn't accurate.
Overall, this book, on surface-level, wasn't objectively bad, but I think it contained messages and themes that weren't particularly good.

Content Warnings

indianagranger's review

Go to review page

I was very annoyed with Pony’s toxic masculinity and internalized homophobia and misogyny. I hadn’t been enjoying his chapters for a while. I was also getting anxious about all the hinting about what happened to Georgia without anyone saying what it was.

the thing that drew the line in the sand was how Georgia responded to Pony coming out. It felt out of character and like it was just there to cause problems between them and make them both bad people so they are on even ground.

. Basically this book was not what I hoped it would be based on how it was presented and I was worried about getting triggered constantly.

Content Warnings

ashheinrich's review

Go to review page

dark tense slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

1.0

This was extremely frustrating to read. Everything was so misogynistic and the message was basically queer and trans people will suffer until they come out, at which time the suffering will escalate. Being trans was also compared to being a secret writer lmfao

Content Warnings

ilbther's review

Go to review page

challenging dark emotional sad tense

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

2.5

Content Warnings

nonbinaryreading's review

Go to review page

2.0

Content Warnings

atticusbinch's review

Go to review page

medium-paced

Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

2.0

I was initially draw to Stay Gold bc of its title and the main character Pony’s name, which drew obvious inspiration from the Outsiders, a book I loved when I read it for school. I didn’t really know what this book was about bc I was wanted to be surprised when I read it. But, boy was I surprised.

Pony is a white trans boy who has decided to go stealth at his new school. There, he begins to fall in love with a cheerleader named Georgia, who has her own set of issues to work out. Pony has decided to go stealth for not only his own safety and peace of mind, but to be generally viewed as just another insignificant ‘normal’ guy. However, in wanting this, Pony falls into the trap of accidentally compromising some of his morals and falling prey moments of toxic masculinity, such as allowing homophobic and transphobic jokes to be said unchecked in his new friend group. One begins to wonders if Pony’s desire to omit his gender identity from the conversation is rooted in shame or the fact that he is one degree away from privilege, Pony is white and straight. Assimilating to this typical behavior from cishet white men appears to be easier for Pony, but others in his position, maybe not so much. There are several interesting conversations to be had about this book, but I find the most interesting one is the argument between Pony and his best friend, Max: should Pony disclose that he is trans to his love interest and school, or should he remain stealth and try to further assimilate? To me, this conversation was frustrating bc I could clearly see both side. Pony should not have to disclose any information about himself at the expense of his safety and peace of mind. This is his life and if that’s how he wants to live it for his last year in high-school, then so be it, it’s his choice and no one can take it away from him. On the other hand, in Pony not disclosing his identity to the ‘public’ and wanting to blend in, he has opted to not share petitions for local trans causes and is not making an effort to connect with his community like he has prior. I find myself down the middle with these two perspectives. Pony shouldn’t have to tell everyone he’s trans if he doesn’t want to, bc again it’s his choice, but that doesn’t mean he can’t be an ally when his friends and community need him most?

This book appears to have a broader discussion on what allyship looks, educating those who are ignorant to LGBT+ issues, and having pride in who you are. I believe Stay Gold is a decent baseline for someone who wants to read not only from a trans boy’s perspective, but his love interest’s and her approach to the idea of falling in love with a trans person. Did this book have everything I wanted? No, but it’s a stepping stone to something greater and sometimes that’s all you can ask from literature.

Content Warnings

More...