Reviews tagging 'Lesbophobia'

Stay Gold by Tobly McSmith

44 reviews

michaelion's review against another edition

dark emotional funny hopeful informative inspiring tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

My ex bought me this for our one month anniversary and I finally read it two years later hoping the book would be bad so I could give it away but it was so good! So cue so sweet. I shall be keeping it.

I was so sure that The Outsiders wasn't canon in this world and then she mentioned it! It's nitpicky but naming yourself after Ponyboy is much cooler than just naming yourself after an animal randomly. That boy got to senior year and didn't read The Outsiders?! It's so gay he would've loved it.

A great book for explaining what a trans person is to kids / teens. It has a perfect mixture of people familiar with the world and explaining to someone who knows nothing. Great writing. I laughed a plenty.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood, Homophobia, Injury/Injury detail, Lesbophobia, Physical abuse, Transphobia, Violence, and Outing

Moderate: Sexual violence, Vomit, Deadnaming, Sexual harassment, Bullying, Panic attacks/disorders, Toxic friendship, and Suicidal thoughts

Minor: Infidelity and Abandonment

readingwithkaitlyn's review against another edition

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

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual assault, Deadnaming, Toxic friendship, Mental illness, Terminal illness, Misogyny, Hate crime, Body shaming, Dysphoria, Bullying, Emotional abuse, Lesbophobia, Violence, Injury/Injury detail, Outing, and Transphobia

Moderate: Infidelity, Toxic relationship, Child abuse, Sexual harassment, Alcohol, Drug use, Suicidal thoughts, Death, and Medical content

Minor: Child death, Alcoholism, Suicide, Physical abuse, Self harm, Murder, Excrement, Sexual content, Biphobia, Fire/Fire injury, Death, and Vomit

use of f slur

grace_koalateareads's review against another edition

challenging emotional funny hopeful informative tense 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? Yes

3.5

“We can’t change those people’s minds. We just love louder and harder than they can hate.”

Stay Gold by Tobly McSmith was a difficult  yet important read. The story is split into Pony’s (a trans boy) and Georgia’s (a cis girl) point of view. Both are seniors at a Texas high school just outside of Dallas. For Pony it’s all about going “stealth” and just being a normal guy, for Georgia it’s about cheerleading and being the person people expect her to be. I loved both of them so much, they had great personalities and felt real and genuine. I loved the puns, the banter and the deep and meaningful conversations. 

“When the school treats trans students like they’re different, it gives the green light for the other kids to do the same, but kids are way meaner.”

The side characters were where my discomfort started, especially with Max, Pony’s “out and proud” best friend, who came across very “black and white” and wanting him to share things on social media that made him feel uncomfortable. I know the ending sort of cleared those things up, but it felt too rushed and too shiny (or gold, if you will) like it wasn’t real.  Being “out and proud” is great, it’s awesome, but not if it isn’t safe to do so. It also made me uncomfortable with the amount of trans and queer slurs, especially as they didn’t need to be written down to get the point across.

“Some days, I barely think about being trans. And other days, it’s an obstacle course.”

Don’t get me wrong, I did enjoy the book, just not as much as I was expecting. A lot of really heavy topics were covered, such as transphobia, misgendering and forced outting - these weren’t the reason for my lower rating, but more how they were handled/written especially when a character was the one causing said topics. I was definitely hooked and finished the book in just over a day. It’s one that I think a lot of people, who don’t understand what being trans means, should read, however, overall it just made me feel drained.

“I raise my glass in toast and say (but not too loudly, “Here’s to being trans in Texas.””

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Transphobia, Violence, Hate crime, Homophobia, Toxic friendship, Dysphoria, Suicidal thoughts, Outing, Emotional abuse, and Deadnaming

Moderate: Toxic relationship, Lesbophobia, Injury/Injury detail, and Bullying

Minor: Alcoholism, Alcohol, Body shaming, Medical content, Vomit, Drug use, and Grief

wrinnola's review

emotional hopeful lighthearted 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

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Violence, Bullying, Emotional abuse, Transphobia, Body shaming, and Hate crime

Moderate: Cursing, Domestic abuse, Bullying, Deadnaming, Lesbophobia, Outing, Dysphoria, Homophobia, and Suicidal thoughts

Minor: Vomit, Toxic friendship, Mental illness, Drug use, Sexual assault, and Sexual violence

ian_loves_dragons's review

dark emotional hopeful medium-paced

• 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

2.5

The main cis-trans romance in this book could be described as “why I’m t4t,” except we’re supposed to root for them to be together 

-sincerely, a frustrated trans person 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Medical content, Violence, Suicidal thoughts, Hate crime, Dysphoria, Homophobia, Transphobia, Emotional abuse, and Lesbophobia

Moderate: Death, Deadnaming, and Suicide

luxxltyd's review against another edition

emotional inspiring reflective 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? Yes

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Dysphoria, Sexual violence, Transphobia, Violence, Hate crime, and Outing

Moderate: Suicidal thoughts, Homophobia, Lesbophobia, and Deadnaming

whosfernn's review against another edition

challenging emotional hopeful inspiring 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

5.0

I knew almost nothing about this book when I picked it up. Looking at the cover and the blurb, I assumed it would be a cute coming-of-age romance. What it actually is is probably the best, most moving tale of a trans boy I've ever read. It's a very realistic look at the trans experience, especially how it can be to be trans in southern America. Beautiful. One of my favourites, probably my favourite read of 2023 so far. Please read this book.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Deadnaming, Injury/Injury detail, Toxic friendship, Transphobia, Medical content, Outing, Suicidal thoughts, Violence, Death, Drug use, Lesbophobia, and Homophobia

Moderate: Alcohol, Mental illness, Infidelity, Abandonment, and Bullying

Minor: Body shaming, Emotional abuse, Alcoholism, Grief, and Religious bigotry

infairveronaa's review against another edition

emotional funny hopeful 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? No

5.0

💕🥺❤️💕

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Transphobia, Violence, and Bullying

Moderate: Suicidal thoughts, Lesbophobia, and Homophobia

Minor: Panic attacks/disorders

stailysh1's review

emotional funny hopeful lighthearted relaxing tense 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

4.0

I think this book is great for what it is.  It reads like it was the author's high school fantasy, but in the case of this book, I believe that's excusable because this book could really help a lot of people who need it.  It shows the mentality behind being both in and out of the closet and focuses on visibility.  The ending kind of pushes being out and visible, which I find challenging because that is not safe or desired by everyone who is part of the LGBT+ community, especially transgender individuals.  The main characters are generally lovable and funny, and work through their flaws and grow together.  All in all, it's an enjoyable and (mostly) light read that should be taken for what it is: a YA LGBT+ novel with a happy ending.  
**Please read the content warnings before diving into this book.**

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Bullying, Dysphoria, Lesbophobia, Outing, Transphobia, Homophobia, and Hate crime

Moderate: Biphobia, Suicidal thoughts, Deadnaming, and Infidelity

Minor: Alcohol

elskabee's review against another edition

funny hopeful 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

 It's hard to say much about this book because it's painfully generic. Like almost every teen romcom trope feels like it's here except one of the main characters is trans. Buuuut being really stereotypical doesn't make it bad, just not a standout. I laughed at a decent amount of the jokes and the characters are complex and I was rooting for their relationship. 

I'd say please check for trigger warnings especially to do with transphobia and suicidal ideation. This book has a happy ending and for most of it a fairly light tone but it's not exactly cosy. It is about queer youth in Texas after all. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Transphobia, Deadnaming, Violence, Outing, and Hate crime

Moderate: Dysphoria, Suicidal thoughts, Terminal illness, and Lesbophobia

Minor: Alcohol and Drug use