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phvntomstvrs's review
dark
emotional
sad
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
1.5
I really wanted to like this book, I appreciated some of the introspection into Maddie's grief process but that's where my enjoyment ended.
The approach to the subject matter felt tone deaf, fetishistic, and focused way more on Maddie's grief over missing Charlotte rather than the atrocity she (Charlotte) experienced. I was under the impression that there would be more focus on Charlotte as this was meant to talk about the disproportionately high rates of transphobic violence for twoc, but the parts about her (except for details on her murder) feel superfluous and like romanticization, rather than a look into her character and why Maddie loved her so much. She didn't feel like a person outside of what happened to her.
There are many points in the story where the author goes into depth about the violence and mutilation Charlotte experienced that were incredibly painful to read for me, as a trans person intimately familiar with transphobic violence, and I can't help wondering how the author or no one on their team didn't understand that this is in incredibly poor taste. I had to put the book down at several points because I genuinely felt sick reading the descriptions, and I'm not generally uncomfortable at all with gore.
I felt like the concept was interesting but absolutely fell flat, favoring the terror value of transphobic violence rather than appealing to humanize us. No thanks.
The approach to the subject matter felt tone deaf, fetishistic, and focused way more on Maddie's grief over missing Charlotte rather than the atrocity she (Charlotte) experienced. I was under the impression that there would be more focus on Charlotte as this was meant to talk about the disproportionately high rates of transphobic violence for twoc, but the parts about her (except for details on her murder) feel superfluous and like romanticization, rather than a look into her character and why Maddie loved her so much. She didn't feel like a person outside of what happened to her.
There are many points in the story where the author goes into depth about the violence and mutilation Charlotte experienced that were incredibly painful to read for me, as a trans person intimately familiar with transphobic violence, and I can't help wondering how the author or no one on their team didn't understand that this is in incredibly poor taste. I had to put the book down at several points because I genuinely felt sick reading the descriptions, and I'm not generally uncomfortable at all with gore.
I felt like the concept was interesting but absolutely fell flat, favoring the terror value of transphobic violence rather than appealing to humanize us. No thanks.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Gore, Hate crime, Sexual violence, Grief, Murder, Racism, Rape, and Transphobia
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