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emiltoivola's review against another edition
- 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
3.75
It was so lighthearted at firts but then it took a series of dark turns but either way i liked reading this a lot.
Minor: Deadnaming, Outing, Homophobia, Rape, Transphobia, Dysphoria, Suicide attempt, Bullying, Self harm, Suicidal thoughts, and Violence
hazeljade's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
Graphic: Homophobia, Self harm, Religious bigotry, Suicide attempt, Drug abuse, Outing, Physical abuse, Medical content, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Transphobia, Sexual assault, Deadnaming, Sexual harassment, Injury/Injury detail, Dysphoria, Lesbophobia, and Hate crime
Moderate: Grief, Hate crime, and Violence
Minor: Alcohol
With all of these triggers it is amazingly well written. Looking at all the topics covered I'm surprised how well each was handled so my overall impression of the book was unbelievably positive and encouraging.eagleshouse's review against another edition
- 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? Yes
3.0
The story of Amanda, a trans girl in southern USA, is incredibly important, especially coming from a trans author. The book takes on a difficult topic and faces it bluntly and head on, and goes into detail about her emotions and difficulties in being trans. These sections were brilliantly written, and made me understand and realise things that even I as a nonbinary person had not gotten beforehand.
However, I do have a few issues with the book. First and foremost, it feels very much like a Mary Sue. Amanda seems perfect. She passes perfectly, she moves and immediately everyone loves her, she is fully transitioned at the age of 18, and gets a perfect boyfriend and life. Whilst I understand that this may be the author trying to give a trans person hope that this is an option, it feels very detached from the unfortunate reality, and also creates a pretty boring main story. The story tends to ramble about how Amanda is gorgeous, how everyone is in love with her, how she's an A* student and is homecoming queen. Until the very end, where this is questioned (no spoilers from me!), it creates a bland style of writing that took me a little to power through. Had it not also been about Amanda's struggles as a trans woman, I most likely would have put the book down within the first 10 chapters (there are 33 total).
(SPOILERS AHEAD!!)
Another small issue that I had was the only openly sapphic character being the person to out Amanda purely because she wouldn't get with her. Whilst I understand that Bee was the only one Amanda felt like she could tell due to her also being lgbt+ and a "loner" of sorts, it did feel like it fell into the "bi people are slutty" and "predatory wlw" stereotype as Bee broke up with Cloe (the other sapphic character who was closeted before Bee also outed her) just for a shot at Amanda, who she had known was straight anyway, and had even said she was only dating Cloe because she felt bad for her. Bee also sexually harassed Amanda after she turns her down, kissing her without consent. I know for the storyline to progress, Bee was the only person able to out Amanda, but it still rubbed me up the wrong way.
(END OF SPOILERS)
tldr; the book is incredibly important, showing the story of a transwoman by a transfemme author. However, the story is not without its flaws, and often ends up being bland or falling into a Mary Sue style read. I still reccommend the book, as the sections regarding Amanda's relationship with her gender is poignant and informative from the perspective of an author who understands personally what she is going through.
Graphic: Violence, Outing, Transphobia, and Bullying
Moderate: Religious bigotry, Self harm, Sexual content, Suicide, Suicidal thoughts, and Suicide attempt
jude7's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
4.0
Graphic: Addiction, Alcohol, Alcoholism, Bullying, Child abuse, Deadnaming, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Drug use, Dysphoria, Emotional abuse, Hate crime, Homophobia, Injury/Injury detail, Medical content, Mental illness, Outing, Physical abuse, Self harm, Suicide attempt, Suicidal thoughts, Transphobia, and Violence
Moderate: Biphobia
Minor: Abortion
carmenross599's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
Graphic: Sexual violence, Self harm, Suicide, Suicide attempt, Transphobia, Homophobia, and Hate crime