Reviews tagging 'Mental illness'

Transition, Baby: A Novel by Torrey Peters

71 reviews

beccaruthe's review against another edition

3.75

challenging dark emotional reflective sad tense medium-paced

Plot or Character Driven: A mix

Strong character development: Yes

Loveable characters: Complicated

Diverse cast of characters: Complicated

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Infidelity, Miscarriage, Physical abuse, Suicide, Transphobia, Abortion, Suicide attempt, Pregnancy, Outing

Moderate: Sexual violence, Toxic relationship, Violence, Grief, Alcohol

Minor: Addiction, Body shaming, Cancer, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Misogyny, Racism, Stalking, Car accident, Abandonment, Classism

grets_reads's review against another edition

4.5

emotional funny reflective medium-paced

Plot or Character Driven: A mix

Strong character development: Complicated

Loveable characters: Complicated

Diverse cast of characters: Yes

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Infertility, Infidelity, Mental illness, Sexual content, Toxic relationship, Pregnancy

Minor: Body shaming, Bullying, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Miscarriage, Physical abuse, Sexual violence, Suicide, Transphobia, Grief, Abortion, Outing, Alcohol, Dysphoria

venarose22's review against another edition

4.5

challenging emotional informative reflective sad medium-paced

Plot or Character Driven: Character

Strong character development: Complicated

Loveable characters: Complicated

Diverse cast of characters: Yes

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Deadnaming, Hate crime, Mental illness, Miscarriage, Sexual content, Suicide attempt

minxtte's review against another edition

5.0

emotional slow-paced

Plot or Character Driven: Character

Strong character development: Yes

Diverse cast of characters: Yes

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Domestic abuse, Hate crime, Infertility, Infidelity, Misogyny, Pregnancy, Outing, Dysphoria

Moderate: Addiction, Adult/minor relationship, Deadnaming, Drug use, Mental illness, Miscarriage, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide attempt, Alcohol

Minor: Eating disorder, Abandonment

madelynfrank's review against another edition

4.0

challenging emotional funny informative reflective fast-paced

Plot or Character Driven: Character

Strong character development: Complicated

Loveable characters: Complicated

Diverse cast of characters: Yes

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

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I liked a lot of this book. It was definitely stories that are not seen in mainstream media. It introduced a lot of complexities. I appreciated the grey of all the characters although it made it difficult to read near the end, when you don’t quite have someone to root for. The ending choice was smart but hardly satisfying. 

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Homophobia, Infertility, Infidelity, Mental illness, Miscarriage, Suicide, Transphobia, Abortion, Pregnancy, Outing

emhunsbaker's review against another edition

3.75

challenging dark emotional slow-paced

Plot or Character Driven: Character

Strong character development: Yes

Loveable characters: Complicated

Diverse cast of characters: Yes

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Confinement, Cursing, Deadnaming, Emotional abuse, Gore, Homophobia, Infertility, Infidelity, Mental illness, Miscarriage, Misogyny, Sexism, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic relationship, Transphobia, Grief, Abortion, Suicide attempt, Pregnancy, Outing, Alcohol, Sexual harassment, Dysphoria

erint251's review against another edition

4.5

challenging dark emotional funny reflective sad 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

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Emotional abuse, Hate crime, Homophobia, Infidelity, Mental illness, Transphobia, Outing, Dysphoria

Moderate: Death, Domestic abuse, Hate crime, Homophobia, Physical abuse, Rape, Self harm, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Toxic relationship, Abortion, Suicide attempt

Minor: Eating disorder, Death of parent

travelseatsreads's review against another edition

4.5

adventurous challenging dark emotional funny informative inspiring reflective tense medium-paced

Plot or Character Driven: Character

Strong character development: Yes

Loveable characters: Complicated

Diverse cast of characters: Yes

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

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Detransition, Baby is a book which will inevitably polarize people. Just like its title, its contents are at times quite challenging. Even at its least provocative there will be someone reading somewhere shrieking in horror at what they just read. It is in that challenging nature of the book that I adore how brave Torrey Peters was in telling a story of gender, of mother & fatherhood, of queerness and overwhelmingly of the prejudice and trauma that everyone carries around regardless of their gender or sexual orientation.

It would have been easy and hugely less controversial for Peters to make these 3 women flawless and likeable but rather than take the easy route she showed how deeply flawed and damaged all three of them were in their own ways. There are chunks of the book that reek of misogyny. There are violent, graphic and demeaning sex scenes. There are deeply prejudiced thoughts thrown about on occasion. There are sections where you will think what the actual f*** is wrong with them. And then there are sections full of love, tenderness, fulfillment and a deep yet brutal level of understanding and self awareness. Peters shies away from the fluffy rainbow coloured persona often provided and delves deep into what can be at times an absolute tangle of beautiful destruction.

Towards the last few chapters I longed to know just that little bit more about Reese and her backstory, her character was so full and intriguing I wanted to know more about where all that angst and inner turmoil came from. That and some other lingering questions kept me from that last star.

Overall, while this will not be a book for everyone, I think everyone should at least attempt to read it with an open mind and glean from it what they can.
What Peters showed effortlessly throughout the book is that none of it is easy, being trans, being queer or indeed immersing yourself into those worlds as a straight cis female. It's complicated and I loved Detransition, Baby for that honesty and rawness. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Cursing, Deadnaming, Domestic abuse, Homophobia, Infidelity, Miscarriage, Misogyny, Sexism, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic relationship, Transphobia, Violence, Abortion, Pregnancy, Lesbophobia, Outing, Gaslighting, Toxic friendship

Moderate: Death, Drug use, Hate crime, Mental illness, Grief

oliviareese's review against another edition

3.5

challenging dark emotional reflective sad slow-paced

Plot or Character Driven: Character

Strong character development: No

Loveable characters: No

Diverse cast of characters: Complicated

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body shaming, Deadnaming, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Hate crime, Homophobia, Infertility, Infidelity, Mental illness, Miscarriage, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Self harm, Sexism, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Toxic relationship, Transphobia, Violence, Grief, Abortion, Suicide attempt, Pregnancy, Lesbophobia, Outing, Dysphoria

typethewriter's review against another edition

5.0

challenging emotional hopeful informative reflective sad slow-paced

Plot or Character Driven: Character

Strong character development: Complicated

Loveable characters: Complicated

Diverse cast of characters: Yes

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

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I both love and hate this book. I saw so much of myself reflected back at me in the characters. This book has given me new insight into areas I’d never considered, and a different perspective on areas I know. I really feel like I was on a journey of self-discovery with the characters. There’s something about this book that strikes such a chord in me and I can’t help but love it, even while vehemently disagreeing with many of the characters’ actions. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Dysphoria

Moderate: Infidelity, Mental illness, Miscarriage, Sexual content, Transphobia, Abortion, Pregnancy, Outing

Minor: Deadnaming, Car accident, Suicide attempt