Reviews tagging 'Rape'

Transition, Baby: A Novel by Torrey Peters

20 reviews

challenging dark emotional funny hopeful informative 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

This book was simultaneously one of the most beautiful, stressful and at times horrifying things I've ever read. Obsessed and am in a state of shock having finished it. Everyone should read it.

Expand filter menu Content Warnings
emotional informative slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven: Character
Strong character development: Yes
Loveable characters: No
Diverse cast of characters: Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

Informative and unique, but the writing style was slightly too descriptive for me to get lost in the story. I enjoyed how the author managed time, flashing back and forward throughout. 

Expand filter menu Content Warnings
emotional 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

Messy bitches all round.
Exceptionally well-written, until the ending where it felt like the brakes were slammed; it faltered then just kind of stopped, and not in a satisfyingly unsatisfying way. Still, I liked it a lot.

Expand filter menu Content Warnings
emotional funny 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

I loved this book and I am excited to check out Torrey Peters' short stories (which are free on her website for anyone curious). I think that the reflections that this story provided on womanhood, motherhood, and queer identity are incredibly important. It was refreshing to hear about trans experiences from a more nuanced position while I also think that the fact that every character is in some way an outsider to particular experiences is incredibly interesting and important. This a book that will stick with me for a very long time and has put me on a Sex and the City craze. 

Expand filter menu Content Warnings
challenging emotional informative reflective sad tense medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven: Character
Strong character development: No
Loveable characters: Complicated
Diverse cast of characters: Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

Expand filter menu Content Warnings
challenging tense 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

Expand filter menu Content Warnings
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

Expand filter menu Content Warnings
challenging dark emotional reflective medium-paced

Detransition Baby takes a deep (real deep) dive into gender from two perspectives - Amy and Reese. It pulls apart thread by thread the social/sexual/mental/emotional dynamics of being a (white) trans woman, and realities many women, both cis and trans, face to achieve gender affirmation. 

Expand filter menu Content Warnings
challenging emotional funny reflective sad slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven: Character
Strong character development: Complicated
Loveable characters: No
Diverse cast of characters: Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

This is probably the most unique book I've read in awhile. It tells the story of Reese, Amy, and Katrina - Amy's new girlfriend. Reese and Amy are both transgender women and spent many years in a relationship, during which they lived together and planned to have a family. Things went astray when Amy made the decision to detransition and become Ames, living as a man instead. Things get even crazier when Ames gets his girlfriend pregnant unexpectedly and crazier still when he suggests Reese co-parent with him and Katrina. A lot of messiness ensues! 

I thought this book was overall, impressive. It is whip smart, funny, and often heartbreaking. It offers a window into a situation unlike anything I've ever read. The characters are complex and have diverse points of view and the dynamics between characters are incredibly interesting. The writing is beautiful and extremely smart - often a little too smart for me. 

The issues I have with it don't necessarily have to do with the quality of the book itself and more with me. I thought that the book was going to be faster paced, and that we were going to see more of the interesting throuple-but-not dynamic than we actually got to see. There is a lot of backstory, which was excellent and told me a lot about Reese and Amy/Ames as people, but not a lot of plot to work with in the present day, which became frustrating for me toward the end. Ultimately, I think that this book is great, and reads quickly despite the slower pacing. 

Expand filter menu Content Warnings
emotional funny informative lighthearted sad medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven: A mix
Strong character development: Yes
Loveable characters: Complicated
Diverse cast of characters: Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

Very good. I learned a ton about trans identities. We love an unlikable female character. Lots of sex terms I didn't know the meaning of and had to Google. I can't write book reviews when I'm depressed. 😂

Expand filter menu Content Warnings