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_autumn_'s review against another edition
challenging
mysterious
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body shaming, Eating disorder, and Fatphobia
Moderate: Car accident, Excrement, Transphobia, Confinement, Homophobia, Self harm, Toxic friendship, Dysphoria, Suicidal thoughts, Vomit, and Schizophrenia/Psychosis
Minor: Alcohol, Sexual assault, and Rape
demo's review
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
funny
hopeful
mysterious
reflective
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
4.5
This book is like if Chuck Palahniuk's Damned and Jeanette Winterson's Oranges Are Not the Only Fruit had a trans baby. Palpable resonances with many different texts, some which Milks lists as direct influences in the back matter (e.g. Goosebumps books, Nancy Drew, Matilda, the documentary Thin, Susanna Kaysen's Girl, Interrupted, and Judith Butler's work), and others unmentioned (like Ghost World and Laurie Halse Anderson's Speak).
"If adolescence is a passageway, a twilight zone or liminal space, it's also the time when, like thick blobs of gummy dough, we get poured into shape and rise. It's a plastic time, a time of self-discovery and growth, and in some cases tremendous creativity. Teenagehood is that stage when you get to become who you are, or who you can be. Ah, there's the rub: How can you be who you are when—Margaret doesn't know how to finish this question." (p. 99)
Content Warnings
Graphic: Eating disorder, Body shaming, Fatphobia, Forced institutionalization, and Mental illness
Moderate: Body horror, Car accident, Death, Dysphoria, Excrement, Homophobia, Self harm, Sexual assault, Vomit, and Lesbophobia
Minor: Bullying, Confinement, Grief, Medical content, Outing, Panic attacks/disorders, and Suicidal thoughts
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