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annabella's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
5.0
Definitely need to read trigger warnings before if have experience with eating disorders and self harm, although I would say this depiction of it is nuanced, complex, and insightful. The start with the mystery adventures was extremely fun and I was laughing out loud with how funny the protagonist was. I was drawn to the other characters. And always aware of ~society ~ eg the insurance that dictated whether the people could stay. The change of personal pronouns from third person to second to first…!
Really well written, extremely clever, and takes you on a journey you wouldn’t expect. It’s surreal and experimental and weird and risk taking. Wonderful representation of a queer coming of age( but also not quite because it can’t be defined by a genre), that actually most of those things don’t cover. It feels very authentic to the genderqueer / transmasc experience. Would want to highlight many parts of this book, if I were to read again in non audiobook form.
Graphic: Eating disorder, Vomit, Toxic friendship, Fatphobia, and Self harm
Moderate: Mental illness and Body shaming
Minor: Excrement
nicolemhill's review
- 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
4.0
Graphic: Eating disorder
Moderate: Self harm and Suicide
annayareads's review
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
This was a really hard read for me. I've never had an eating disorder, but, like most people in the US I think, I've had to deal with an almost antagonistic relationship with my body. The first half of this book made me feel so uncomfortable. I'm different from Margaret/M in many ways, but I saw reflected all the ways that I was insufferable as a teen. I see my struggles with gender and sexuality. I see my disappointment that my body was not as thin as my classmates. I see the envy for flat stomachs, heterosexuality, and cisness. Thank goodness I've grown past most of these things, but there's still a kind of shame for the cringe of before. Margaret and the Mystery of the Missing Body gives an unflinching view to that cringe, with enough humor and fantasy to keep you going.
Graphic: Eating disorder
Moderate: Self harm
shigre's review
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Graphic: Eating disorder
Moderate: Fatphobia and Body shaming
Minor: Self harm and Sexual assault
sophie42's review
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
Graphic: Eating disorder, Mental illness, and Body shaming
Moderate: Vomit, Homophobia, Lesbophobia, and Dysphoria
Minor: Rape, Self harm, and Transphobia
reymadison's review
- 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
3.5
Graphic: Eating disorder and Self harm
wall0w's review
4.0
Graphic: Eating disorder, Fatphobia, Body shaming, and Toxic friendship
Moderate: Sexual assault and Excrement
Minor: Vomit, Drug use, and Self harm
_autumn_'s review against another edition
- 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
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
- 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
"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)
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
seawarrior's review
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
I also found the paranormal aspects of this book off-putting. They stick out like a sore thumb in what is otherwise a down-to-earth narrative about identity, which left me wondering if these events had really been experienced, or were simply imagined by a younger, unbalanced Margaret who was unable to face reality. The last letter in the book hints that this might be the case, but it's never made explicitly clear. Maybe this element of the story does not or won't bother other readers, but it kinda gets under my skin.
In my opinion, the strongest features of this book are how eating disorders, dissatisfaction with the self and the world it knows, growing up, misogyny, and transgender identity, were all approached and written as the intricate and perplexing experiences that they are. Too often it seems tempting for fiction writers to simplify how people, especially teenagers, endure these uncertainties and move towards healthy adulthood. Margaret's experiences with realizing she is queer and seeking treatment for her eating disorder are anything but simple, even her diagnosis cannot be specified and categorized simply. While at the treatment center she initially begins to self-destruct, but later gets to know other people who disrupt and enlighten her knowledge of how mental illness manifests, and what it means to grow into your own power.
I would recommend this book to others who are alright with reading a narrative that doesn't provide them with easy answers. The majority of the story takes place in a treatment center for adolescents with eating disorders, so we're mostly reading about the perspectives of young people who are very unhappy with themselves, and often self destructive. Please keep this in mind, as some of what they think and say may be triggering if you have an eating disorder or are in recovery from one.
Graphic: Body shaming, Car accident, Deadnaming, Dysphoria, Eating disorder, Fatphobia, Misogyny, Self harm, Toxic friendship, and Vomit
Moderate: Homophobia, Lesbophobia, Rape, Murder, Kidnapping, and Child death