Reviews with content warning for Transphobia - Baby and Solo

A clever, realistic story about a boy who works at a video store, a boy who’s trying to be Normal after years in and out of psych wards and tense family situations.

So much of What Was Wrong With Me was due to being too damn lonely for too damn long.

Baby and Solo are great characters in complicated lives, and the supporting cast is painted with honesty and the accuracy of teenage angst, as well.

Posthuma deftly and respectfully handles teen pregnancy, abortion, homophobia, and mental illness in this book, with humour, joy, and strong friendships to carry the story. The mystery had me sobbing by the end, but it made sense too, and was wrapped up beautifully.

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sadie_cat's review

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slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? No

1.5

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veilchen's review

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challenging dark emotional funny informative reflective sad medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

Buch gerade fertig gelesen. Meine Augen sind immer noch rot vom vielen Heulen. Kann es nur weiterempfehlen.

Ich hatte eigentlich niedrige Erwartungen, als ich das Buch angefangen habe. Der Klappentext klang sehr nach einem oberflächigen Liebesroman für Teenager, wo mental health eine kleine Rolle spielen könnte. Tja. Da hab ich zu früh geurteilt. Allerdings muss ich zugeben, dass es echt schwer ist, eine Zusammenfassung des Buches zu geben, die keine Spoiler enthält, daher:

SPOILER-WARNUNG!

Baby & Solo ist ein Jugendroman, der in den 90ern stattfindet. Er beginnt damit, dass Joel anfängt, in einer Videothek zu arbeiten, was für ihn nach jahrelanger Therapie einen Neuanfang bedeuten soll. Allerdings ist es nicht so einfach, die Vergangenheit hinter sich zu lassen. Dank einer ungewöhnlichen Freundschaft mit seiner Kollegin arbeitet er langsam seine Vergangenheit ab, was zu einer tiefen Auseinandersetzung mit den verschiedensten Themen von Schwangerschaft über Mental Gesundheit bis zu Transgender-Identität führt.

Die eigentliche Handlung des Buches ist eigentlich einfach genug. Joel arbeitet in einer Videothek und lernt dort Leute kennen. Doch der interaktive Erzählstil, gut platzierte Rückblenden und die Betrachtung schwerwiegender Themen durch die Linse eines Jugendlichen aus den 90ern machen dieses Buch unglaublich berührend, aufwühlend und ein wunderbares Gesamtpaket.

Anfangs war ich wenig überzeugt von der Wahl des Settings. Die zeittypische unterschwellige Homophobie und Frauenfeindlichkeit waren mir gar nicht recht. Doch im Laufe des Buches schafft es die Autorin, jede dieser Probleme in ein anderes Licht zu rücken, so dass ein realistisches, abgerundetes Endprodukt entsteht, dass trotzdem achtsam mit den oft sehr komplizierten Themen des Buches umgeht.

Die Charaktere waren ebenfalls toll, sehr realistisch, dreidimensional und nachvollziehbar. Ich habe wirklich keinen Kritikpunkt außer, dass ich am Ende nicht mehr ordentlich lesen konnte, weil ich so viel heulen musste. Nicht viele Autorinnen oder Autoren schaffen es, den Leser zu überraschen, ihne dass der Aufbau fehlt oder der Plottiwst völlig aus dem Nichts kommt, aber hier ist es gelungen. Ich habe ohne Witz mehrmals lautstark nach Luft geschnappt, weil ich so überrascht war. Love it. Vorher aber vielleicht einen Blick auf TWs werfen.

TW: Homophobie, Transphobie, Misogynie, Selbstmord, Paranoia, Zwangseinweisung, Schwangerschaftsabbruch, Tod

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nytephoenyx's review

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emotional fast-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

3.5

Disclaimer: I received this book for free from LibraryThing and Candlewick Press in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.

I had very mixed feelings about Baby & Solo for the duration of the book, up until the last ~50pgs.

I'll start with the good stuff!

This book is overflowing with 90s nostalgia, particularly of the cinematic variety. I knew every film mentioned and delighted in it. ROYO Video reminded me immediately of the small town privately owned video rental stores I went to as a kid (we didn't do Blockbuster). The daily grind of the work day in a retail store with a tight knit group of coworkers also rang very familiar. As a whole, I felt comfortable in the world of Baby & Solo, and that was a nice feeling. It easy to fall into this book, because in many ways, the world was like a walk through my own memories.

That said.

I had some Serious Problems with the way Certain Things were discussed. Before I get into those things, I will say that everything was challenged by the end and some characters took accountability, and the reactions were explained (not justified - don't misunderstand. Explained). If I hadn't finished the book, however, I wouldn't've known this, and it would have made the book as a whole Very Problematic. There's conversations about mental health and homosexuality and transgender people that is discussed... well... in a very 90s tenor. Which means there was a bunch of homophobia, transphobia, and Questionable Terms. It was very uncomfortable.

I didn't love the way in which Posthuma addressed mental health in this book. We've advanced past the use of certain terms. I understand why the language was the way it way, because the story is told in first person and Joel's self-image (and thus the language he uses) has been modeled by the influential people in his life. Part of Joel's journey in Baby & Solo is overcoming the shade certain people have cast on his life and beginning to understand The Bad Thing That Happened and the truth behind it.

But there were scenes that made me cringe. Until I understood - at the end - why they were there. And until they were challenged. I want to warn you, readers, that there are scenes with people who are so closed-minded, homophobic, trying to dictate what a woman should do with her body... there's a lot of hate in this book that the characters deal with (and sometimes dish out). It's messy and concerning.

At the end of the day, Baby & Solo ended much better than I expected. I was proud of Joel, once all was said and done. He still has a while to go, and I'm glad not everything was forgiven, but I was pleasantly surprised with the way everything wrapped up. The world of this book was wonderful - it's what drew me in. And if you stick it to the end, Baby & Solo deals with a lot of issues in a period where the rampant homophobia and judgement against teen moms and everything you see in this book was very alive and well.

Oh, and I really liked the characters, too. If I changed anything about Baby & Solo, I think I'd use less of the historically accurate hate language and probably be a bit more subtle about The Bad Thing That Happened, but from cover to cover, I enjoyed the book. If you DNF'd after the first concerning scene, though, I would never have known that everything was challenged and addressed.

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