Reviews with content warning for Homophobia - The Passing Playbook

Reviews tagging 'Homophobia'

The Passing Playbook by Isaac Fitzsimons

146 reviews

emmaward55's review against another edition

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hopeful inspiring

Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

A solid YA romance that would have worked better for me if I were at all interested in football!

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milessmiles's review against another edition

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emotional funny hopeful informative inspiring lighthearted reflective fast-paced

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

5.0

one of my faves <3

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melm1216's review

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emotional hopeful inspiring fast-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? No

3.0

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l_353's review against another edition

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hopeful lighthearted relaxing medium-paced

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

4.0

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elwirax's review

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challenging lighthearted fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

2.5

Rep- Black queer trans MC, Gay LI, non-binary SC, Black autistic SC, bi SC.

"Whether you come out tomorrow or in five years, or thirty years, I guarantee that the fight will still be going on in some form or another. And I promise that when you join us, we’ll welcome you with open arms.”

This book dealt with many difficult issues namely transphobia, homophobia and religious bigotry but it also chose to focus on moments of queer/ trans joy and acceptance which was such a great message, LGBTQIA+ youth deserve happy stories.

However, this was very clearly a debut, the juvenile writing style often conflicted with some of the more serious themes in this book. Though, I don't think that it was necessarily poorly written as I still enjoyed how easy it was to get into and through the book.

I think that Spencer's crush on Justice was a bit insta-lovey but the romance itself was a slow burn which I was glad for. I though their love was sweet and I appreciated seeing consent especially in a book of the YA category. However, I do think that the victim blaming was an aspect where their relationship wasn't as well represented as it could've been. It was a shame to see Spencer breaking up with Justice over not standing up to his homophobic family. I feel like it could've been handled in a healthier and more sympathetic manner.

The friendship/ family dynamics in this book were good and I was glad that Spencer's teammates not only had his back in football but also outside of it (Macintosh and Coach Schilling were great). I do wish that some of the secondary characters such as Theo where a bit more developed. I though that he was used as more of a tool to make Spencer seem like a better character rather than a person in his own right. Hence, his representation as an autistic individual may not be as authentic as it should have been.

Overall, this was a good book, not particularly memorable in terms of plot but very much so in terms of transgender representation. I'm glad that trans individuals are receiving the representation they deserve.

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