Reviews with content warning for Violence - The Passing Playbook

Reviews tagging 'Violence'

The Passing Playbook by Isaac Fitzsimons

6 reviews

its_vendetta's review against another edition

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emotional hopeful inspiring 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

3.75

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emily_mh's review

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emotional hopeful 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? No

4.25

When I picked this book up I was looking for a tropey high school romance with a bit of cheese, and this book delivered on all fronts. The American high school setting satisfied my nostalgic cravings (think cafeterias, sports games, and biking to school). The chemistry between Spencer and Justice was great; I particularly liked how they started off on the wrong foot, but that they were also clearly into each other. My critique here is that I wanted to know more about WHY they were into each other. I also wanted the tension between them to have been better resolved. But overall their romance was sweet and ultimately happy.

I loved Spencer as the MC! I was fully invested in his story. His bravery in coming out and standing up for himself considering the transphobia in his history (and present), was incredible. Like, I was a mess as a teen, how are these kids doing it? Through Spencer’s character, Fitzsimons demonstrates how being both Black and trans impacts playing soccer. I loved seeing Spencer’s development in realising he wanted to come out again, that the cons of being in the closet outweighed the pros for him personally.

Something I haven’t read a lot about in fiction is religious bigotry, which is a major theme of this book. Justice, the LI, comes from a bigoted religious family so we really get to see “behind closed doors” with this. We also gain insight into the complex situation this leaves Justice in, as he must ensure his personal safety as a gay teen dependent on and at the mercy of the very people who seek to oppress him. Another topic Fitzsimons approached that I was gripped by was the lack of solidarity within the queer community when it comes to marginalised identities. This manifests in Spencer’s QSA not caring to fight for trans rights at their school. It was a great example of how queer people can still have privilege and work consciously or unconsciously to oppress other queer people on the basis of that privilege.

By the way, if you, as an autistic reader, are worried about the autism rep in Spencer brother, don’t be. It was characterised with care. Spencer being a glass child might be a little triggering if you are disabled with siblings, but this is a very small part of the book and I believe it was handled with care and without ableism. On a lighter note, don’t let the soccer focus put you off. I was also worried by this but Fitzsimons included this content in a very engaging way!

So this was a solid read. The reason why I docked 0.75 stars was because of my early critique of the romance, and also because the pacing did get away from Fitzsimons in the last third. It was too rushed and it felt like we needed more time fleshing out the resolution of each plot point. But overall this was a heartwarming and hopeful queer story and I look forward to see what Fitzsimons writes next.

Rep: queer trans Black MC, gay LI, Black autistic SC, Black SCs, East Asian SC

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