Reviews tagging 'Outing'

Pageboy by Elliot Page

70 reviews

abicaro17's review

dark emotional hopeful reflective slow-paced

2.75

So the actual story is really compelling about heartbreaking but, like most memoirs I read, is jumbled and feels unfinished. This book would have benefited with a chronological order format or at least naming the year each story was in. Page uses ages as time markers and as someone who has no idea how old they are, it was confusing. Page also throws in lots of random info that doesn't contribute to the story, like info about landmarks or anecdotes about childhood musings. The parts of the story that felt relevant and composed, like Page's tumultuous relationship with their dad or growth in relationships, added reflection and complexity that's desperately needed in this book. I wish I liked this more because learning about Elliot Pages story was so engaging (plus I love them!) but, this book was a little too all over the place for my taste. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Suicidal thoughts, Toxic relationship, Sexual content, Sexual harassment, Deadnaming, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Gaslighting, Medical content, Self harm, Sexism, Sexual violence, Child abuse, Confinement, Adult/minor relationship, Lesbophobia, Misogyny, Outing, Rape, Sexual assault, Alcohol, Body shaming, Homophobia, Hate crime, Physical abuse, Bullying, Cursing, Eating disorder, Stalking, Transphobia, and Violence

schmoxe's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional inspiring tense slow-paced

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Transphobia, Rape, Sexual violence, Self harm, Pedophilia, Eating disorder, Outing, and Homophobia

Minor: Alcohol and Child abuse

moonyreadsbystarlight's review against another edition

emotional hopeful inspiring reflective

5.0

I really loved this! It seems like the nonlinear story telling is something that folks seem really divided on, but I thought he did it really well. I enjoyed the way he wrote generally speaking, but also specifically the nonlinear narrative. 

I really resonated with the way he described some more internal experiences - as a fellow pisces, that internal escapism is unfortunately quite a mood (especially re: the closet and gender dysphoria). I really enjoyed the different aspects of relationships he discussed in here and the discussion of boundaries and autonomy. There were definitely some hard parts to read emotionally, but it was all really well done and I really liked this book!

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Homophobia, Mental illness, Sexual harassment, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Suicidal thoughts, Vomit, Dysphoria, Excrement, Bullying, Outing, Sexual assault, and Transphobia

Moderate: Body shaming, Injury/Injury detail, and Medical content

Minor: Colonisation

hotwaterbottle's review against another edition

challenging emotional medium-paced

3.5

Disclaimer: I'm not much of a memoir reader.

Enjoyed:

- Seeing glimpses of Elliot's experience in the film industry, including responses to his queerness and the behind the scenes of a handful of his projects

- Following the long road to accepting his transness, untangling family dynamics, and addressing

an eating disorder

- Better understanding of the predatory people and violent queerphobia Elliot has survived

- A comparison of coming out as gay versus coming out as trans (though I would have been interested in more depth)

Did not enjoy:

- Awkward inclusion of random facts (the height of trees in a park, the year the word "permaculture" was coined)

- Constant jumping back and forth in time, which made it difficult to understand the sequence of events and how Elliot's experiences shaped him

- Lack of reflection on or time spent with his life and career after coming out as trans

- A jarringly private mention of a sexual encounter with a fellow actor

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Eating disorder, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Emotional abuse, Homophobia, Transphobia, and Outing

rsagarin's review against another edition

emotional hopeful inspiring reflective sad medium-paced

4.25

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Bullying, Drug use, Dysphoria, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Misogyny, Self harm, Transphobia, Pandemic/Epidemic, Alcohol, Outing, Sexual harassment, Body shaming, Medical content, Cursing, Eating disorder, Deadnaming, Vomit, Homophobia, and Sexual content

hazelwood's review against another edition

dark emotional hopeful informative reflective sad tense medium-paced

3.5

This was a very interesting and reflective read for me, I was surprised how open and honest Elliot was able to be with his audience, especially about very sensitive and personal moments in his life. It really felt like a friend who was telling you about his life. And I related to a lot of what he went through in regards to being transgender. 

That said, I haven't read many memoirs in my life, so take this with a grain of salt: I didn't really like the way the book is written with the events all out of order. It was confusing and tended to give me metaphorical whiplash. But maybe that's just the way memoirs are. I also wish that Elliot had gone into more about his transition and his feelings about it. The whole thing felt rushed into at the end of the book, with only a few sentences about taking hormones. I get it if he wants privacy about his current life, but considering how depressing the rest of the book's events are, I feel like readers could benefit from seeing more of the light at the end of the tunnel. Perhaps the memoir could have been left to simmer for a few years while Elliot got used to his "new" life, giving him more moments of trans joy to write about?  

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Eating disorder, Sexual violence, Vomit, Panic attacks/disorders, Transphobia, Excrement, Sexual content, Toxic relationship, Bullying, Dysphoria, Medical content, Sexual assault, Stalking, Rape, Drug use, Hate crime, Deadnaming, Alcoholism, Emotional abuse, Homophobia, Lesbophobia, Mental illness, Misogyny, Outing, Self harm, Sexual harassment, and Suicidal thoughts

vagaybond's review against another edition

challenging emotional reflective sad tense

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Homophobia, Dysphoria, Emotional abuse, Medical content, Transphobia, Drug use, and Sexual content

Moderate: Outing, Alcohol, Deadnaming, and Medical content

Minor: Religious bigotry, Injury/Injury detail, Sexual harassment, Outing, and Lesbophobia

ngbarfield's review against another edition

challenging slow-paced

2.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual harassment, Homophobia, Hate crime, Outing, Transphobia, Violence, and Lesbophobia

keziahgoodman's review against another edition

dark emotional hopeful inspiring reflective sad fast-paced

5.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Eating disorder, Stalking, Lesbophobia, Mental illness, Self harm, Transphobia, Alcoholism, Suicidal thoughts, Emotional abuse, Panic attacks/disorders, Sexual violence, Bullying, Deadnaming, Dysphoria, Hate crime, Outing, Rape, and Sexual assault

sierrabowers's review

challenging dark emotional hopeful informative inspiring reflective sad medium-paced

5.0

I feel like it’s almost impossible not to give a memoir 5 stars, simply because it is someone else’s life experience, and how am I to judge that? But this one was very good. It highlights the importance of being kind to everyone, especially those in the LGBT+ community. I enjoyed hearing Elliot narrate his own audiobook because I could hear the emotions in his voice throughout the book. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Self harm, Blood, Child abuse, Lesbophobia, Medical content, Medical trauma, Sexism, Emotional abuse, Deadnaming, Sexual content, Pandemic/Epidemic, Panic attacks/disorders, Eating disorder, Gaslighting, Outing, Religious bigotry, Hate crime, Vomit, Biphobia, Homophobia, Dysphoria, Suicidal thoughts, Stalking, Toxic friendship, Toxic relationship, Abandonment, and Body shaming