Reviews tagging 'Medical content'

Welcome to St. Hell: My Trans Teen Misadventure: A Graphic Novel by Lewis Hancox

15 reviews

petepilgrim's review

funny reflective fast-paced

3.75

A lighthearted spin on a memoir, though what I enjoyed most is the unexpected wave of nostalgia from the fact I grew up in St Helens at the same time as Lewis. Though, we called it Smellins, not St Hell.

I could recognize so many of the places: Such as every alternative kid going to Overload (the under 18s rock night at the Citadel) to get drunk, or knowing which exact street was being referenced.  I wonder if I ever crossed paths with him without knowing?

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Deadnaming, Eating disorder, and Dysphoria

Minor: Medical content, Transphobia, Homophobia, and Lesbophobia

bashsbooks's review against another edition

funny hopeful lighthearted reflective fast-paced

3.0

Welcome to St. Hell is a fine graphic novel. I think that it's important to have more trans narratives, especially easily accessible ones. And this is a pretty quick, simple, and informative read. Hancox is bares a lot of his personal struggles, and I applaud him for the levity he's willing to inject in his reflections. But... it was not that interesting to me personally. It was a fine book. Just a little boring for me.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Transphobia, Cursing, Lesbophobia, Eating disorder, and Bullying

Moderate: Fatphobia and Misogyny

Minor: Alcohol, Medical content, Vomit, Medical trauma, and Outing

magdagug's review

hopeful inspiring reflective medium-paced

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Eating disorder

Moderate: Transphobia, Homophobia, and Alcohol

Minor: Medical content, Sexual content, and Vomit

bookswithlauren's review

challenging dark emotional funny hopeful informative inspiring reflective sad tense medium-paced

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Bullying, Cursing, Medical content, Body shaming, Deadnaming, Eating disorder, Grief, Mental illness, Sexual content, Toxic friendship, Transphobia, Panic attacks/disorders, Self harm, and Suicidal thoughts

meganpbell's review against another edition

emotional funny hopeful informative inspiring reflective medium-paced

5.0

This funny, honest, self-compassionate, perfectly cringy, loving, empowering graphic memoir of growing up trans in suburban England in the 90s and early 00s is just such a gift. I loved how Lewis, as an all-grown-up transman, self-inserts, visits, accepts, and tries to help his younger self, Lois, and all the humor and honesty with which he depicts his teen years and his transition. So grateful this book exists!

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Dysphoria and Eating disorder

Moderate: Lesbophobia, Sexual content, Homophobia, Vomit, Transphobia, Deadnaming, Medical content, Mental illness, Alcohol, and Body shaming

Minor: Blood

ajnagle's review

emotional funny hopeful informative reflective fast-paced

4.0

Fantastic memoir about the trans experience, really cool to see a memoir done as a comic. Quite hopeful, light tone on serious topics. Really good read

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Deadnaming, Eating disorder, Transphobia, Dysphoria, Mental illness, Medical content, Self harm, Body shaming, Bullying, and Alcohol

nickthebooktoker's review against another edition

hopeful informative inspiring lighthearted medium-paced

3.75

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Homophobia, Deadnaming, Medical content, Alcohol, Lesbophobia, Bullying, Eating disorder, Transphobia, Vomit, and Dysphoria

Needle/injection depiction

alisonannk's review against another edition

emotional funny hopeful informative inspiring sad fast-paced

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Dysphoria, Outing, Body shaming, Bullying, Eating disorder, Body horror, and Sexual content

Moderate: Homophobia, Medical content, Alcohol, Deadnaming, Fatphobia, Lesbophobia, Misogyny, Sexual harassment, and Transphobia

anniefwrites's review

emotional funny inspiring reflective fast-paced

Somehow Lewis Hancox made a childhood and adolescence full of gender-related trauma both funny and accessible. I think in particular, the addition of his current voice—a representation of a trans person who made it and got to the life he wanted—made the darker parts feel more hopeful. Like Fun Home meets Giant Days. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Eating disorder and Fatphobia

Moderate: Homophobia, Lesbophobia, Medical content, Transphobia, Deadnaming, Alcohol, and Bullying

Minor: Sexual content, Outing, and Blood

Body dysmorphia

thewordsdevourer's review against another edition

emotional funny medium-paced

3.75

a hilarious, revealing account of hancox discovering and coming to terms w/ his transgender identity, welcome to st. hell keeps things real and informative yet singularly interesting on its own as well.

i rly like the author's narrative stylistic choice of having his present self narrate the story and intermittently interact w/ his past self, in addition to the bits of the occasional reflection and banter inserted midway thru a scene or situation to give a chance for others' present day selves to explain or speak for themselves. it keeps things interesting and acknowledges hancox's sometimes-biased or unreliable pov, which is quite rare for a memoir. 

the book's wry tone is also sth i enjoy, and i marvel at how the author can be so (at times even effortlessly) funny despite the book's subject. and learning abt hancox's journey - one full of ups and downs - of reflecting, grappling, coming to terms, and eventually unapologetically living as his true self is great; the intricacies and many lil details included shed light on many things. ofc no trans experience is universal, but every bit learned is still revelatory.

overall i quite enjoyed this book for its serious story that still manages to be wry and funny, and the art that fits w/ the narrative.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Transphobia and Dysphoria

Moderate: Bullying, Lesbophobia, and Sexual content

Minor: Medical content