Reviews tagging 'Rape'

Pageboy by Elliot Page

159 reviews

inkerly's review against another edition

dark emotional hopeful sad fast-paced

4.0

3.9 ish stars

The memoir broke me. Literally. My heart would break in every chapter or my jaw would drop . Im not an Elliot Page fan but I enjoy movies he’s been in (Juno, Inception), and I like that he is one of the more relatable celebrities. Elliot has been through a lot in his 37 years of living and he was failed multiple times by the adults around him. I thought I would be reading a book about the inspiring journey of a transman  coming into his identity but what I’m left with is the story of a man who is still trying to pick up the pieces of his life and resolve undue childhood trauma while breaking barriers and staying true to himself. I think the fact that Elliot’s journey is still  “to be continued” makes this book raw and real, but at the same time reading it also felt like reading a sequence of disjointed events (all sad) that didn’t provide complete closure. Based on recent articles and photos of him I sense that his journey with his body dysmorphia is not completely over.  I support Elliot and hope that this new chapter of his life makes him stronger and better than he can ever imagine.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Rape, Sexual assault, Toxic relationship, Sexual content, Homophobia, Transphobia, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Self harm, Dysphoria, Bullying, Suicidal thoughts, and Body shaming

Minor: Death of parent

vixenreader's review against another edition

dark emotional hopeful informative inspiring reflective sad tense fast-paced

4.25

A structure based on the journey towards self-love, this memoir is deeply poignant, unflinching, and vulnerable, and a honest experience about how wilful ignorance and prejudice ultimately perpetrates the bigotry experienced by the trans community. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Abandonment, Alcohol, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Misogyny, Bullying, Toxic friendship, Lesbophobia, Dysphoria, Toxic relationship, Transphobia, Outing, Panic attacks/disorders, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Body shaming, Child abuse, Cursing, Deadnaming, and Sexism

Moderate: Death, Medical content, Mental illness, Suicidal thoughts, Homophobia, Cancer, Stalking, Fire/Fire injury, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Pedophilia, and Pregnancy

Minor: Self harm, Drug use, Medical trauma, Pandemic/Epidemic, Biphobia, Alcoholism, Violence, Blood, Classism, and Drug abuse

Be aware that there are themes of parental neglect, rejecting a trans child, bi-erasure, putting actors in harm’s way, the influence of the internet, tension within unhealthy relationships, unhealthy polyamory, heartbreak, threats towards trans and queer folks, nudity in film, erasure of queer identity, and being forced back into the closet.

barefootbetsy's review against another edition

dark emotional sad tense slow-paced

4.0

This was a difficult read. What other reviews have mentioned is true, there's not a really clear linear structure. But there is a structure, it's just more circular or spiral-y in nature. The structure seems a little fuzzier than what most of us are used to, which is one reason why this is a memoir, not an autobiography.

There was also more explicit material than I'd been expecting, but it was all relevant, not gratuitous. 

All things considered, I'm glad I read it. If you're interested in Elliot's story then I'd recommend you read it, if you aren't interested in his story then you probably won't enjoy the book very much. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual harassment, Abandonment, Religious bigotry, Suicidal thoughts, Sexual violence, Homophobia, Rape, Bullying, Grief, Transphobia, Sexual content, Injury/Injury detail, Medical content, Sexual assault, Blood, Body shaming, Drug use, Eating disorder, and Self harm

crybabybea's review against another edition

emotional reflective fast-paced

4.5

This was a really uniquely written memoir told from quite a unique perspective as Elliot Page is currently one of the only openly out trans celebrities in popular culture. I was a bit scared to read this because I had heard it was poorly put together with a non-linear timeline that didn't really land; but I'm happy to say I'm pleasantly surprised and I actually thought the non-linear style worked really well for the point Elliot was trying to make! Queerness is messy and there are so many factors that impact how somebody discovers or pushes away their own queerness, and I think Elliot's writing really sold that feeling well. I also think he is just a great writer in general. You can tell he put a lot of time and heart into making sure the stories he told felt immersive and detailed in just the right way. I think the non-liner timeline helped me as a reader focus on the emotions that Elliot experienced rather than the nitty gritty details of when and where things happened and why. There were also some moments of poetic prose that I think were done quite well also.

I will say this felt a bit unedited, especially near the end. Page repeats himself pretty often (one of the most memorable being his constantly feeling like he needs to "shit blood") which isn't too terrible but was something I noticed. I didn't factor this into my review, but the audiobook also felt a bit lesser quality; there were multiple times that lines were repeated because takes weren't edited properly, and there were random drops in audio quality that weren't awful but definitely noticeable. 

This is overall an inspiring, heartfelt story but there is a healthy mix of heartbreak as well. I was especially moved by the way Elliot told his experience with homophobia, internal and external, and how that kept him from finding his identity for so long. I also found the perspective of trying to navigate queerness while also trying to navigate celebrity culture and his career as an actor super intriguing. 

I think if you go into this knowing it's not going to be a typical memoir with a clear, linear timeline, you will enjoy it, and especially if you are already a fan of Elliot. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexism, Gaslighting, Emotional abuse, Dysphoria, Body shaming, Eating disorder, Sexual violence, Sexual assault, Misogyny, Bullying, Self harm, Lesbophobia, Homophobia, Rape, and Cursing

claireltravers's review against another edition

emotional informative slow-paced

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Eating disorder, Transphobia, Stalking, Sexual assault, Alcohol, Lesbophobia, Homophobia, and Rape

fanboyriot's review against another edition

emotional inspiring reflective slow-paced

4.0

Deciding to love yourself was the whole point of this book.  All the ups and downs of life, the self discovery of a trans person.  The pain of being trans and living in a world not built for trans people.

While some of the pacing was a bit awkward and the timeline was difficult to follow but I ended up loving listening to this; especially since the author was also the narrator. 

I learned a lot about this author and I’m so happy that he was in a place to write this book and share it with the world.  I also liked how he mentioned several times about his privilege in a very genuine way, actually acknowledging the problems with trans healthcare and other issues as well.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Outing, Toxic relationship, Dysphoria, Sexual violence, Homophobia, Emotional abuse, Suicidal thoughts, Sexual assault, Hate crime, Transphobia, Self harm, Sexual content, and Cursing

Moderate: Eating disorder, Lesbophobia, Blood, Deadnaming, Mental illness, Stalking, Rape, Alcohol, Injury/Injury detail, Grief, Bullying, Child abuse, Panic attacks/disorders, Abandonment, Sexism, and Sexual harassment

Minor: Misogyny, Body shaming, Pandemic/Epidemic, Religious bigotry, Classism, Medical content, and Drug use

halem13's review against another edition

dark emotional hopeful inspiring sad tense medium-paced

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Dysphoria, Emotional abuse, Hate crime, Homophobia, Panic attacks/disorders, Rape, Self harm, Suicidal thoughts, Transphobia, Child abuse, Bullying, Eating disorder, Sexual assault, Sexual content, and Stalking

phouka's review against another edition

funny hopeful informative inspiring reflective medium-paced

3.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Lesbophobia, Dysphoria, Deadnaming, Eating disorder, Hate crime, Child death, Homophobia, Stalking, Transphobia, Child abuse, and Sexual content

Moderate: Emotional abuse, Sexual assault, Sexual harassment, Suicide, Drug use, Medical content, Body shaming, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Violence, Bullying, Car accident, and Rape

Minor: Pedophilia, Religious bigotry, Panic attacks/disorders, Addiction, Adult/minor relationship, Blood, Abandonment, Alcohol, Cancer, Self harm, Sexism, Mental illness, and Pandemic/Epidemic

stephmcoakley's review against another edition

challenging emotional hopeful informative inspiring reflective medium-paced

4.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Emotional abuse, Abandonment, Ableism, Addiction, Blood, Body horror, Suicidal thoughts, Biphobia, Deadnaming, Drug use, Stalking, Injury/Injury detail, Alcoholism, Hate crime, Medical trauma, Sexual assault, Vomit, Body shaming, Self harm, Rape, Sexual content, Sexual harassment, Death, Dysphoria, Eating disorder, Homophobia, Excrement, Lesbophobia, Mental illness, Misogyny, Outing, Panic attacks/disorders, and Transphobia

stevia333k's review against another edition

dark tense slow-paced

4.25

The last 3rd was good, and i say this because the first 2 thirds were violent as hell. I had to learn that he was in a lot of action movies basically in order to handle it & i also could only listen 10 minutes at a time at triple speed. 

Anyways, after a while certain parts about being trans were like oh good my transfemme self isn't alone. 

The relationships though & the shadow work kinda went over my head because I'm aromantic but the workplace accident (because of how wreckless the directors were to black & queer lives) helped connect me to the kind of stuff he meant, so I am thankful he included workplace incidents like that.

Also the memoir isn't told as chronologically, so basically if you're taking notes then I recommend trying to make a character list sort of glossary since the time dimension doesn't sort them, but some segments are like public letters.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Homophobia, Adult/minor relationship, Terminal illness, Dysphoria, Kidnapping, Medical content, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Rape, Toxic relationship, Vomit, War, Medical trauma, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Racism, Sexism, Confinement, Death, Body shaming, Gaslighting, Xenophobia, Fire/Fire injury, Infidelity, Cancer, Death of parent, Domestic abuse, Stalking, Torture, Violence, Blood, Hate crime, Sexual content, Transphobia, Bullying, Child abuse, Child death, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Animal death, Injury/Injury detail, Murder, Panic attacks/disorders, Sexual harassment, Suicidal thoughts, Lesbophobia, Religious bigotry, Car accident, Gore, Grief, Body horror, Pandemic/Epidemic, and Self harm