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chaos_animates's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
informative
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
salomereads's review against another edition
challenging
relaxing
slow-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? Yes
3.5
graveyardpansy's review against another edition
5.0
4.5 stars - the writing is genuinely beautiful, to the point where I'm super impressed that this is a debut novel. I haven't read a book that uses words that I don't know in a LONG time. The concepts touched on and setting/mood remind me a lot of both [b:Nevada|17313660|Nevada|Imogen Binnie|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1359770508l/17313660._SY75_.jpg|21399644] and [b:Luster|51541496|Luster|Raven Leilani|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1568668703l/51541496._SX50_SY75_.jpg|71146734]. Nevada I've seen it compared to (because every ownvoices trans book is compared at some point), which makes sense. Both have a notable lack of strict or obvious plot, and both explore complex relationships and themes without a cisgender audience particularly in mind. The writing in Detransition, Baby is definitely more up my alley, but both are good! Luster has similar themes and a more literary style than Nevada, which is why I see ties there as well. Regardless, Detransition, Baby is remarkable in its own right as well.
The plot, or I guess relative lack thereof, lets you get to know the characters really well, which I loved. Even the side characters were so clear to me, and by the end of the book, the three MCs felt like people I knew. The back-and-forth time skips were handled gracefully and were pretty easy for me to keep track of. They were occasionally too sudden of a tone shift for my taste, but every aspect of a lit fic novel isn't gonna be everyone's favourite.
The depth and thought and care put into every theme of this book - motherhood, the commodification of queerness, transition and detransition, family, sex, community - was so clear. Doing this as a buddy-read (w/ a trans person) made it all the more enjoyable. The things explored are complex and are jumped into without apology (and oftentimes without explanation.) While it was great for me and the level of nuance was exactly what I desired, I definitely don't think this book is for everyone, and cis people should have to pass an entrance exam.
My only real hesitation is that there was relatively frequent comparisons between the plight of trans people and that of POC, which can be a difficult thing to navigate. Comparing oppressions, even when relevant, isn't always productive in the way it's meant to be. AFAIK Peters is white (?), so it struck me as a bit odd that she leaned on that angle as much as she did.
The plot, or I guess relative lack thereof, lets you get to know the characters really well, which I loved. Even the side characters were so clear to me, and by the end of the book, the three MCs felt like people I knew. The back-and-forth time skips were handled gracefully and were pretty easy for me to keep track of. They were occasionally too sudden of a tone shift for my taste, but every aspect of a lit fic novel isn't gonna be everyone's favourite.
The depth and thought and care put into every theme of this book - motherhood, the commodification of queerness, transition and detransition, family, sex, community - was so clear. Doing this as a buddy-read (w/ a trans person) made it all the more enjoyable. The things explored are complex and are jumped into without apology (and oftentimes without explanation.) While it was great for me and the level of nuance was exactly what I desired, I definitely don't think this book is for everyone, and cis people should have to pass an entrance exam.
My only real hesitation is that there was relatively frequent comparisons between the plight of trans people and that of POC, which can be a difficult thing to navigate. Comparing oppressions, even when relevant, isn't always productive in the way it's meant to be. AFAIK Peters is white (?), so it struck me as a bit odd that she leaned on that angle as much as she did.
readinglobster's review against another edition
dark
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.25
claren's review against another edition
dark
funny
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
sostrowski's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
3.75
alicebme's review against another edition
4.0
I just learned A LOT, and it was entertaining and helpful. So there.
cloudjules's review against another edition
2.0
This was a huge mixed bag; so much to love, so much to hate. Unfortunately, the bad ultimately outweighed the good and I was left extremely frustrated by the non-ending. The treatment of Ames’s character (whose arc was by far the most interesting to me) was particularly bothersome to me. My problem isn’t so much with how derisive Reese and Catrina’s treatment of him is, but how it goes completely unchallenged by the narrative. Not only does it feel like the author wants you to side with these women as they mistreat and belittle the person whom they allegedly care for and want to raise a child with, but there is a sense that this is somehow meant to be empowering, no less because Ames is “a man”— which isn’t really the case. It’s made abundantly clear that whatever his gender identity is, it isn’t cis. And although his POV is insightful and (seemingly) respectful of the complexity of his situation, the book is intent on punishing Ames at every turn, while the other protagonists’ treatment of him is forgiven, if not rewarded, with their dismissal and overall shitty treatment of him somehow played off as female bonding. Reese’s unfaithfulness gets swept under the rug, while Catrina gets little more than a slap on the wrist for publicly outing him in the middle of a work dinner out of spite. The latter incident is particularly frustrating for how it’s made to sound almost justifiable due to Ames’s failure to disclose his past to Catrina sooner.
But even more than how disrespectful of Ames’s character (and, by extension, non-binary identities and questioning queer people), on a more basic level, my problem with this was that it made the female protagonists very unlikable to me. Catrina was especially unpleasant, especially for getting away with shit like Ames’s aforementioned public outing and her prejudiced reaction to a character’s HIV status, but also the way she constantly brings up her Chinese heritage to draw comparisons to trans women’s experiences (despite her ethnicity, by her own admission, having never made her the target of discrimination). She’s entitled and petty, and while she’s clearly open to learning more about queerness, so much of it seems to hinge on Reese having to educate her. Reese is a whole other
I can (and do) appreciate that these are flawed, complex characters; in fact, their flaws are what makes them most interesting. The reason I dislike them isn’t the horrible things they did, but that they got away with it within the narrative. It just didn’t sit well and ultimately made the overall book fall surprisingly flat given just how much I enjoyed some parts of it.
But even more than how disrespectful of Ames’s character (and, by extension, non-binary identities and questioning queer people), on a more basic level, my problem with this was that it made the female protagonists very unlikable to me. Catrina was especially unpleasant, especially for getting away with shit like Ames’s aforementioned public outing and her prejudiced reaction to a character’s HIV status, but also the way she constantly brings up her Chinese heritage to draw comparisons to trans women’s experiences (despite her ethnicity, by her own admission, having never made her the target of discrimination). She’s entitled and petty, and while she’s clearly open to learning more about queerness, so much of it seems to hinge on Reese having to educate her. Reese is a whole other
I can (and do) appreciate that these are flawed, complex characters; in fact, their flaws are what makes them most interesting. The reason I dislike them isn’t the horrible things they did, but that they got away with it within the narrative. It just didn’t sit well and ultimately made the overall book fall surprisingly flat given just how much I enjoyed some parts of it.