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toofondofbooks_'s review against another edition
emotional
funny
lighthearted
reflective
fast-paced
5.0
These essays made me cackle like a mad woman and cry like a baby sometimes within one chapter. As a queer millennial who was molded by the glee era (incidentally it is for better or worse, my favorite show) and taylor swift alike, I really feel like this author gets me in a way no other author has been able to capture on a page (or on audio I guess, since I listened to this on audible).
These essays felt like exchanging memories with a friend, whispers in the dark telling me that I was never alone because Perry felt a lot of the same things I felt and feel about my past and my future. I loved this book.
Also special mention to the fact that Moulin Rouge - my favorite movie, was mentioned a bunch of times. If my love for that movie at an early age wasn't a huge clue to my queerness, I don't know what is.
These essays felt like exchanging memories with a friend, whispers in the dark telling me that I was never alone because Perry felt a lot of the same things I felt and feel about my past and my future. I loved this book.
Also special mention to the fact that Moulin Rouge - my favorite movie, was mentioned a bunch of times. If my love for that movie at an early age wasn't a huge clue to my queerness, I don't know what is.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Homophobia and Medical content
Moderate: Cancer, Sexual content, Racism, Death, and Religious bigotry
Minor: Alcohol
imstephtacular's review
funny
informative
reflective
medium-paced
4.25
Content Warnings
Moderate: Alcohol, Homophobia, Lesbophobia, Biphobia, and Transphobia
questingnotcoasting's review against another edition
funny
hopeful
informative
reflective
medium-paced
4.0
This was a really funny, insightful memoir in essays. Perry is only a few years older than me so we share a lot of the same pop culture references. Aside from the chapters on Disney original channel movies and The Real World, I was familiar with all of the TV and artists she mentions, particularly Glee, The O.C., Mean Girls, Gossip Girl, Taylor Swift and Katy Perry. She examines all her subjects critically while also acknowledging how our generation has been shaped by them and feels nostalgic towards them. She discusses the heteronormativity, harmful stereotypes and performative inclusion often found in media and while all those things are still present today, she does shine a light on what progress has been made.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Death, Grief, Homophobia, and Terminal illness
cheye13's review
informative
lighthearted
reflective
fast-paced
3.0
This is not "essays on pop culture" but a memoir told through essays on pop culture. Which is perfectly fine! But not what I was hoping for when I picked this up.
The book started off strong, detailing media of Perry's youth. I saw myself immediately, not through the specific media, but by the way Perry described consuming media, internalizing it, living life through the lens of it. Then in a strange regression, the middle began to feel as though it were explicitly written for straight audiences. There's nothing wrong with marketing to a broad demographic, but as a queer woman reading another queer woman, I'd prefer to skip the literary small talk. I anticipated an upswing at the end, but it never really came back around. This was media that had shaped my gay experience and yet the media itself was sidelined for stats about contemporary social issues.
Of course identity and sexuality are deeply personal, but in the case of queerness, they're also deeply communal. This book firmly presents the uniquely nuanced perspective of a gay millennial, which is a conversation worth having. I'm glad this book exists! But with the marketing, I wanted something that felt more communal and less biographical. I wanted followthrough on the "made me gay" joke, I wanted new queer insight into popular media, I wanted a book that read like a gay inside joke all the way through.
The book started off strong, detailing media of Perry's youth. I saw myself immediately, not through the specific media, but by the way Perry described consuming media, internalizing it, living life through the lens of it. Then in a strange regression, the middle began to feel as though it were explicitly written for straight audiences. There's nothing wrong with marketing to a broad demographic, but as a queer woman reading another queer woman, I'd prefer to skip the literary small talk. I anticipated an upswing at the end, but it never really came back around. This was media that had shaped my gay experience and yet the media itself was sidelined for stats about contemporary social issues.
Of course identity and sexuality are deeply personal, but in the case of queerness, they're also deeply communal. This book firmly presents the uniquely nuanced perspective of a gay millennial, which is a conversation worth having. I'm glad this book exists! But with the marketing, I wanted something that felt more communal and less biographical. I wanted followthrough on the "made me gay" joke, I wanted new queer insight into popular media, I wanted a book that read like a gay inside joke all the way through.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Cancer, Death, and Medical content
Minor: Alcohol, Homophobia, Religious bigotry, and Sexual content
The book uses the framework of the author's experience/perspective of her brother's cancer.
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