Reviews tagging 'Drug use'

Detransition, Baby by Torrey Peters

59 reviews

madelinedalton's review against another edition

challenging emotional reflective slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

This is an excellent exploration of queerness, womanhood, gender, and motherhood. Highly recommend! That said, I did have a hard time maintaining my focus on the writing when reading in spaces with a lot of distractions (like public transit). The chapters are long and Torrey Peters’ brilliant writing packs so much juicy language into each sentence. I got so much more out of my reading experience when I read quietly in my room than on the subway. Definitely a book to give your full attention to! 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Drug use, Infidelity, Outing, Sexual content, and Transphobia

Moderate: Abortion, Death, Grief, Suicide, and Suicide attempt

brnineworms's review against another edition

emotional reflective sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

Messy bitches all round.
Exceptionally well-written, until the ending where it felt like the brakes were slammed; it faltered then just kind of stopped, and not in a satisfyingly unsatisfying way. Still, I liked it a lot.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Grief, Infidelity, Outing, Dysphoria, Sexism, Misogyny, Pregnancy, Sexual content, Stalking, Toxic relationship, and Transphobia

Moderate: Abortion, Hate crime, Homophobia, Physical abuse, Alcohol, Alcoholism, Deadnaming, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Panic attacks/disorders, Suicide attempt, Blood, Chronic illness, Suicide, Violence, Cursing, Injury/Injury detail, Miscarriage, Self harm, and Sexual assault

Minor: Ableism, Animal cruelty, Pedophilia, Rape, Suicidal thoughts, Lesbophobia, Medical content, Classism, Forced institutionalization, Incest, Murder, Racism, Eating disorder, Trafficking, Car accident, Infertility, Adult/minor relationship, Animal death, and Colonisation

arj's review

challenging emotional reflective medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Transphobia, Sexual content, and Deadnaming

Moderate: Drug use, Suicide, and Homophobia

helen's review against another edition

4.0

Insightful, funny and unflinching character study of 3 women (2 trans, 1 cis) and what motherhood, sex, gender and family mean to them.
These characters are complicated and flawed and sometimes hurt each other. The writing made me laugh, challenged my preconceptions and engaged my empathy.
Four stars rather than five for a couple of reasons. Firstly, the ending was perfect for the story Peters was telling, but it left me a bit disappointed and wanting more. Secondly, the way they hurt each other was difficult for me to read at times and means I probably won't reread.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Homophobia, Miscarriage, and Transphobia

Moderate: Outing, Infidelity, and Domestic abuse

Minor: Alcohol, Deadnaming, Pregnancy, Abortion, Infertility, Suicide, and Drug use

grainjordan's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional sad tense 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

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Xenophobia, Transphobia, Violence, Sexual content, Pregnancy, Miscarriage, Hate crime, Abortion, Toxic relationship, Dysphoria, Domestic abuse, Physical abuse, Outing, Suicide attempt, and Infidelity

Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Suicide attempt, Suicide, Deadnaming, Drug use, and Homophobia

beccaruthe's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional reflective sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Abortion, Death, Miscarriage, Outing, Physical abuse, Suicide, Suicide attempt, Transphobia, Infidelity, and Pregnancy

Moderate: Grief, Alcohol, Violence, Toxic relationship, and Sexual violence

Minor: Body shaming, Classism, Abandonment, Addiction, Car accident, Cancer, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Racism, Stalking, Mental illness, and Misogyny

tomato_bisque's review against another edition

funny reflective sad fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

This is a fast paced book delving into the themes of womanhood and what it means to be a mother. The book is mainly from the point of view of two trans characters, Ames and Reese. 

Reese's thoughts about womanhood in relation to men and motherhood is something that a lot of women relate to. Motherhood is seen as the ultimate form of womanhood. Those who do not give birth or those that forgo motherhood altogether are not "real women." 

Since this form of womanhood is not afforded to Reese, violent masculinity is used to highlight her femininity. She is kept secret by her lovers, often leading to abuse and toxic relationships. Reese notes that the hardness and violence of men makes her softness and femininity stand out. There is a point later in the book when Reese rolls her eyes at a cis woman's excitement of her cis husband playing the stereotypic rugged man. This contrast makes that cis woman feel at home with her identity. Which is something that Reese does, albeit in a different way. 

The other main character, Ames, struggles with his gender identity. He uses masculinity as a way to avoid pain. Being in his body as a women opened him up new internal emotions and suffering, as well as opression by wider society. Detransitioning into a man made it easy to blend in, become invisible. When the prospect of him becoming a father comes up, he panics. 

In the end, this is a tragic story about how gender confines all of us. Its messy as hell. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Transphobia, Hate crime, and Toxic relationship

Moderate: Infidelity, Pregnancy, Sexual content, Suicide attempt, Emotional abuse, and Miscarriage

Minor: Drug use

sophiebv's review against another edition

adventurous emotional reflective medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Transphobia, Pregnancy, Infidelity, Sexual content, Suicide attempt, and Toxic relationship

Moderate: Sexual violence, Outing, Miscarriage, Suicide, and Self harm

Minor: Drug use and Forced institutionalization

grets_reads's review against another edition

emotional funny reflective medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Infertility, Infidelity, Mental illness, Pregnancy, Sexual content, and Toxic relationship

Minor: Body shaming, Drug use, Dysphoria, Emotional abuse, Grief, Miscarriage, Sexual violence, Bullying, Death, Domestic abuse, Abortion, Outing, Physical abuse, Suicide, Transphobia, and Alcohol

minxtte's review against another edition

emotional slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Pregnancy, Hate crime, Infidelity, Misogyny, Outing, Infertility, Domestic abuse, and Dysphoria

Moderate: Suicide attempt, Drug use, Miscarriage, Suicidal thoughts, Adult/minor relationship, Deadnaming, Addiction, Alcohol, and Mental illness

Minor: Abandonment and Eating disorder