Reviews tagging 'Toxic relationship'

Detransition, Baby by Torrey Peters

210 reviews

sedgewren's review against another edition

emotional funny sad medium-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

4.75

An intimate portrait of three infuriating, vulnerable, and funny women who live in New York and navigate their way around queer relationships, the trials and pains of being trans, gender, and trauma. The cuttingly insightful observations of womanhood, motherhood, familial, platonic and not-so-platonic relationships made this book breathtaking and fascinating. I was rooting for them the whole way through, despite their frustrating but understandable inability to communicate straightforwardly. 

I think the ending was very fitting, even though it felt like things reversed back to the status quo: Ames is still insecure in her gender; Reese still doesn't have a baby; Katherine will have an abortion and lose another baby; none of them were ever ready for a baby, despite how much they wanted a family together. It was probably the best ending that would've been believable (no sudden Disney glow-ups into becoming the perfect parent)

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Physical abuse, Sexism, Transphobia, Misogyny, Sexual content, and Toxic relationship

squishmallow161's review against another edition

emotional funny inspiring reflective sad fast-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? No

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Self harm, Homophobia, Physical abuse, Toxic relationship, and Transphobia

Moderate: Dysphoria, Gaslighting, and Outing

Minor: Miscarriage, Mental illness, and Suicide

maeverose's review against another edition

Maybe I’ll revisit this someday?

It just wasn’t really what I was expecting. I’m not exactly sure what I was expecting. The main characters are very messy people who make questionable decisions, which on one hand is nice to see because it allows trans people to be messy and human just like everyone else without the expectation of perfect representation, but on the other hand, I don’t really care to read about Reese’s questionable sex life for a huge chunk of the book (well, the beginning at least). I feel like all I know about her is she’s trans, has terrible taste in men and little self worth. I also (as a childfree person) really didn’t like how the characters were going about the whole parenting thing. I stopped somewhere in the middle of chapter two, but the way Katrina was like ‘I’m only having the baby if I have a co parent’ made me feel like she didn’t actually want a baby and should probably just get the abortion. As well as Ames using the pregnancy seemingly just as an excuse to kind of get back together with Reese in a way. It bothers me so much seeing people become parents for stupid reasons, and the characters in this book were all way too messy to care for a child, and two of them didn’t even seem like they wanted to.

I have no objective issues with the book, it’s just not for me.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Misogyny, Pregnancy, Toxic relationship, Transphobia, Sexual content, and Infidelity

Moderate: Miscarriage, Physical abuse, Gore, and Animal death

Minor: Abortion, Infertility, Antisemitism, and Racism

The gore is just animal gore, at least as far as I read

anthsoprano's review against another edition

emotional reflective medium-paced

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

5.0

honestly torrey peters' writing is so funny and captivating and brutally real. written by a trans woman for trans women, but also as someone under the trans umbrella, if i had tried to read this a year ago i'd throw it down the stairs with how real it hits.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Hate crime, Toxic friendship, Toxic relationship, Stalking, Domestic abuse, Dysphoria, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Miscarriage and Outing

mmikenaite's review against another edition

emotional informative reflective slow-paced

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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Hate crime, Dysphoria, Outing, Sexual content, Toxic relationship, and Abortion

Moderate: Body shaming, Miscarriage, Racism, Suicidal thoughts, Sexism, and Transphobia

japamela's review against another edition

challenging emotional informative tense 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? It's complicated

4.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Transphobia, Sexual violence, and Toxic relationship

Minor: Physical abuse and Hate crime

sorcha's review against another edition

emotional funny hopeful reflective sad

3.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Toxic relationship, Infidelity, Sexual content, and Outing

Moderate: Suicide attempt, Dysphoria, Blood, Pregnancy, Miscarriage, Suicide, Abortion, Death, Injury/Injury detail, Infertility, and Transphobia

kyrstin_p1989's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional hopeful informative reflective 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

2.5

While interesting, I really struggled to get into this book. In part, I think it was the way it was written — the back and forth between characters and time periods made the book feel choppy and disconnected. The entire time I was reading, I never fell into the story. It just felt like I was reading — not experiencing it. The insights about being trans were the highlight for me. I felt deep sorrow for the characters who wanted so deeply to be themselves in ways society or biology would not allow. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Car accident, Emotional abuse, Racial slurs, Blood, Medical content, Misogyny, Miscarriage, Sexual content, Transphobia, Body horror, Body shaming, Homophobia, Abandonment, Deadnaming, Domestic abuse, Gaslighting, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Lesbophobia, Toxic relationship, Biphobia, Pregnancy, Death, Suicide, Sexual harassment, Bullying, Outing, Physical abuse, Suicidal thoughts, Sexual violence, Abortion, Death of parent, Infidelity, and Sexism

lily_peach's review against another edition

challenging emotional reflective medium-paced

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

3.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Toxic friendship, Toxic relationship, Infidelity, and Violence

Moderate: Transphobia, Racism, Outing, Homophobia, Sexual content, Suicide, and Suicide attempt

Minor: Body shaming

lorenag5's review against another edition

challenging emotional informative reflective fast-paced

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

4.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Cursing, Deadnaming, Suicide attempt, Abortion, Domestic abuse, Drug use, Homophobia, Infertility, Miscarriage, Outing, Pregnancy, Sexual content, Toxic relationship, and Transphobia