Reviews with content warning for Sexual assault - A Million Quiet Revolutions

Reviews tagging 'Sexual assault'

A Million Quiet Revolutions by Robin Gow

19 reviews

katieee_f's review

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emotional hopeful inspiring 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? No

5.0

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choicepotatoes_20240331's review against another edition

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emotional 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

this is one of those books that makes me nostalgic for a life i never had. i mean, what would it have been like to have known myself at such a young age? what would it have been like to have come across adults, like lawrence, who *saw* me and made me aware, in both subtle and overt ways, that being the person i have turned out to be is 112% okay?

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suchacommotion's review

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emotional hopeful inspiring reflective sad medium-paced

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

3.5

The first third of the book was very difficult to get into. The premise was strange and I really did not connect with the plot or characters; it’s been a little too long since I was in high school. But the last third of the story was gut wrenching. It captured so many feelings of isolation and fear that I felt when I was that age - not for the same reasons, but I knew what Aaron was feeling. The ending was perfect even if it was sweetened for the sake of the plot - it’s what queer kids need to see. Worth the read even if it wasn’t exactly up my alley anymore.

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bookishmillennial's review

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emotional funny hopeful reflective slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes

disclaimer if you’ve read other reviews by me and are noticing a pattern: You’re correct that I don’t really give starred reviews, I feel like a peasant and don’t like leaving them and most often, I will only leave them if I vehemently despised a book. I enjoy most books for what they are, & I extract lessons from them all. Everyone’s reading experiences are subjective, so I hope my reviews provide enough information to let you know if a book is for you or not, regardless if I add stars or not. Find me on Instagram: @bookish.millennial or tiktok: @bookishmillennial

I adore Robin Gow !!! This is only about ~120 pages but it was full of teenage angst, introspection, and discovery. Two teenage boys start their journey of figuring out their trans identities, and they come across two soldiers, who are named Oliver & Aaron, so they adopt those names! Aaron moves away so they navigate being long-distance on top of so much identity searching.

Robin actually grew up in Kutztown, the town where Oliver & Aaron's story begins, which I thought was so neat. Robin was inspired by the fact that women dressed as men to be soldiers to be part of the Revolution, and that many of them went on to live as men after the war. Robin wants to remind us that trans and genderqueer or nonbinary folks have always existed in history, but it was just up to whomever was telling the stories and documenting this afterward (which we know of course has been predominantly cishet white men). They also provide a great further reading list at the very end, on trans*, gender-nonconforming, and the two-spirit people's history.

"Really, I just thought the group
might make me feel even more weird and lonely
and like I didn't belong anywhere.

It was totally not any of those things
which was fucking refreshing. I didn't know
queer groups like Spectrum existed.
I've learned so freaking much from my friends,
and I'm not the only Latino for once!

I know it sounds selfish
but I don't think it really is selfish
to want to feel
like a family

It makes me think about
how much more I would like history class
if we talked more about queer people
and people of color
and people with disabilities
and people with different religious backgrounds
instead of just teaching about them
as side facts in a white guy's history.
What would a class about
the Revolution look like
thinking about those groups?