Reviews with content warning for Antisemitism - A Million Quiet Revolutions

Reviews tagging 'Antisemitism'

A Million Quiet Revolutions by Robin Gow

9 reviews

melodyseestrees's review against another edition

emotional hopeful 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? It's complicated

4.75

This is a very sweet, almost cozy, read. It does kind of romanticize war though. It does show two different trans journeys- one extremely accepting family and one accepting but not talking about it family. There is an incident with a religious figure,

one character's brother was assaulted by a priest and his reporting this uncovers a huge ring of sexual assault,

and some character reactions around this event were really irritating. "How come they believe you but not me," when the one being believed is a victim of a crime. I wish we had seen more of the LGBTQ+ people at the one school. Aside from our two main characters and the mentions of that group there really isn't any notable queer characters

outside of the WLW couple at the reenactment

Content Warnings

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?

Content Warnings

averyprettyboy's review

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challenging emotional hopeful 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? No

4.5

Content Warnings

a_mendoza's review

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emotional inspiring lighthearted fast-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

4.5

Content Warnings

greenlivingaudioworm's review against another edition

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emotional hopeful lighthearted reflective sad medium-paced

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

3.0

Content Warnings

foreverinastory's review against another edition

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emotional hopeful 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

Thank you to Pride Book Tours and Fierce Reads for a finished copy in exchange for an honest review and promotion. All opinions are my own.

I am very emotional after reading this.

A Million Quiet Revolutions is a YA contemporary novel in verse that follows the journey of two trans boys who are best friends and fall in love with each other. When they find the story of two trans men in the Revolutionary war, they adopt their names: Aaron and Oliver. Just as they feel like their relationship is blossoming, Aaron is forced to move away. The two continue to write letters to each other and cling to the hope of love, identity and finding their place in history.

This book broke me. I am a void after reading this heartbreaking and breathtaking story of two trans boys in love. I loved how much these two boys cared for each other. I loved the exploration of queer culture, Latine culture and Jewish culture that we got in this novel. Aaron and Oliver's journeys to acceptance are different for them both, but each was powerful.

I loved watching Aaron find a community for himself, including other queer Latine people. I loved seeing Oliver dive deeper into history and finding stories of queer heroes. Oliver's home life is much more accepting and I loved how easily his parents supported him. Aaron has a tougher time, but the way his relationship with his older brother, Jose, is explored was amazing. I loved seeing these two open up to each other and how Jose was always willing to help Aaron if that's what he wanted.

Overall, this was a moving and evocative story and I loved it with my whole heart.

Jewish gay trans male MC, Puerto Rican Christian gay trans male MC, Latine queer nonbinary side character, Puerto Rican cishet side characters, various queer side characters, Black male side character.

CWs: Homophobia/homomisia, transphobia/transmisia, deadnaming, misgendering. Moderate: misogyny, consensual sexual content, sexual assault, rape, sexual violence, religious bigotry, dysphoria. Minor: Antisemitism.

Content Warnings

olivialandryxo's review against another edition

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challenging emotional hopeful 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? No

4.5

I don’t have the spoons for a full review right now, but A Million Quiet Revolutions was a fantastic novel in verse about two trans boys transitioning, growing up and falling in love. Gow’s poetry was beautiful and powerful, and I loved Oliver and Aaron. The author’s thoughtful examination of queer people throughout history was fascinating, and it was heartwarming to see the boys see themselves in these people. I would absolutely recommend this book. <3

Representation

Jewish gay trans mtf protagonist
Puerto Rican gay trans mtf protagonist
Colombian nonbinary side character
queer side characters (includes nonbinary, trans mtf, and lesbian rep)
trans achillean romance

Content Warnings

betweentheshelves's review

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emotional hopeful 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

4.5

This is a beautiful novel in verse about two trans boys finding each other, finding themselves, and finding love. Stay tuned for a full review to come!

Content Warnings

armontheroad's review

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emotional inspiring reflective sad fast-paced

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

5.0

A MILLION QUIET REVOLUTIONS is a deeply beautiful novel written in verse. We follow two trans teen boys in a romantic relationship together. One of the boys is a white Jewish only child, the other is a Puerto Rican Catholic with an older brother. I requested this only knowing it was a T4T relationship. I’m also in a T4T relationship, my partner and I are both trans men as well, but I was surprised just how much Oliver and Aaron are like me and my partner. Aaron being a Boricua completely took me by a surprise, but it made me so happy accidentally finding representation I could fully relate to. I love the conversations had in this book. They are raw and deeply personal. From discussions of dysphoria, unsupportive family, surviving sexual assault, self-discovery, discussions on Historical events, this was all handled stunningly! I cannot recommend this enough. Obviously, tread lightly due to potentially triggering content. The only critique I have is I want to see more of these characters. I would read 12 books all about them.

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