Scan barcode
shirarweiss's review
challenging
dark
reflective
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
I didn’t like this book. I don’t understand why I didn’t like this book. I was deeply disturbed by so many of the stories, but I couldn’t look away.
Edit: after reading other reviews, I think I understand more of what I’m feeling now. It felt like trauma porn, and deliberately uncomfortable - while I appreciate the author’s explicit exploration of the messiness of life, it was too much for me. Definitely read the trigger warnings. I’m struggling because it fed into so many negative stereotypes about queer people, but I also recognize that those stereotypes can come from a place of truth and that as queer people we each wrestle with those stereotypes. My gut feeling is just no.
Edit: after reading other reviews, I think I understand more of what I’m feeling now. It felt like trauma porn, and deliberately uncomfortable - while I appreciate the author’s explicit exploration of the messiness of life, it was too much for me. Definitely read the trigger warnings. I’m struggling because it fed into so many negative stereotypes about queer people, but I also recognize that those stereotypes can come from a place of truth and that as queer people we each wrestle with those stereotypes. My gut feeling is just no.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Pedophilia, Addiction, Hate crime, Homophobia, Outing, Suicide, Toxic friendship, Alcoholism, Bullying, Cursing, Deadnaming, Drug abuse, Misogyny, Toxic relationship, Emotional abuse, Sexual assault, Infidelity, Death, Sexual content, Alcohol, Religious bigotry, Sexual violence, Violence, Animal death, Antisemitism, Gaslighting, Rape, Sexual harassment, Abandonment, Adult/minor relationship, and Child abuse
mags_'s review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
funny
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A
3.0
I thought I would like this more, but the plotlines turned out to all be pretty dark, though the writing style was engaging.
I related most to the stories that centered more around the trans experience - like the Oregon Trail and the YouTuber conference.
Really did not like the sexual content involving minors. Definitely a book with lots of trigger warnings.
I related most to the stories that centered more around the trans experience - like the Oregon Trail and the YouTuber conference.
Really did not like the sexual content involving minors. Definitely a book with lots of trigger warnings.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Addiction, Animal death, Bullying, Sexual assault, Transphobia, Dysphoria, Pedophilia, Sexual content, and Adult/minor relationship
Moderate: Death, Pandemic/Epidemic, and Outing
Minor: Antisemitism, Drug use, Deadnaming, Infidelity, Rape, Genocide, and Alcohol
nessynoname's review
challenging
dark
emotional
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.25
I find this an incredibly challenging book to review. TLDR; I really did not enjoy this book, but yet I did get something out of it. This is a book that is best consumed thinking of each character not as a representative for the identity they belong to (an interpretation I know many LGBT+ readers are hungry to make) but individual people confronting situations unique to them who you may or may not relate to, or even straight up dislike. The collection primarily centers narratives from the points of view of lesbian, nonbinary, and trans characters, and unless I missed something, I believe all of the POV characters are white. Additionally, be mindful of the content warnings for this book if you intend to give it a try.
Despite being a queer person with an identity not dissimilar to the author, I think I had to come to the conclusion that this book is probably not "for" me. The scenarios and resolutions of many of the stories just sort of frustrated me, and felt alienating a lot of the time. This was a collection of queer stories I don't think I could relate to for the most part. You may find characters in this book who's situations and experiences you really resonate with (I actually did, in a couple) but others will not speak to you at all.
And, man, I really didn't like almost all of these stories. Just mostly to do with themes I either could not relate to: (infidelity, incorrigible attraction to certain strangers, or the experience of horny teenagers, all of which my asexual ass couldn't parse in the slightest) or the inclusion of more challenging topics that I was not as comfortable with (an entire story predicated on the sudden death of a character's pet dog; a minor's close call with someone with pedophillic intentions).
These frustrations don't really stem from a lack of writing ability on the authors part. I believe every story is what it wants to be, and I think its clear that a lot of the stories come from a genuine personal place for the author, (I think all of the characters actually share at least one intersection with their identity.) From an artistic standpoint I did not find anything particularly standout about the prose. There were artistic or clever turns of phrase here or there but it was otherwise written in a very straightforward, down to earth way that was serviceable but not noteworthy.
The only stories that I really felt a personal connection to were two exploring nonbinary identity, one about a young student frustrated with their assigned role as "family matron" in their school's Pioneer themed activity day, and one about a middle aged aunt wrestling with exploring a nonbinary identity and trying to bond with their teenage out-trans nephew. The last one, probably because of my personal investment in it, had an exceedingly frustrating ending to me, which highlighted the way in which the LGBT+ community has become increasingly age-stratified, with different age groups struggling to acknowledge or relate to each others experience. I pondered it for a full day because of how the ending frustrated me, which was ultimately a GOOD thing, the way that story challenged me opened up a dialogue in my mind and gave me something to take with me. The other 'challenging' aspects in the other stories just left me kind of put off and neutral-to-confused. (Again: READ THE CONTENT WARNINGS before picking up this book).
All of the romantic relationships depicted just seem kind of messy and half-spoken and even outright toxic in a few instances. They are all holding back from genuine tenderness and are held together by lonely desire rather than bettering each other, and that's sort of the point, but also just very frustrating for me as a reader. These are not stories of queer joy, moreso they are stories of queer confusion, frustration and a lonely road to self-identity.
This collection seems rather polarizing. You are either going to really resonate with certain characters, and others not at all. For myself there are individual stories that I would recommend or discuss with my friends, but not the entire collection. I think I will remember all of it, but not all of it in a good way.
Despite being a queer person with an identity not dissimilar to the author, I think I had to come to the conclusion that this book is probably not "for" me. The scenarios and resolutions of many of the stories just sort of frustrated me, and felt alienating a lot of the time. This was a collection of queer stories I don't think I could relate to for the most part. You may find characters in this book who's situations and experiences you really resonate with (I actually did, in a couple) but others will not speak to you at all.
And, man, I really didn't like almost all of these stories. Just mostly to do with themes I either could not relate to: (infidelity, incorrigible attraction to certain strangers, or the experience of horny teenagers, all of which my asexual ass couldn't parse in the slightest) or the inclusion of more challenging topics that I was not as comfortable with (an entire story predicated on the sudden death of a character's pet dog; a minor's close call with someone with pedophillic intentions).
These frustrations don't really stem from a lack of writing ability on the authors part. I believe every story is what it wants to be, and I think its clear that a lot of the stories come from a genuine personal place for the author, (I think all of the characters actually share at least one intersection with their identity.) From an artistic standpoint I did not find anything particularly standout about the prose. There were artistic or clever turns of phrase here or there but it was otherwise written in a very straightforward, down to earth way that was serviceable but not noteworthy.
The only stories that I really felt a personal connection to were two exploring nonbinary identity, one about a young student frustrated with their assigned role as "family matron" in their school's Pioneer themed activity day, and one about a middle aged aunt wrestling with exploring a nonbinary identity and trying to bond with their teenage out-trans nephew. The last one, probably because of my personal investment in it, had an exceedingly frustrating ending to me, which highlighted the way in which the LGBT+ community has become increasingly age-stratified, with different age groups struggling to acknowledge or relate to each others experience. I pondered it for a full day because of how the ending frustrated me, which was ultimately a GOOD thing, the way that story challenged me opened up a dialogue in my mind and gave me something to take with me. The other 'challenging' aspects in the other stories just left me kind of put off and neutral-to-confused. (Again: READ THE CONTENT WARNINGS before picking up this book).
All of the romantic relationships depicted just seem kind of messy and half-spoken and even outright toxic in a few instances. They are all holding back from genuine tenderness and are held together by lonely desire rather than bettering each other, and that's sort of the point, but also just very frustrating for me as a reader. These are not stories of queer joy, moreso they are stories of queer confusion, frustration and a lonely road to self-identity.
This collection seems rather polarizing. You are either going to really resonate with certain characters, and others not at all. For myself there are individual stories that I would recommend or discuss with my friends, but not the entire collection. I think I will remember all of it, but not all of it in a good way.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual content, Animal death, and Drug use
Moderate: Outing, Addiction, Dysphoria, Infidelity, Pedophilia, Antisemitism, and Transphobia
Minor: Pregnancy, Adult/minor relationship, Bullying, Genocide, Toxic relationship, and Toxic friendship
combepherre's review
dark
emotional
reflective
sad
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
1.25
Content Warnings
Graphic: Pregnancy, Outing, Drug abuse, Adult/minor relationship, Addiction, Self harm, Infertility, Drug use, Sexual content, Sexual assault, Child abuse, Animal death, Pedophilia, Transphobia, and Sexual violence
More...