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av0universe's review against another edition
3.5
So, this book is my first non-fiction ever. It's was a wild ride and it was amazing, difficult to read but so full of emotion and lessons. As a non-binary young person, reading about Elliot's long journey to acceopt themselves reminded myself how lucky I am to be in a safe space to come out and how lucky I am to have figured it out so early in my life.
As I said, this book is difficult to read/listen. I felt so seen but so fucking enraged and sad at the same time, no one deserves to go through what Elliot went through on his childhood on top of the constant feeling of not belonging as the person other people suppose you are.
Please, check trigger warnings if you're inclined to read this, it touches some topics in depth.
Graphic: Lesbophobia, Pandemic/Epidemic, Stalking, Misogyny, Self harm, Suicidal thoughts, Deadnaming, Dysphoria, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Alcohol, Child abuse, Emotional abuse, Homophobia, Blood, Body horror, Drug use, Eating disorder, and Injury/Injury detail
bashsbooks's review against another edition
4.75
Graphic: Stalking, Cursing, Emotional abuse, Transphobia, Child abuse, Deadnaming, Eating disorder, Homophobia, Lesbophobia, Mental illness, and Sexual violence
Moderate: Misogyny, Sexual assault, Alcohol, Sexual harassment, Outing, Self harm, Sexism, and Toxic relationship
Minor: Vomit, Pandemic/Epidemic, Bullying, and Toxic friendship
-Deadnaming isn't really, like traditional deadnaming -Elliot chooses to use his former first name at some points and comments on it specifically in his initial author's note. I only note it so you're not surprised to see/hear it. -Child abuse is neglect and verbal.kaitlinwarwick's review against another edition
3.5
Graphic: Transphobia, Homophobia, Self harm, Eating disorder, Dysphoria, Sexual content, Sexual harassment, Cursing, Sexual violence, Sexism, Sexual assault, Deadnaming, Mental illness, Drug use, Outing, Lesbophobia, Hate crime, Emotional abuse, Stalking, Alcohol, and Toxic relationship
Minor: Pandemic/Epidemic
kmrose's review against another edition
4.0
Moderate: Pandemic/Epidemic, Eating disorder, Panic attacks/disorders, Self harm, Suicidal thoughts, and Bullying
kit_margaret's review against another edition
4.25
Graphic: Suicidal thoughts, Stalking, Self harm, Transphobia, Homophobia, Sexual harassment, and Pandemic/Epidemic
questingnotcoasting's review against another edition
3.5
Graphic: Rape, Sexual assault, Dysphoria, Homophobia, Sexual harassment, Child abuse, Lesbophobia, and Transphobia
Moderate: Stalking, Mental illness, Pandemic/Epidemic, Toxic relationship, Physical abuse, Self harm, and Eating disorder
mazeeee's review against another edition
5.0
Graphic: Mental illness, Dysphoria, Sexual harassment, Deadnaming, Lesbophobia, Homophobia, Suicidal thoughts, Self harm, Grief, Eating disorder, Transphobia, Pandemic/Epidemic, Hate crime, Panic attacks/disorders, and Misogyny
jennp28's review against another edition
5.0
This memoir is an incredibly intimate look into Elliot’s journey. It’s raw and sometimes hard to read in its depictions of dysphoria and self doubt and transphobia. But it’s an incredibly important story to be put in the world. And the moments of queer joy and gender euphoria that shine through are incredible too.
I read this book slowly, a few short chapters at a time, so that it did not become too much all at once. The chapters are bite sized and more or less self contained so you can pick it up and put it down like that without really losing anything of the narrative. It’s not a chronological story so much as snapshots that come together to show his journey overall.
Interwoven with this story are a lot of behind-the-scenes Hollywood anecdotes (most of them not as shiny as one would assume) showing how much of their tru self a famous person is hiding at any given time.
And of course, Nova Scotia and Halifax shine through as characters in their own right. I’d love to know what readers unfamiliar with the area think of those detailed passages describing the area but as someone who knows everywhere he references, it adds one more layer of connection to the story. And my beloved moon mist ice cream even gets a shout out.
Long story short: read this book.
Graphic: Dysphoria
Moderate: Lesbophobia, Transphobia, Homophobia, and Medical content
Minor: Pandemic/Epidemic, Suicidal thoughts, and Self harm
marijne's review against another edition
4.0
Graphic: Emotional abuse, Eating disorder, Outing, Panic attacks/disorders, Rape, Sexual content, Self harm, Sexual assault, Pandemic/Epidemic, Homophobia, Stalking, and Transphobia
tigger89's review against another edition
4.5
As far as the queer memoir side of things go, this was a satisfying, illuminating read. Obviously Page's experience isn't everybody's experience. He admits that he's privileged in many ways, but he isn't ashamed — nor should he be — in recounting his lived experiences. I was particularly interested in his depiction of life as a closeted queer person, secretly dating women while working in the film industry, as well as how his childhood experiences shaped how he interacted with the world as an adult. I would caution readers that there are many passages — particular pertaining to sexual assault and gender dysphoria — that read as incompletely-processed trauma. There's not a lot of shielding on the emotions. Page provides content warnings at the front of the book, so please, take them seriously.
For the celebrity side of things, I don't really feel qualified to judge. I primarily know Page from his activism, and also I watched Juno. So mostly I was interested in how the celebrity stuff interacted with the queer stuff, and all the names just washed over me. The experience worked for me, but I can also understand someone who might want more anchoring being frustrated at the lack of explanation of who most of these people were. And of course there was the obligatory discretion, where "a member of crew" or "an acquaintance" did horrible things. I have no idea who those people were. In a way, the facelessness works. They could be anybody and we wouldn't know, which is the reality, since we know the list of people who have faced consequences for their behavior is woefully limited.
I personally loved the nonlinear format. The chapters are each gathered around a theme, concept, or state of mind, though it's not always obvious when you start off. Sometimes I had to flip back through, looking at the chapter title, before I spotted the connection and understood why the things were arranged the way they were. Another thing that will bother some people is Page's writing style. He frequently emphasizes or describes by stringing together several short sentence fragments. Distinct, painting a picture, individually striking. While Page is guilty of blatant comma abuse, I actually liked it. But I completely understand why it made some readers' skin crawl.
Important question time: do the dogs die?
Graphic: Rape, Sexual assault, Stalking, Child abuse, Homophobia, Eating disorder, Dysphoria, Emotional abuse, Self harm, and Transphobia
Moderate: Car accident, Alcohol, Cancer, and Outing
Minor: Pandemic/Epidemic, Pregnancy, and Animal death