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laurel_k's review
emotional
inspiring
reflective
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Self harm, Transphobia, and Dysphoria
Moderate: Bullying and Deadnaming
Minor: Suicidal thoughts and Vomit
foampittroll's review
emotional
hopeful
reflective
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
2.0
This book feels like it was written by a cis person for cis people, but it’s about a trans man. Accessibility wise, this book was hard to follow as there was no clear orientation between time skips and POV changes. I often found myself confused despite being a well versed graphic novel reader. Lastly, the graphic mutilation throughout this book was uncalled for and very unexpected. While dysphoria can feel very graphic, it would sit better with me if created by a trans person about their own experience.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body horror, Body shaming, Bullying, Deadnaming, Self harm, Transphobia, Blood, Medical content, and Dysphoria
james1star's review
emotional
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.0
Last year I read an arc of All Princesses Die Before Dawn by Zuitton and really enjoyed that, it’s his artwork that makes up his contribution to this book and once again it’s beautifully drawn. He is so talented and I’d love to read/view more of his books. The style is very real but at times have a dreamlike ethereal aspect to it.
The content reads a little like a trans memoir following Nathan as he comes to terms with his trans identity. Central is the way friends and family take the news as he begins puberty and the things that need to be overcome to attain the body that he wants society to view him in. The story feels very raw and extremely personal at times that I feel would have been better coming from a trans person (it’s ‘based’ on a trans boy Castro knew but has been heavily fleshed out). This combined with some of the mutilation scenes made the reading experience a little uncomfortable.
On the whole this was a decent read and threw up some of points of discussion on what it’s like to be trans including the struggles and joys of transness. I just wasn’t wholly won over by the way the book came to be. I’d recommend but would push trans-told stories first.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Dysphoria
Minor: Cursing, Deadnaming, Self harm, and Transphobia
loverrbboy's review
2.0
from what i understand, this is written by a cis person who has a family friend with a trans kid. this is clear when reading it, to me at least. it shows some of the most gory, angry, visible parts of growing up trans. but not the mental ones, to me. nathan’s relationship with his brother is sweet though. maybe it’s just the fact that this was translated from french that makes it read a bit strangely.
the main things that stand out to me:
1) this is written about a trans person who knows they are a binary trans man from a young age, something i simply can’t relate to
2) someone who wants and then undergoes a full medical masculinizing transition process. he experiences no discomfort around these procedures, and his mother’s feelings about this are touched on briefly but not enough.
3) someone who is very disconnected from his lesbianism, basically never saw himself as a girl. someone who had girlfriends early on, someone conventionally attractive and who passed before hormones
idk i wanted to like it but it wasn’t for me. why is a cis woman making this anyway?
the main things that stand out to me:
1) this is written about a trans person who knows they are a binary trans man from a young age, something i simply can’t relate to
2) someone who wants and then undergoes a full medical masculinizing transition process. he experiences no discomfort around these procedures, and his mother’s feelings about this are touched on briefly but not enough.
3) someone who is very disconnected from his lesbianism, basically never saw himself as a girl. someone who had girlfriends early on, someone conventionally attractive and who passed before hormones
idk i wanted to like it but it wasn’t for me. why is a cis woman making this anyway?
Content Warnings
Graphic: Self harm
Moderate: Body horror, Deadnaming, Gore, Mental illness, Medical content, and Dysphoria
nerdysread's review against another edition
emotional
reflective
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
2.0
Bof. Vraiment bof. C’est dur à lire. Heureusement que je ne l’ai pas lu lors d’un épisode de dysphorie hein. Il y a quelques passages intéressant mais sinon on dirait plus un livre écrit par et pour les personnes cis avec pas mal de voyeurisme (les coupures, les organes…). Un peu un « documentaire » M6 quoi mais en bd. Ah et pleins de TW: Automutilation, Transphobie, Deadname, Homophobie, Dysphorie violente, « body horror », Mégenrage
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body horror, Body shaming, Deadnaming, Homophobia, Transphobia, and Dysphoria
Moderate: Bullying
Minor: Sexual content
brogan7's review
dark
emotional
medium-paced
3.75
I started to read this in French, or maybe did read it a couple of years ago? I had difficulty with the graphic horror of some sections, the first time I read it, and because it's not #ownvoices, it felt sensationalistic and voyeuristic at some level.
It's a complicated story, about love and losses, self-love and change. (I didn't like that the only way the little brother could give support to his trans sibling was to get in a physical fight, as though his toughness and machismo were signs of brotherhood and not just toxic masculinity... What if the little brother had been really injured? But no he's so tough and brushes off Nathan's wound dressing and expression that there shouldn't be a repeat...reinforcing weird stereotypes).
I liked the complexity of the mother's point of view, it felt sensitively treated, not just straight up and easy for her and also not entrenched in transphobia...just a mother learning something about someone else's path.
It's a complicated story, about love and losses, self-love and change. (I didn't like that the only way the little brother could give support to his trans sibling was to get in a physical fight, as though his toughness and machismo were signs of brotherhood and not just toxic masculinity... What if the little brother had been really injured? But no he's so tough and brushes off Nathan's wound dressing and expression that there shouldn't be a repeat...reinforcing weird stereotypes).
I liked the complexity of the mother's point of view, it felt sensitively treated, not just straight up and easy for her and also not entrenched in transphobia...just a mother learning something about someone else's path.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Self harm, Blood, Medical content, and Dysphoria
Moderate: Deadnaming and Lesbophobia
swordjas's review
challenging
emotional
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
1.0
I really wanted to like this book as I am a transmasc reader, and part of what drew me in to this story was the profile of the titular protagonist. We get Nathan's experiences and perspective growing into his body, but it also feels distanced and detached in that most of it focuses on displaying his traumas for the sake of trauma. Part of it also felt somewhat exploitive (as some previous reviews also mention), and the pacing of story seemed odd.
The narrative was also hard to follow at the points that the POV would switch to Nathan's family members (often abruptly).
The narrative was also hard to follow at the points that the POV would switch to Nathan's family members (often abruptly).
Content Warnings
Graphic: Deadnaming, Self harm, Transphobia, and Dysphoria
Moderate: Bullying, Homophobia, and Medical trauma
Minor: Body shaming and Islamophobia
limina's review
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
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? It's complicated
5.0
This was a beautiful book. At times it was heartbreaking, but also very hopeful. At times it is unflinching in it's storytelling. I would recommend this to just about anyone.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Deadnaming, Self harm, Transphobia, and Blood
Moderate: Bullying, Medical content, Lesbophobia, and Sexual harassment
Minor: Vomit
livlamentloathe's review
emotional
inspiring
reflective
fast-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? It's complicated
3.5
The narrative was a bit hard to follow. Sometimes the POV was Nathan, other times it was his brother, mother, or friends. Beyond that, it was a hard but lovely story of a boy finding himself.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Deadnaming, Transphobia, and Dysphoria
Moderate: Bullying, Self harm, and Medical content
Minor: Body shaming and Homophobia
krys_kilz's review
challenging
emotional
fast-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? It's complicated
1.0
If I had realized that this book was not actually written/told by a trans person, I never would have picked it up.
You could tell it was an outsider perspective with the way it tried to cram Nathan's story in with his parents, brother, and friend's experiences of his transition. The entire story veered into trauma porn. There were so many triggering topics and the story just jumped from one traumatic incident to the next with no time to reflect. Nathan felt like a weird prop instead of a person, like the reader was just meant to consume his pain and never actually get to know him. As another reviewer put it, it was voyeuristic and violent.
Then we have the writing itself, which was sporadic, messy, and all over the place. The narrative jumped around so much I had a very hard time following. And a lot of the writing made no sense. I don't know if this was due to the translation or if it was really just that poorly written. And like what was the ending?!?! Or that Islamophobic side comment his mom made about at least Nathan didn't join the jihad?!?
And finally, the artwork. I thought the art style and coloring were beautiful, but a lot of the drawings felt exploitative. Like they were going for shock value instead of genuine emotional connection.
Overall, this book left a bad taste in my mouth and quite frankly, I wish I never read it.
To fellow trans folks, I would strongly encourage you to avoid this book. And to cis folks, please ask yourself why you enjoyed a cis person's narrative of transphobic violence instead of reading stories actually told by us.
You could tell it was an outsider perspective with the way it tried to cram Nathan's story in with his parents, brother, and friend's experiences of his transition. The entire story veered into trauma porn. There were so many triggering topics and the story just jumped from one traumatic incident to the next with no time to reflect. Nathan felt like a weird prop instead of a person, like the reader was just meant to consume his pain and never actually get to know him. As another reviewer put it, it was voyeuristic and violent.
Then we have the writing itself, which was sporadic, messy, and all over the place. The narrative jumped around so much I had a very hard time following. And a lot of the writing made no sense. I don't know if this was due to the translation or if it was really just that poorly written. And like what was the ending?!?! Or that Islamophobic side comment his mom made about at least Nathan didn't join the jihad?!?
And finally, the artwork. I thought the art style and coloring were beautiful, but a lot of the drawings felt exploitative. Like they were going for shock value instead of genuine emotional connection.
Overall, this book left a bad taste in my mouth and quite frankly, I wish I never read it.
To fellow trans folks, I would strongly encourage you to avoid this book. And to cis folks, please ask yourself why you enjoyed a cis person's narrative of transphobic violence instead of reading stories actually told by us.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body horror, Self harm, Transphobia, and Dysphoria
Moderate: Deadnaming and Homophobia
Minor: Islamophobia