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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: Deadnaming, Body horror, Dysphoria, Medical content, Mental illness, and Gore
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 shaming, Body horror, Dysphoria, Transphobia, Deadnaming, and Homophobia
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: Medical content, Blood, Self harm, and Dysphoria
Moderate: Lesbophobia and Deadnaming
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: Self harm, Deadnaming, Transphobia, and Dysphoria
Moderate: Bullying, Medical trauma, and Homophobia
Minor: Body shaming and Islamophobia
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, Dysphoria, and Transphobia
Moderate: Homophobia and Deadnaming
Minor: Islamophobia
pastel_princess's review
emotional
informative
inspiring
lighthearted
fast-paced
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Dysphoria and Medical content
Minor: Cursing, Self harm, and Deadnaming
coyodie's review
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
fast-paced
4.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: Transphobia, Self harm, Mental illness, Deadnaming, and Dysphoria
Moderate: Homophobia, Lesbophobia, Vomit, Body horror, Cursing, Bullying, and Sexual content
Minor: Medical content and Violence
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