Reviews tagging 'Transphobia'

Boy Parts by Eliza Clark

17 reviews

documentno_is's review against another edition

challenging dark mysterious tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

I went into Boy Parts largely blind and was better for it, the shock factor and depravity of the slow unveiling of the nature of our protagonist was more impactful than had I known what to expect. I hated every moment of being in this character's head and yet grapple with

the ways in which she can be both predator and victim.  Our main character is a master of manipulation and drowning in her own narcissism yet we see the multitude of ways she is failed by those around her, fueling her perversions.

In many ways reading this novel felt unbearable, both in the situations conjured up and the thought processes we are made privy to. This book felt cutting and revolting in the same ways

Lolita does

. My only complaint was the plot post London visit, for as shocking and fast paced as it was for the first 4/5ths of the story it puttered out

rather ungracefully to an unsatisfying ending of repetitions as is common of unveiling your central underlying "secret" too early on. We are left in liminal space of not knowing how much of our character's recollection is psychosis and how much is sociopathy, undoing much of the suspense of earlier on.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Murder, Gaslighting, Toxic friendship, Physical abuse, Eating disorder, Drug use, Death, Biphobia, Sexual violence, Blood, Transphobia, Toxic relationship, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Mental illness, Emotional abuse, Body horror, Alcoholism, Vomit, Rape, Violence, Torture, Sexual harassment, Injury/Injury detail, Gore, Dysphoria, Drug abuse, Domestic abuse, Classism, Body shaming, Adult/minor relationship, Sexual content, Sexual assault, Self harm, Pedophilia, Misogyny, Alcohol, and Abandonment

writeasiread's review against another edition

challenging dark

• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Eating disorder, Blood, Drug use, Drug abuse, Emotional abuse, Gaslighting, Injury/Injury detail, Sexual assault, Toxic friendship, Toxic relationship, Transphobia, and Vomit

kibiiiariii's review against another edition

dark emotional funny relaxing sad tense medium-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

4.25

Took off 0.25 cus she killed the kitty

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Drug abuse, Fatphobia, Self harm, Violence, Alcohol, Blood, Classism, Cultural appropriation, Domestic abuse, Gaslighting, Addiction, Body shaming, Bullying, Cancer, Homophobia, Murder, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Sexual content, Sexual harassment, Abandonment, Ableism, Acephobia/Arophobia, Adult/minor relationship, Alcoholism, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Biphobia, Body horror, Child abuse, Child death, Cursing, Drug use, Eating disorder, Gore, Lesbophobia, Pedophilia, Transphobia, Grief, Rape, Infidelity, Injury/Injury detail, Physical abuse, Kidnapping, Mental illness, Toxic relationship, Misogyny, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Stalking, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic friendship, and Vomit

ciaraohara's review against another edition

1.5

This is a confusing one bc on one hand this is such a well written book. The attention to detail and the understanding that Eliza Clark shows of narcissism and narcissistic cycles of abuse is amazing, and the writing was really captivating. Each and every character was developed so well and appropriately given that they were seen through Irina’s eyes, and her portrayal of people on drugs was also (I am told) very accurate and very well done. 

The reason for my rating being so low is unfortunately just that I found the book so triggering bc of my own experiences which !! is not super fun. I don’t feel I can rate a book higher if it caused me so much genuine distress, no matter how good the writing is. However I thought that it was thought provoking and well written and I would read more by her - provided that I look up the content warnings first. 

I’m sorry for the low rating Eliza Clark, please do not beef me ❤️

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Physical abuse, Sexual assault, Animal death, Drug abuse, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Rape, and Transphobia

chrishham's review against another edition

dark funny mysterious tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

bro...

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Drug use, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Body horror, Violence, Sexual violence, Alcohol, Sexual assault, and Rape

Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Addiction, Vomit, Toxic friendship, Eating disorder, Murder, Animal death, and Gore

Minor: Self harm, Body shaming, and Transphobia

alliemay's review against another edition

dark tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.5

If you like to read content warnings before reading a book, then I suggest you look them up for this book. It's not the most extreme piece of writing, but I found myself surprised by the contents because I had picked it up based on the cover and title. This book covered some heavy themes and I found it provocative. I thought the depth of writing was better suited to a short story than a novel. The author note mentions that this novel was adapted from a short story and I would have preferred to read the short story.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual assault, Sexual violence, and Transphobia

Moderate: Drug abuse, Drug use, Blood, Fatphobia, Murder, and Toxic friendship

Minor: Violence, Adult/minor relationship, Alcohol, and Emotional abuse

Don't read this book if you prefer to read books where the narrator is likeable

jnunmont's review against another edition

challenging dark funny medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

Lost some points for being British. Thank God the UK isn’t real. She sorta reminds me of my ex. Thank god I’m fat so she’d never pick me. Very ED tumblr coded 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Eating disorder

Minor: Transphobia

kassabitte's review against another edition

challenging dark reflective tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

Totally gripping from start to finish; this whole book feels like a terrible accident you cannot look away from. Of all the unhinged woman books I've read this has been my favorite so far. Despite how insane our protagonist is, and how detached from reality the people she interacts with are, I believed every single one of them. It really explores power dynamics between men and women (but also women and women), through the lens of sex/attraction. Clark really takes her time exploring this from all angles, which I found fascinating. There are a ton of TW for this though, so please proceed with caution. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Transphobia, Sexual violence, Toxic relationship, Rape, Self harm, Torture, Toxic friendship, and Vomit

mel_j's review against another edition

dark mysterious 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

2.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Misogyny, Rape, and Mental illness

Moderate: Sexual harassment and Sexual assault

Minor: Toxic friendship, Emotional abuse, Vomit, and Transphobia

gwyman93's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional tense medium-paced

• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Sexual content, and Sexism

Moderate: Transphobia