Reviews tagging 'Transphobia'

Jonny Appleseed by Joshua Whitehead

32 reviews

hanhantap's review against another edition

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dark emotional funny reflective sad medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75


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readingpicnic's review against another edition

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  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes

5.0

My god, what an incredible book! This is also the horniest book I think I’ve ever read lol. The writing was beautifully weird, the narrator was so funny and blunt, and the relationships with the main character and the women in their life were so deep and lovely.
The final scene with Jonny crying at their Kokum’s grave made me cry so much. It was such an emotional and impactful scene to have towards the end of the book to really emphasize how their relationship transcends death with their imagined conversation (or real conversation since Jonny used to see spirits). This scene hit me like a truck.
I wrote down and highlighted the fuck out of this book. I’m going to recommend this to everyone. It’s so unabashedly queer and sex positive, and I can’t wait to devour the rest of Joshua Whitehead’s books.

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hyperpension's review against another edition

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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? Yes

4.5


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jaysaysnope's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging emotional funny hopeful reflective sad medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.25

Oh, Jonny. I’ve heard other Black people in the diaspora talking about how when they see videos of Māori people doing the haka, they get immediately emotional. Something about seeing an Indigenous people engaging in an ancient practice from their culture, something something slavery and loss of connection to our own cultures. That’s kind of how Jonny makes me feel. The spectre of white supremacy has carved the queerness out of so many of our histories. Reading this when West African countries are codifying homophobia into law, when rates of transphobic violence against teenagers are rising, when Nex Benedict’s death is ruled a suicide… this book made me cry and it made me yearn and it made me laugh. I want ten more books about this NDN princess.

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djbobthegirl's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging dark emotional funny hopeful informative inspiring reflective sad tense 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? Yes

4.0


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eeemily666's review against another edition

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emotional funny reflective sad 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? Yes

4.0


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salemander's review against another edition

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5.0


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dragongirl271's review

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dark emotional inspiring reflective slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.25


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sarahnh's review against another edition

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emotional reflective fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

Poetic 

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fuguefire's review

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dark emotional reflective sad tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

5.0

A fantastic story, I can't wait to read more from Joshua Whitehead. Easily one of the best books I've read so far this year, Whitehead has an incredible aptitude for description and implication, a gift I feel lucky to find applied towards an indigenous genderqueer narrative. 
A note to fellow queer readers: this book made me feel uncomfortable in a way that only queer lit can. Some scenes felt like the characters were looking me in my eyes and speaking my name. I have rarely felt as much of a kinship with a book as I did with this one, and I'm honestly not sure if that's a good thing. 
Regardless, it makes for a good argument in favor of this book and Whitehead's ability as an author. I look forward to reading more from them. 

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