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emmague89's review
- 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
Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Biphobia, Body horror, Body shaming, Bullying, Cancer, Child abuse, Child death, Chronic illness, Confinement, Cursing, Deadnaming, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Drug use, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Fatphobia, Genocide, Gore, Gun violence, Hate crime, Homophobia, Infertility, Mental illness, Miscarriage, Misogyny, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Rape, Self harm, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Slavery, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Torture, Toxic relationship, Transphobia, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Blood, Excrement, Vomit, Police brutality, Medical content, Trafficking, Grief, Mass/school shootings, Cannibalism, Religious bigotry, Medical trauma, Stalking, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, Murder, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Pregnancy, Fire/Fire injury, Cultural appropriation, Gaslighting, Toxic friendship, Abandonment, Alcohol, Sexual harassment, Colonisation, Dysphoria, War, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism
lovelylilelle's review
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.5
Graphic: Body horror, Body shaming, Death, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Gore, Gun violence, Hate crime, Homophobia, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Rape, Self harm, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Slavery, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Torture, Transphobia, Blood, Medical content, Grief, Suicide attempt, Murder, Sexual harassment, Dysphoria, War, and Injury/Injury detail
amybouwer's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
Graphic: Body horror, Body shaming, Bullying, Cursing, Deadnaming, Death, Eating disorder, Fatphobia, Gore, Hate crime, Homophobia, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Torture, Toxic relationship, Transphobia, Violence, Blood, Antisemitism, Lesbophobia, Toxic friendship, Sexual harassment, War, and Classism
amy_rose29's review against another edition
- 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? Yes
4.0
Graphic: Body horror, Fatphobia, Gore, Gun violence, Hate crime, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Transphobia, Medical content, Pregnancy, and Sexual harassment
Moderate: Eating disorder
ecn's review
- 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? Yes
3.75
Almost every character was white and it FELT like it. However, it feels realistic for white people to stick together and but think of others in a post-apocalyptic world. I did have a lot of issues though with the two non-white characters essentially not being developed and only used by the main characters. Sure they grow together but ugh.
The entire book could have been condensed but the ending came way too quickly. The pacing felt off and made it hard to read, especially with every few paragraphs/pages switching off to another character. at times it felt dizzying trying to understand who was who for a bit.
Overall, I enjoyed the book for what it was but think I would have enjoyed it more as a movie.
Graphic: Animal death, Body horror, Body shaming, Bullying, Chronic illness, Cursing, Death, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Fatphobia, Gore, Gun violence, Hate crime, Infertility, Physical abuse, Racism, Rape, Self harm, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Toxic relationship, Transphobia, Blood, Excrement, Medical content, Grief, Cannibalism, Medical trauma, Suicide attempt, Murder, Toxic friendship, Sexual harassment, Dysphoria, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism
rosesofthespring's review against another edition
- 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? Yes
1.0
I cannot overstate the disappointment.
There are moments of shining brilliance in this novel. Gretchen Felker-Martin can write incredible scenes when she's empathizing with the characters and not working out some kind of miserable grudge. The worldbuilding is absurdly bioessentialist, something which I was terrified of when I heard the premise, but I remained hopeful that she'd avoid the pitfalls. She does not. There's no room in this world for nuance, for the reality of the hormone spectrum, or for any amount of kindness or nostalgia. When the author attempts to engage with controversial real-world issues, it falls flat, coming across as two-dimensional.
This book is effectively a longform fiction version of the author's favorite online conspiracy theories. But I suppose that's redundant. I can see how this might seem fresh and edgy to anyone who hasn't been mired in online trans subcultures, but to someone who knows where the lens originates, it seems tired and bitter. Sometimes that's a basis for a solid book. I wish this was one of those times. This one goes out to the truscum and transmedicalists, the bioessentialists who believe gender is stored in the hormones, radical "feminists" who believe the genders are "oppressor vs oppressed," and the members of sad little forums who are stalwartly barricading themselves in the darkness of their worst days. I hope it gives them what they're looking for.
Graphic: Body horror, Body shaming, Cursing, Deadnaming, Death, Eating disorder, Gore, Gun violence, Hate crime, Rape, Sexual content, Torture, Transphobia, Violence, Blood, Trafficking, Grief, Cannibalism, Murder, Dysphoria, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Animal death, Cancer, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Fatphobia, Infertility, Self harm, Suicidal thoughts, Medical content, Death of parent, and Alcohol
grimmarray's review
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
Graphic: Body horror, Death, Eating disorder, Gore, Homophobia, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Transphobia, Violence, Dysphoria, War, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Deadnaming, Emotional abuse, Fatphobia, Hate crime, Misogyny, Suicide, Toxic relationship, Medical content, Medical trauma, Car accident, Murder, Pregnancy, Outing, and Toxic friendship
orcamagicka's review
- 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? Yes
3.0
Things I liked
- SO MANY TRANS CHARACTERS! It's rare to find a book with a trans Mc, so an entire cast was a treat
- Unapologetic queerness and trans identify, including using actual physiological terms when referring to trans genitals. Such as saying "clit" when referring to a trans guy instead of saying "T-dick" for example.
- Satire and the author's witty sense of dark humor and sarcasm
- Fascinating yet horrifying worldbuilding
- The idea of having to routinely harvest and eat literal testicles in order to naturally keep estrogen levels high is disgustingly hilarious
- A complex look at transphobia and how it manifests. Transphobes aren't always extreme evangelical conservatives, they can also be radical liberals and self proclaimed "feminists". For trans people, both the left and right wing are a threat to our lives and freedom
Things I didn't like
- I'm ALL for smut in stories, but this was too much for me. It seemed the author was purposefully using the most disgusting descriptors imaginable, nauseating me more than the actual violence and gore. I never want to hear semen described as "mucus" ever again. There wasn't a single sex scene in this entire story that was enjoyable to read nor didn't deeply gross me out, which is a crime in my smut loving opinion.
- The large cast of characters and constant POV changes made it more difficult for me to follow the story and connect deeply to the individual characters. I really liked Beth, Indie, and Robbie, but I wish I could have gotten to know them more instead of feeling wrenched around between other POVs and trying to keep track of other side characters
- I may have missed it, but to me there was a large plot hole in the story that deeply confused me. Why was the TERF squad of Seabrook hellbent on killing innocent trans women, meanwhile they forcibly feminized and gave estrogen to all the teenage and younger cis boys that entered puberty post T-Day in order to prevent them from being infected? Maybe this double standard was intentional to show the hypocrisy of the TERF leader, but I wish it would have been developed more.
Graphic: Body horror, Genocide, Gore, Rape, Sexual content, Transphobia, Violence, Cannibalism, and War
Moderate: Drug use, Eating disorder, Medical content, and Trafficking
Minor: Animal death
milkybootscomix's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Graphic: Ableism, Body horror, Body shaming, Cursing, Deadnaming, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug use, Eating disorder, Fatphobia, Gore, Gun violence, Hate crime, Infertility, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Rape, Self harm, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Torture, Transphobia, Violence, Blood, Vomit, Grief, Cannibalism, Murder, Outing, Dysphoria, and Injury/Injury detail
kylajaynebooks's review
- 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? Yes
5.0
This read like a movie - it was brutal, nasty, horrifying, real, depressing, funny, reflective, sarcastic and I loved it so much.
It has so much to say and really makes you question feminism and how it absolutely does not always include everyone. It explores gender identity, mental illness, toxic relationships, eugenics, sex work, genocide and dictatorships
Just wow this was a gory disgusting sexy masterpiece
Graphic: Ableism, Addiction, Body horror, Body shaming, Child death, Cursing, Deadnaming, Death, Drug use, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Fatphobia, Genocide, Gore, Gun violence, Hate crime, Homophobia, Infertility, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Racism, Rape, Self harm, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Terminal illness, Torture, Toxic relationship, Transphobia, Violence, Blood, Excrement, Vomit, Police brutality, Medical content, Trafficking, Grief, Mass/school shootings, Cannibalism, Religious bigotry, Medical trauma, Abortion, Murder, Pregnancy, Fire/Fire injury, Gaslighting, Dysphoria, War, and Injury/Injury detail