Reviews tagging 'Miscarriage'

Detransition, Baby by Torrey Peters

376 reviews

cmchristensen's review against another edition

emotional medium-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? It's complicated

4.0

An unconventional look at parenthood and the desire to be a mother that challenges the heteronormative default of monogamy. The three main characters fumble through coming out, adultery, and polar-plunge grief, each with their own doubts surrounding identity and queer lineage.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Miscarriage, Transphobia, and Homophobia

Moderate: Grief, Abortion, Suicide, Dysphoria, Homophobia, and Infertility

paracosim's review against another edition

reflective medium-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? Yes

3.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Transphobia, Infidelity, and Homophobia

Moderate: Miscarriage and Abortion

Minor: Suicide attempt

artemisg's review against another edition

emotional reflective 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? Yes

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual content, Transphobia, and Homophobia

Moderate: Miscarriage and Violence

Minor: Deadnaming and Suicide

fieldofhats's review against another edition

So, this is a lit fic novel. The prose are unnervingly and unnecessarily flowery at times, and there’s very little plot. The characterization is over-simplified in a way that’s made to look dramatic and realistic. For example, Reese liked being with Stanley because her perception of womanhood was contingent on the abuse that women face and thus felt affirmed being abused. If I was being kind I might say that this fucked-up view is representative of the weight and unyielding pressure of the patriarchy, and that its a brilliant look into the dark side of what it means to be a woman. But I have absolutely no love for lit fic and how it deals with topics like this, so I’m not going to be kind.

Reese is also simply unlikeable. I didn’t get far enough into the story, but I didn’t find Katrina to be very likable either. The only sympathetic character is Ames — and in a story about queerness, I think it’s extremely disingenuous to center a cis, detransitioned man in a story that is supposed to be about queerness.

And yes, I know that’s the point. I know that none of these characters are meant to be likable. But I also don’t care. I need at least one character to be a decent person, and we already established why the character Peters chose was problematic.

And as a minor note, the constant use of the word “transsexual” and the utter avoidance of “transgender” was unnerving and peculiar. It should have been my first clue to stop reading.

I thought perhaps that I would enjoy this novel because it’s about trans people by a trans author (as a trans fem person myself, I was naturally interested) — but I was sorely mistaken. Don’t get me wrong, the book isn’t bad because it’s trans. The book is bad because it does all the things that makes lit fic unbearable. There are better fiction novels about trans characters. Don’t bother with this one.

It’s pride month. Don’t read books that aren’t worth your time.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Homophobia, Sexism, Miscarriage, Misogyny, Physical abuse, and Transphobia

Moderate: Gaslighting

bmitch's review against another edition

emotional funny reflective 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? It's complicated

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Outing, Pregnancy, Sexual content, Dysphoria, Homophobia, Transphobia, Violence, Grief, and Infidelity

Moderate: Suicide, Death, Suicide attempt, Abortion, and Drug use

Minor: Blood, Alcohol, and Miscarriage

obsessed with the drama of this! loved the description of ames detransition ~ all the confusion and emotions.

beesbutreal's review against another edition

dark emotional funny informative reflective sad tense medium-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? Yes

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Homophobia, Death, Transphobia, Toxic friendship, Mental illness, Medical content, Grief, Domestic abuse, Cursing, Abandonment, Self harm, Dysphoria, Deadnaming, Bullying, Infidelity, Emotional abuse, Abortion, Suicide attempt, Suicide, Suicidal thoughts, Sexual content, Sexism, Outing, Misogyny, Miscarriage, Infertility, Hate crime, Drug use, Violence, Toxic relationship, Sexual harassment, and Pregnancy

finleigh's review against another edition

emotional funny 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? It's complicated

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Transphobia, Hate crime, Homophobia, Dysphoria, Suicide attempt, Sexual content, and Infidelity

Moderate: Outing

Minor: Xenophobia, Abortion, Miscarriage, and Racism

clarkg's review against another edition

challenging emotional funny reflective sad tense 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

5.0

The empathy, gravity, and humor with which Torrey Peters treats her characters is what made this book remarkable to me. Writing about queer family for a mixed audience is an unenviable task and Peters does so with a tremendous amount of grace. I have never read anything that so beautifully (and painfully) captures the tension between our desires, the people we have decided might help us fulfill them, and the struggle to imagine a future for which there is no clear framework. This book came to me at the exact moment I needed it and I suspect many readers will feel the same. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Miscarriage, Infertility, Transphobia, Domestic abuse, Pregnancy, and Misogyny

Moderate: Physical abuse, Cursing, Hate crime, Grief, Infidelity, Suicide, Emotional abuse, Dysphoria, Outing, Abortion, Homophobia, and Alcohol

Minor: Police brutality

sha's review against another edition

challenging emotional medium-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? Yes

3.5

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Toxic relationship, Miscarriage, Outing, Violence, Abortion, Death, Homophobia, Infertility, Lesbophobia, and Sexual content

katbotelho's review against another edition

challenging reflective 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? Yes

2.75

I dunno this just wasn't really my thing I wasn’t expecting as much sexual content as there was so i wasn’t prepared for that. Also just made me feel really sad hearing abt Ames and Reese’s experiences.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual content, Miscarriage, and Transphobia

Moderate: Suicide attempt