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perksofbeingvie's review
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
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
the writing style was so beautiful and unique, and the illustrations throughout were so good. i admire the author greatly
Content Warnings
Graphic: Homophobia
zojkajacenko's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
informative
inspiring
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
I honestly couldn´t have given this book anything else than 5 stars even if I wanted to. It only deserves 5 stars nothing else. It was beautiful and heartfelt. There were so many things I related to. Truly one of the most incredible books I have read. Such a personal and real portrayal of a queer story.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Racism and Homophobia
menomica's review against another edition
emotional
funny
informative
inspiring
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
Remember you have the right to be proud. Remember you have the right to be you.
Oh god. Wow. Wow.
This book is so beautiful and powerful. I think this is a very great source of Black Queer literature. I loved walking with Micheal from childhood to his college years. Watching him grow into himself, making and loosing friends.
I loved that this book didn’t focus on love. There was love definitely, between friends and family, but Micheal never had a main love interest, but guys that he was really into, which is, exactly the experience of being a teenager/young adult. This book just focused on Micheal and how he felt. And it did so with beautiful prose. I don’t usually care too much about poetry, but this book was very great in both it’s formatting and it’s use of language. Very amazing.
I also learned a lot about drag through this. No so much the technical aspect but the emotional artist’s statement. I loved learning about how personal drag performance is, and getting to the heart it being a form of self expression and playing with gender.
Content Warnings
Minor: Drug use, Bullying, Homophobia, and Racism
ameliaflint's review against another edition
emotional
inspiring
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? It's complicated
5.0
This was amazing! Truly beautiful. I don’t have much to say about it other than that it was a whirlwind of gorgeous verse and gripping story. I fell in love with each character and loved how the people surrounding Michael weren’t perfect, very reflective of the reality of queerness.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Homophobia
Moderate: Racism
podanotherjessi's review against another edition
challenging
inspiring
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? No
2.5
This book just wasn't really what I was told to expect, and as such it was rather disappointing. For one, I had heard the prose was beautiful, and to be honest I found it boring at best. There were moments of poetry in the book that I thought were pretty, but nothing super exciting. For another, everything I heard about this book and the synopsis itself highlights the role of drag in the story. I won't say it wasn't important, but the drag plotline doesn't start until nearly halfway through, and even after that point it only makes up a portion of the remainder of the story.
Besides not being what I expected, this book felt like a checklist of social issues sometimes. "Wait, I haven't addressed police attitudes towards people of color yet! Let's put in a random encounter with a cop so I can check that one off!" It felt like I could see the author pointing out what the message of every scene was, and it was jarring.
Besides not being what I expected, this book felt like a checklist of social issues sometimes. "Wait, I haven't addressed police attitudes towards people of color yet! Let's put in a random encounter with a cop so I can check that one off!" It felt like I could see the author pointing out what the message of every scene was, and it was jarring.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Homophobia and Racism
elenushka8's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
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
4.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Racism and Homophobia
emilyeehaw's review against another edition
funny
inspiring
lighthearted
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
4.0
this was quite fun! a little coming-of-age story mixed with some poetry elements. i liked that the author narrated the audiobook, it definitely added a layer of authenticity to the story, especially the poems.
i liked that for the most part, everyone in this book was very loving and chill towards michael when he came out. and anyone who wasn’t eventually fell in line or was no longer in his life. WEIRD sidenote but i literally spent most of this book thinking the author was younger than me …incorrect, the character of michael is and while this is semi-autobiographical….the ages are not the same..obviously.
lots of good discussions about race and what it means to be at the intersections of being Black and gay, especially in the UK.
i liked that for the most part, everyone in this book was very loving and chill towards michael when he came out. and anyone who wasn’t eventually fell in line or was no longer in his life. WEIRD sidenote but i literally spent most of this book thinking the author was younger than me …incorrect, the character of michael is and while this is semi-autobiographical….the ages are not the same..obviously.
lots of good discussions about race and what it means to be at the intersections of being Black and gay, especially in the UK.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Racism
Minor: Homophobia and Lesbophobia
amradio's review against another edition
emotional
inspiring
reflective
fast-paced
- 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? Yes
4.5
Bought this on sale on the Kindle store and it was worth it. I really enjoyed it although I hated how fast it was. I liked the way the writing was formatted and had a poetry element to it
Had some points that I felt iffy with but overall it wasn't a terrible boik
Had some points that I felt iffy with but overall it wasn't a terrible boik
Content Warnings
Graphic: Homophobia, Bullying, and Racism
Moderate: Drug use, Sexual content, and Alcohol
Minor: Violence
drraytay's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Homophobia and Lesbophobia
my_weird_bookish_heart's review against another edition
emotional
inspiring
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? No
Content Warnings
Graphic: Bullying, Homophobia, and Racism