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bookwormbi'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? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
I got the impression that much of what I disliked about Detransition, Baby was Peters’s attempt to be write a story that could ostensibly be for all trans women from a very narrow perspective, instead of owning that narrowness. The best parts of the book—the Sex and the City Problem, the juvenile elephants, the journeys of Reese and Ames’s transitions and detransition and the dissolution of their relationship—were the parts where Peters wrote as a white trans woman for white trans women. In the wider book landscape, there are very few trans stories, and even less stories about trans women, and I understand Peters’s desire to try to universalize her experience a little bit. To her credit, she rarely tries to speak for trans women of color (although she certainly speaks for cis women of color via Katrina), and much of the discussion about race and racism seems to be a well-intentioned attempt to telegraph her awareness of her privilege, so people don’t say things like what I’m saying right now. To be frank, I wish this book could be the trans version of one of the thousands of TV shows that centers cishet white men and doesn’t trouble itself to think about anybody else. Peters is not the first queer or trans writer whose anxiety over whether or not Twitter would call them racist I could feel through the page. I’m tired of it, frankly. I am a trans person of color, I know I am exactly who Peters is afraid of, and I understand why. I can see a version of this book that I dislike because there are no people of color in it and the characters’ racial insensitivities go unchallenged. But to be honest? I think I’d respect that version of the book a bit more.
Graphic: Sexual content, Miscarriage, Misogyny, Domestic abuse, and Transphobia
Minor: Racism
lily_peach's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.25
Graphic: Toxic friendship, Toxic relationship, Infidelity, and Violence
Moderate: Transphobia, Racism, Outing, Homophobia, Sexual content, Suicide, and Suicide attempt
Minor: Body shaming
maarigirl's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
Moderate: Sexual violence, Toxic relationship, and Transphobia
Minor: Suicide attempt, Racism, Miscarriage, Mental illness, Lesbophobia, Abortion, Pregnancy, Outing, Infidelity, and Hate crime
leadpal'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? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Graphic: Transphobia, Sexual content, Misogyny, Miscarriage, Toxic relationship, Infidelity, Infertility, Toxic friendship, and Dysphoria
Moderate: Suicide attempt, Violence, Pregnancy, Stalking, Self harm, Hate crime, and Abortion
Minor: Cultural appropriation, Racism, Rape, Medical content, Homophobia, Mental illness, Alcoholism, and Eating disorder
auudrey'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
5.0
Graphic: Physical abuse, Violence, Emotional abuse, Deadnaming, Outing, Pregnancy, and Transphobia
Moderate: Miscarriage, Racism, Sexism, Body shaming, Toxic friendship, Toxic relationship, and Hate crime
talonsontypewriters's review against another edition
- 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
4.0
Graphic: Homophobia, Hate crime, Panic attacks/disorders, Toxic relationship, Outing, Infidelity, Misogyny, Grief, Dysphoria, Transphobia, Sexual content, Pregnancy, Sexism, and Violence
Moderate: Miscarriage, Emotional abuse, Suicide, Deadnaming, Drug use, Classism, Medical content, Sexual harassment, Sexual assault, Domestic abuse, Stalking, Abortion, Racism, Death, Suicide attempt, and Alcohol
Minor: Suicidal thoughts, Alcoholism, Pedophilia, Animal death, Car accident, Murder, Eating disorder, Rape, War, Colonisation, Ableism, and Incest
annabulkowski's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Graphic: Death of parent, Racism, Self harm, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, Homophobia, Mental illness, Misogyny, Suicide attempt, Abortion, Alcohol, Body shaming, Cultural appropriation, Dysphoria, Emotional abuse, Grief, Body horror, Car accident, Cursing, Fatphobia, Sexual violence, Toxic relationship, Death, Domestic abuse, Eating disorder, Sexual harassment, Infidelity, Lesbophobia, Panic attacks/disorders, Alcoholism, Biphobia, Hate crime, Suicide, Blood, Miscarriage, Police brutality, Sexism, Transphobia, Classism, Deadnaming, Gaslighting, Ableism, Adult/minor relationship, Bullying, and Pregnancy
briannasilveira's review against another edition
- 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
4.25
This book was such an interesting read and unlike anything, I had ever read before. I loved the nuanced approach to family and was excited to see how the book played out. Peters examines the characters’ past and present to help us understand how it informs their current situation. There is also a nuanced understanding of gender, which made me realize why someone may detransition while not coming off as anti-trans. These characters are beautifully complicated, and I loved getting to know them. I also loved how it didn’t shy away from Karina’s grappling with the whole situation, and I think that was realistic to how a situation like this would play out in real life. I loved Reese and Karina getting to know each other; it was a bright spot in a heavy book.
Since I’m cisgender, I’m hesitant to list out weaknesses of this book related to the characters. Ultimately, it’s not my place to say whether or not this book was one accurate portrayal of trans people. I was disappointed in the ending because I wanted to see their decision and how their lives turned out. A time jump for the last chapter would’ve sufficed. Some metaphors and concepts were hard to follow, and I had to read them 25 times. I assume the author just got excited while writing and went hard. One thing I will say is I wondered how the trans community felt about the repeated use of the word “transexual” or Reese’s affinity for married men.
Overall, I found this book to be interesting and a great first read of 2023. I might be biased because I love character explorations and stories about families. I would recommend this book to most people, particularly those with a more advanced understanding of the LGBTQ+ community. I wouldn’t recommend this story to my mom because she may take away that trans people are unhappy once they transition and want to transition back. This book requires a nuanced understanding of gender to grasp fully.
Graphic: Transphobia, Infidelity, Homophobia, and Hate crime
Moderate: Racism, Physical abuse, and Miscarriage
Minor: Suicide attempt and Suicide
sluckyy14'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? It's complicated
4.0
Graphic: Sexual content and Transphobia
Moderate: Suicide and Suicide attempt
Minor: Misogyny and Racism
rionstorm's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.75
Graphic: Transphobia
Moderate: Mental illness, Suicidal thoughts, Addiction, and Racism