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i_cant_read429's review
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
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
3.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: Deadnaming, Death, Child death, Suicide attempt, and Homophobia
Moderate: Transphobia, Violence, Death of parent, and Bullying
Minor: Dysphoria
wrensterling's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
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? It's complicated
3.0
this book took me longer than expected to read. don't get me wrong, it's a lovely book with a lovely message but the way it is presented just lacks. i liked the metaphors and the details, the innocence and the loss of it so how did it get so bad in the middle? what happened then? miel was being too much of a wimp most of the time and would not even tell sam which was just painful to get through. the bonner sisters were just a bit too extra to the point where it seemed a bit forced, but i think that's subjective. not my favourite book but definitely not the worst one!
Content Warnings
Moderate: Homophobia, Transphobia, and Emotional abuse
Minor: Violence
kendrabetweenthelines's review
challenging
reflective
slow-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? No
2.0
My low rating is a reflection of my preferences as a reader, and not necessarily a criticism of the story. For a different reader, this could be an excellent book.
This is a beautifully composed YA magical realism novel. I appreciated the themes and especially the characters. Unfortunately, the metaphors were too heavy-handed for me and I found the magical aspects confusing. There are very few literally sentences in this book, which made it hard for me to follow. If the author had focused on one or two metaphors and really fleshed them out, I would have appreciated each metaphor more. I was totally invested in the autumnal vibes at the beginning, but I frequently had to reread pages and chapters to understand what was happening in the plot.
I'll definitely give this author another try, since I loved their work in Miss Meteor!
This is a beautifully composed YA magical realism novel. I appreciated the themes and especially the characters. Unfortunately, the metaphors were too heavy-handed for me and I found the magical aspects confusing. There are very few literally sentences in this book, which made it hard for me to follow. If the author had focused on one or two metaphors and really fleshed them out, I would have appreciated each metaphor more. I was totally invested in the autumnal vibes at the beginning, but I frequently had to reread pages and chapters to understand what was happening in the plot.
I'll definitely give this author another try, since I loved their work in Miss Meteor!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Transphobia, Child abuse, Bullying, Racism, and Homophobia
strrygo's review
dark
emotional
mysterious
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? Yes
1.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Bullying and Deadnaming
Moderate: Homophobia and Transphobia
Minor: Suicidal thoughts and Suicide attempt
the_literarylinguist's review against another edition
emotional
mysterious
reflective
relaxing
sad
slow-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? No
4.75
Content Warnings
Moderate: Deadnaming, Death of parent, and Transphobia
Minor: Homophobia and Suicide attempt
valereads's review
emotional
hopeful
mysterious
reflective
slow-paced
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
I came into this book knowing very little about the plot itself and I felt that was a good place to start from. For those who do want to know a bit more this book follows two childhood friends, a trans boy called Sam and a girl with roses growing out of her wrists named Miel, as they come to terms with the fact they have fallen in love with each other. While this is happening Sam is just beginning to come to terms with the fact that he is transgender (a fact everybody except him seems to be aware of) and four local sisters are attempting to steal Miel's roses by whatever means necessary. On top of this there is also the mystery of where Miel comes from and what happened to her family that will have any reader intrigued.
There's little more I can say than this book was beautiful. The prose was lyrical and fairy tale-esque, and reading it felt like dreaming. That wasn't always a good thing though. As much as I enjoyed every other element of this novel, and I definitely did, it took me longer than I'd like to connect to the characters. That fairy tale, dreamlike quality to the writing made me feel distant from them. At times I found it easier to connect with the antagonistic Bonner sisters than with the main protagonists.
Overall I enjoyed this book very much. I think McLemore really did capture the trans experience well (no surprise as the author themself has come out as non-binary since writing it). This was my first time reading one of McLemore's books and I look forward to reading more from them in future.
Content Warnings: transphobia, homophobia, misgendering, outing, blackmail, racism, attempted suicide, drowning
There's little more I can say than this book was beautiful. The prose was lyrical and fairy tale-esque, and reading it felt like dreaming. That wasn't always a good thing though. As much as I enjoyed every other element of this novel, and I definitely did, it took me longer than I'd like to connect to the characters. That fairy tale, dreamlike quality to the writing made me feel distant from them. At times I found it easier to connect with the antagonistic Bonner sisters than with the main protagonists.
Overall I enjoyed this book very much. I think McLemore really did capture the trans experience well (no surprise as the author themself has come out as non-binary since writing it). This was my first time reading one of McLemore's books and I look forward to reading more from them in future.
Content Warnings: transphobia, homophobia, misgendering, outing, blackmail, racism, attempted suicide, drowning
Content Warnings
Graphic: Bullying, Deadnaming, Homophobia, Self harm, Suicidal thoughts, Transphobia, and Confinement
Moderate: Racism
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