Scan barcode
wynplus1's review against another edition
So this book was on my TBR list for a long time and I was really hopeful about it. The writing is great and how Peters' writes her relationships and dialogue is very natural. I can't stand the characters unfortunately.
I love complicated characters. I can get behind characters who are morally gray and who don't always make the best decisions. But reading this book, it feels like there's almost NOTHING likeable about our primary cast. They felt very human and real, but real in that way where I'd never want to meet these people. Reese in particular is insufferable and I just kept coming back to this thought process of "why should I care?" whenever anything would happen to her or to the other two leads. I honestly felt angry half the time I was reading and wasn't having fun at all.
I love complicated characters. I can get behind characters who are morally gray and who don't always make the best decisions. But reading this book, it feels like there's almost NOTHING likeable about our primary cast. They felt very human and real, but real in that way where I'd never want to meet these people. Reese in particular is insufferable and I just kept coming back to this thought process of "why should I care?" whenever anything would happen to her or to the other two leads. I honestly felt angry half the time I was reading and wasn't having fun at all.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual content and Transphobia
hovvdy's review against another edition
couldn't get into it, had to return to the library :/
zoekerr's review against another edition
emotional
informative
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
cassandraclairesimp's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
tense
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
cocopopsmonkey's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
reflective
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
I bought this for my friends birthday and read it in one sitting the day before her big day. I adored the story, and the style, and the premise, all while hating the characters-- That was what was so charming to me. Characters in this book are not by any merit "likable", they have behaviours and traits that make them unappealing or irritating or unrelatable. This, at the very same time, makes them real, tangible, human.
Peters is incredible at writing people, their thoughts, their feelings, points of conflict, and setting the scene for resolution, without telling you how it goes. She's an artful story teller that rewards the reader for participating; she recognises the art within sharing a story --producing and sharing art. At times it felt I was listening to a friend retell the situation at a catch up coffee, like Reese or Ames were telling me their side of the story and I was stuck in between the two. The ending is the best ending I have read in a very long time -- very rarely do books end on a stronger note than they start.
Peters is incredible at writing people, their thoughts, their feelings, points of conflict, and setting the scene for resolution, without telling you how it goes. She's an artful story teller that rewards the reader for participating; she recognises the art within sharing a story --producing and sharing art. At times it felt I was listening to a friend retell the situation at a catch up coffee, like Reese or Ames were telling me their side of the story and I was stuck in between the two. The ending is the best ending I have read in a very long time -- very rarely do books end on a stronger note than they start.
lowercase_em's review against another edition
emotional
reflective
slow-paced
- 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
hannahstrashcan's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
funny
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
3.75
jsultz3's review against another edition
informative
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? It's complicated
4.25
sturgeonfish's review against another edition
ummm.. interesting! feeling a bit unsure how to review this … i absolutely hated all of the main characters who were all terrible in different ways. there definitely was /some/ character development, but also i feel like katrina was used as little more than a springboard for reese’s own character development and though katrina would graciously think over and accept reese’s points about transmisogyny, reese never really seemed to “get” katrina’s feelings about racism in the same way. which maybe was the point - to create a narrative in which the main character was like an annoying epitome of white woman self victimhood? honestly, i can’t wrap my head around what to think of it because i’m not sure if that’s what the author was trying to accomplish.
as for other reviews talking about misogyny in this book - i disagree and do think it’s transmisogynistic to some extent - plenty of books have a self victimizing cis woman charachter (and plenty of these cis women exist irl) who seek out dangerous or shitty men, including to reaffirm their own gender. which is shitty of course but not a phenomena unique to trans women nor uniquely shitty when they do it; one would only come to that conclusion if they think trans women are only playacting being women and ‘choosing’ to mock womens struggles.
well! yeah overall really thought provoking for sure, was a quick read and the writing style kept me turning pages quickly (figuratively; audiobook nation!)
as for other reviews talking about misogyny in this book - i disagree and do think it’s transmisogynistic to some extent - plenty of books have a self victimizing cis woman charachter (and plenty of these cis women exist irl) who seek out dangerous or shitty men, including to reaffirm their own gender. which is shitty of course but not a phenomena unique to trans women nor uniquely shitty when they do it; one would only come to that conclusion if they think trans women are only playacting being women and ‘choosing’ to mock womens struggles.
well! yeah overall really thought provoking for sure, was a quick read and the writing style kept me turning pages quickly (figuratively; audiobook nation!)