Reviews tagging 'Cursing'

Detransition, Baby by Torrey Peters

35 reviews

recollections's review

challenging dark emotional funny informative reflective sad 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

4.5

i had never read a book that acknowledged let alone explored trans people's sexuality. this book covers so many interesting themes like miscarriage, divorce, identity and, of course, gender. there were many moments where i had that sensation that the author had put into words an abstract idea, unbloosomed thought. this was a life changing book <3

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Abortion, Alcohol, Body shaming, Cursing, Death, Domestic abuse, Dysphoria, Emotional abuse, Grief, Hate crime, Infidelity, Medical content, Miscarriage, Misogyny, Outing, Pregnancy, Sexual content, and Transphobia

storykath's review

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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Cursing, Dysphoria, Emotional abuse, Homophobia, Infidelity, Mental illness, Outing, Pregnancy, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Suicide attempt, Toxic relationship, and Transphobia

Moderate: Abortion, Alcohol, Deadnaming, Grief, Hate crime, Infertility, Medical content, Sexism, Stalking, and Violence

vanadiumbean's review

emotional funny reflective sad tense medium-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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Domestic abuse, Hate crime, Physical abuse, Toxic relationship, Grief, Sexual content, Transphobia, Infertility, Infidelity, and Outing

Moderate: Abortion, Cursing, Deadnaming, Death, Miscarriage, Stalking, and Suicide

leahlovesloslibros's review

There wasn't anything specifically wrong with this book. It was more literary than what I was looking for at this time. I would consider trying to read it at another time. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Toxic relationship

Moderate: Sexual content, Cursing, Transphobia, and Infidelity

Minor: Miscarriage and Domestic abuse

Additional TW/CW: HIV, drug reference, Rep: Trans MC, biracial SC (Chinese/Jewish)

laudateluna's review

challenging funny reflective sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

Detransition Baby is a novel that equally feels made for me and not for me. It's a fantastic one, if you have any interest in exploration of gender or more specifically of femininity/womanhood; read it! It deserves to be thought about.

Please do not read the spoiler section until you have come to an understanding of what the book was talking about. In specific how it ended. This is not a "spoiler" of its content, its a mindset that could change how you experience the novel.

It was an enlightening journey that died for me with its concept. I was expecting the book to be more than it set out for, to go beyond what it was in text, however for me it was made impossible by its ending. Its not a "bad" ending, its just direct in telling you what it was about. That might work for you. For me it stopped my process of exploration of what it means to me. Because finding what I identified with was made so much harder by its purpous. I dont like when stories are literal. There is a genuine debate to be had of metaphorical effectiveness towards most people, but like I said before not for me. Maybe it is necessary and my experience is too novel. 

This book is perfect. I truly mean that. It's pacing is great so are its characters, dialogue, jokes, ideas, prose. I loved every page. Torrey Peters wrote one of the most compelling debut novels I have ever had the priviledge to read. (I also highly reccomend her novellas) 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body shaming, Bullying, Chronic illness, Cursing, Emotional abuse, Infertility, Infidelity, Medical content, Medical trauma, Mental illness, Miscarriage, Misogyny, Outing, Pregnancy, Self harm, Sexual content, Sexual assault, Sexism, Sexual harassment, Sexual violence, Suicide attempt, and Transphobia

cheye13's review against another edition

challenging 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

This is one of those books that is technically great but didn't hit my buttons. Primarily, it's just so literary. One of those books that reminds you that you're Reading A Book. I appreciate craft, but the vocab, the time jumps, the absurdist metaphors jolt me out of the story. (Another way I explain this phenomenon is "It reads very NYC," which is always the author's intent but never my cup of tea.)

Conceptually, I loved this story. I loved the characters, well-built and multifaceted; human. I loved the plot, meticulous backstory behind every choice. I loved seeing trans women at the center of their own stories. I loved the nuance of motherhood. More than once, overwhelmed, I whispered a weepy "I love women" to myself. This is a beautifully crafted story.

I did feel a little misplaced by the story, as if it weren't meant for me. Which, since I'm cis, makes sense. But in a way it did seem like it was for straight cis women. If the primary intent was for trans women to see themselves in fiction, the secondary intent seemed to be to slap straight women into reconceptualizing gender/womanhood. As a queer cis woman, I sorta felt like a third party watching a volley back and forth.

Starting the story, I expected more exploration of the in-between, the shades of gray. A negotiation of an unconventional family, a blending of queer fantasy and practical reality. From the first page, I knew I was wrong. Being literary, the plot was predictable but in a good way; in this type of book, you read not for the story, but for the emotion the story delivers. This isn't what I expected or exactly what I wanted, but I'm so glad it exists and glad I got the chance to read it. I'd definitely recommend it, but I'd probably pitch it differently than the synopsis does.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Miscarriage

Moderate: Abortion, Cursing, Infertility, Infidelity, Outing, Pregnancy, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Transphobia, and Violence

Minor: Deadnaming, Grief, and Homophobia

taleofabibliophile's review against another edition

challenging emotional funny hopeful reflective sad 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

3.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Abortion, Transphobia, Infidelity, Cursing, Pregnancy, Sexual content, and Toxic relationship

Moderate: Medical content, Miscarriage, Racism, Racial slurs, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Violence, Sexual violence, Suicide, Car accident, Murder, and Hate crime

Minor: Deadnaming, Animal death, Animal cruelty, Mental illness, Drug use, Adult/minor relationship, Eating disorder, Death, and Suicide attempt

purecomedy's review against another edition

challenging 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

4.75

Peters's style is honest, funny, touching without being sentimental, and at times quite cynical. Still, she describes her characters, even at their worse, with certain compassion.

This is a very character-driven book, which I'm usually not a big fan of, but I could barely put it down most of the time. To me, Detransition, Baby is a study in creating convincing characters and character dynamics that feel real and compelling to the reader. It was also great to see transgender women portrayed with depth, neither dehumanised by idealisation or demonisation. 

As for the plot, the novel is a sort of meditation on motherhood, womanhood, and family. I'm not going to spoil anything, but I think it can inspire a lot of interesting questions and discussions, even just for the person reading it alone. I definitely needed time to process it on my own and it prompted me to think (even) more about my own attitudes and approaches not just to motherhood, but also gender.

In short: I'm so glad I saw everyone talk about this book on Twitter and decided to buy it.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Cursing, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Homophobia, Infidelity, Physical abuse, Pregnancy, Sexual content, Toxic relationship, Transphobia, and Violence

Moderate: Grief, Miscarriage, and Racism

Minor: Abortion

marioncromb's review against another edition

emotional funny informative reflective 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? Yes

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual content and Pregnancy

Moderate: Stalking, Transphobia, Violence, Toxic relationship, Infertility, Infidelity, Cursing, and Grief

Minor: Suicide, Abortion, Vomit, and Miscarriage

hmatt's review against another edition

challenging emotional slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

After finishing the book, I went back and read the summary. The summary makes it seems like the story is told in a linear fashion, and it emphasizes specific plot points. Perhaps I would have enjoyed the book more has this been the case. 

I found the endless internal monologues of the characters boring. It feels like these sections are trying to be clever and informative, but in my reading they were dull and pedantic. I wanted to get to know the characters more, but I feel like this would have been more effective through advancing the narrative. The sections that are most memorable and characterizing to me are the sections where the plot moved forward, and I wanted more of that. 

I know the point of this book was not necessarily to enjoy it. Perhaps it's not a book that was written for me at all, and I'm trying to respect that. But I was/am attempting to take in what this book is communicating, and I can't help but think it could have been more effective in its delivery.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Deadnaming, Domestic abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Homophobia, Physical abuse, Pregnancy, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic relationship, Transphobia, Violence, Infidelity, and Cursing

Moderate: Grief and Suicide attempt

Not sure I accurately captured all of the content warnings