Reviews tagging 'Suicide attempt'

Detransition, Baby by Torrey Peters

234 reviews

atuin's review against another edition

challenging dark funny 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

A fascinating exploration of trans identity and relationships. This book focuses heavily on deeply flawed characters (especially Reese). Every character does deeply frustrating actions that nevertheless feel perfectly in character. There is discussion on how characters feel they must conform to certain stereotypes in order to validate their own gender identity, and the harm it does to them and the people they are close to. The ambiguous ending is indicative of the fact the book has no true answers to the many problems found within, and we, like the characters, have no choice but to try to figure out what solution is most fitting with the characters. 

In particular, Reese became frustrating with her self destructive behavior and her refusal to learn from her mistakes, constantly doing the same thing over and over while refusing to accept responsibility. Even at the end she only felt bad about a mean letter, not the cheating or emotional abuse she committed. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Homophobia, Infidelity, Sexism, Sexual content, and Transphobia

Moderate: Toxic friendship, Toxic relationship, Suicide attempt, Emotional abuse, and Physical abuse

One of the Main characters, Reese, cheats on her partner multiple times, and later on cheats again with a married man.

rjbedell's review

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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Transphobia, Pregnancy, Homophobia, Sexual content, Outing, Suicide attempt, Toxic relationship, and Infidelity

Moderate: Violence, Injury/Injury detail, and Deadnaming

Minor: Death, Abortion, and Stalking

laurajw's review

challenging dark emotional informative slow-paced

• 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

3.5

I did enjoy this book however, I felt like there were moments where I just wanted to stop and put it down.  It felt like it plodded along at a slower pace than I enjoy reading. I found it insightful about queerness and gender and gender identify and expression yet felt it fell flat on addressing my the intersectionality of race, queerness, and gender. 

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Transphobia

Minor: Miscarriage, Suicide attempt, Homophobia, Sexual violence, Abortion, Deadnaming, and Suicide

lief_'s review

dark emotional funny reflective medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Outing, Miscarriage, and Transphobia

Moderate: Abortion

Minor: Suicide and Suicide attempt

lanid's review

emotional reflective

• 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

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Outing, Infidelity, Sexual content, and Transphobia

Moderate: Body shaming, Domestic abuse, Dysphoria, Adult/minor relationship, Deadnaming, and Abortion

Minor: Pregnancy, Miscarriage, Sexual violence, Misogyny, and Suicide attempt

na_no's review

emotional funny reflective slow-paced

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Transphobia and Misogyny

Moderate: Violence

Minor: Grief, Miscarriage, Suicide attempt, and Death

luisagerdsmeyer's review against another edition

emotional informative inspiring reflective sad tense 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

4.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Transphobia, Suicide attempt, Suicide, and Pregnancy

whatdanireads_'s review against another edition

emotional funny sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• 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

Moderate: Transphobia, Violence, and Hate crime

Minor: Suicide and Suicide attempt

aliciae08's review against another edition

emotional hopeful informative reflective medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.75

I just finished Detransition, Baby, and I’m still sussing out my thoughts.

The conclusion I’ve come up with is complicated—as it should be, as the characters are complicated. 

What I loved:

• the exploration of womanhood, motherhood, gender expression and queerness;
• The imperfectness of the characters so that the reader knew that no one person’s identity is monolithic. It is entirely one’s own;
• The idea that we can create our own family
• The exploration of why the characters are the way that they are (especially Ames).  

What I didn’t like:

• Others have mentioned the clumsiness of race within this, and how the inclusion of Katrina being the one major character of color might be a metaphor for how the white trans experience isn’t the only one.  It doesn’t work for me fir so many reasons, but the first one being that whenever she brings race up it feels like someone who hasn’t actually experienced being a minority, and because any attempts at relating with Katrina by Reese/Ames are shut down.  
• Some of the writing, as beautiful as it is, was over the top for me.  I was sometimes waiting to get to the end of a chapter and I hate feeling like that. 

What I found challenging:

• Reese said things about womanhood and the need to feel delicate (particularly when she was with Stanley and the Cowboy) that I wholeheartedly couldn’t relate to, but have to admit that at some point in my own life defined my own perception of what it means to be woman and the need for men to view me as someone worthy of being taken care of/defended etc. I think it’s easy for people (especially those looking for an excuse to hate this book) to use it as a way to accuse people like Reese, at worse, of cosplaying womanhood, when that’s not what’s happening. 
• Ames’, before their transition to Amy, misogyny and further internalized misogyny was hard to read, mostly because I grieved for that character. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Outing, Misogyny, Transphobia, Suicide attempt, Infidelity, Dysphoria, Miscarriage, Suicide, and Pregnancy

sorcha's review against another edition

emotional funny hopeful reflective sad

3.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Toxic relationship, Infidelity, Sexual content, and Outing

Moderate: Suicide attempt, Dysphoria, Blood, Pregnancy, Miscarriage, Suicide, Abortion, Death, Injury/Injury detail, Infertility, and Transphobia