Reviews with content warning for Lesbophobia - Detransition, Baby

Reviews tagging 'Lesbophobia'

Detransition, Baby by Torrey Peters

30 reviews

travelseatsreads's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional funny informative inspiring reflective 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

4.5

Detransition, Baby is a book which will inevitably polarize people. Just like its title, its contents are at times quite challenging. Even at its least provocative there will be someone reading somewhere shrieking in horror at what they just read. It is in that challenging nature of the book that I adore how brave Torrey Peters was in telling a story of gender, of mother & fatherhood, of queerness and overwhelmingly of the prejudice and trauma that everyone carries around regardless of their gender or sexual orientation.

It would have been easy and hugely less controversial for Peters to make these 3 women flawless and likeable but rather than take the easy route she showed how deeply flawed and damaged all three of them were in their own ways. There are chunks of the book that reek of misogyny. There are violent, graphic and demeaning sex scenes. There are deeply prejudiced thoughts thrown about on occasion. There are sections where you will think what the actual f*** is wrong with them. And then there are sections full of love, tenderness, fulfillment and a deep yet brutal level of understanding and self awareness. Peters shies away from the fluffy rainbow coloured persona often provided and delves deep into what can be at times an absolute tangle of beautiful destruction.

Towards the last few chapters I longed to know just that little bit more about Reese and her backstory, her character was so full and intriguing I wanted to know more about where all that angst and inner turmoil came from. That and some other lingering questions kept me from that last star.

Overall, while this will not be a book for everyone, I think everyone should at least attempt to read it with an open mind and glean from it what they can.
What Peters showed effortlessly throughout the book is that none of it is easy, being trans, being queer or indeed immersing yourself into those worlds as a straight cis female. It's complicated and I loved Detransition, Baby for that honesty and rawness.

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karolinaz's review against another edition

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challenging dark reflective sad tense 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

4.0

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oliviareese's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional reflective sad slow-paced

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

3.5

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lydiaie's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional informative reflective sad tense medium-paced

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? It's complicated

4.75

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lilworm's review against another edition

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emotional funny 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? Yes

3.0

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caitlyn_baldwin's review against another edition

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challenging emotional reflective slow-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

I found some of the parts of the plot to be dragging, however this novel is so messy, raw, and real. I thought it had some great representation and I loved the aspect of challenging the nuclear family model.

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toofondofbooks_'s review against another edition

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challenging emotional funny reflective sad 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

3.0

This is probably the most unique book I've read in awhile. It tells the story of Reese, Amy, and Katrina - Amy's new girlfriend. Reese and Amy are both transgender women and spent many years in a relationship, during which they lived together and planned to have a family. Things went astray when Amy made the decision to detransition and become Ames, living as a man instead. Things get even crazier when Ames gets his girlfriend pregnant unexpectedly and crazier still when he suggests Reese co-parent with him and Katrina. A lot of messiness ensues!

I thought this book was overall, impressive. It is whip smart, funny, and often heartbreaking. It offers a window into a situation unlike anything I've ever read. The characters are complex and have diverse points of view and the dynamics between characters are incredibly interesting. The writing is beautiful and extremely smart - often a little too smart for me.

The issues I have with it don't necessarily have to do with the quality of the book itself and more with me. I thought that the book was going to be faster paced, and that we were going to see more of the interesting throuple-but-not dynamic than we actually got to see. There is a lot of backstory, which was excellent and told me a lot about Reese and Amy/Ames as people, but not a lot of plot to work with in the present day, which became frustrating for me toward the end. Ultimately, I think that this book is great, and reads quickly despite the slower pacing.

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