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theresaburnham's review against another edition
Beautiful writing and imagery, but the difficult themes in this book made it hard for me to finish
donovanm's review against another edition
dark
emotional
hopeful
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
4.0
mamareadstuff's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
reflective
fast-paced
5.0
I would give Carla six stars for this book if I could. Ten? I listened to her read her story on hoopla, but I'm going to have to buy a physical copy so I can go back and underline and cry all over the pages. There were moments so vivid I had flashbacks to my own experience 15+ years ago, so similar, in too many ways to count. This wasn't some afterschool special. This was falling in love and out of love and feeling powerless and somehow, eventually, slowly, finding your power again, trusting yourself again, loving yourself, for once. I don't know that I could have read this book 15 years ago, but I wish that I had been able to read it before... Or maybe I wish that I had been able to reach across state lines back then, and find her, and that we could have shared our stories and gotten each other out sooner. Or maybe not. Maybe we couldn't get out until we could, until we did.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Gaslighting, Body shaming, Drug abuse, Emotional abuse, and Mental illness
hannahbanana98's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
informative
reflective
sad
tense
fast-paced
3.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: Emotional abuse, Sexual assault, Violence, Sexual content, Gaslighting, Physical abuse, Sexual violence, Sexual harassment, and Vomit
kirsten0929's review against another edition
4.0
[2019] In this memoir, Machado addresses the “archival silence” around domestic violence in same-sex relationships through her own experience. Making this issue visible will, one hopes, allow for it to be addressed in the same way as other abuse cases, not hidden away, perpetuating the stereotype that same-sex relationships are somehow more “utopian” than any other. The writing is beautiful but does not in any way undermine or mask the message of cruelty and emotional/psychological abuse that took place in her relationship. Rather, I think the contrast enhances it. I feel like I can feel her struggling to express to the reader how she found her self caught up in this abusive relationship and unable to leave. Written in the form of passages as short as a couple of lines and generally no more than a couple of pages. I like the format, as I tend to think in bullet points and would probably write my own memoir in this style, but part of me does feel like it’s cheating a little, getting to skip all those pesky connections and transitions. Still, in this case she rocks it.
nataliegoodman13's review against another edition
dark
emotional
reflective
medium-paced
5.0
I cannot say enough good things about this book. Go read it. An all-time favorite that I will be revisiting again and again and again.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, and Toxic relationship
Moderate: Lesbophobia and Homophobia
leontyna's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
fast-paced
5.0
This book is amazing. The structure is ingenious and the writing is so beautiful. I really loved the mixture of personal stories and ponderings about queer history.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Toxic relationship, Emotional abuse, and Gaslighting
Moderate: Sexual content
Minor: Drug use