Scan barcode
cvidean's review
emotional
hopeful
lighthearted
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Transphobia and Suicidal thoughts
Moderate: Abandonment, Alcoholism, and Homophobia
tinytrashqueen's review against another edition
hopeful
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
2.5
The overall message was good, but the main character was so unlikeable through 80% of the book it made it hard to get through.
I wish we had gotten more of his best friend from PA too- he showed up briefly again at the end and it felt really random after only hearing him mentioned in passing a few times.
I wish we had gotten more of his best friend from PA too- he showed up briefly again at the end and it felt really random after only hearing him mentioned in passing a few times.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Transphobia, Deadnaming, Outing, and Religious bigotry
Moderate: Alcoholism, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide attempt, and Toxic relationship
Minor: Infidelity
beca_reads's review
hopeful
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? It's complicated
3.5
I have so many feelings about this book, it's hard to put it into words. We follow August who has recently come out as Transgender to his family. Unfortunately his parents are not understanding, and results in his Aunt taking him under her wing and moving him to New York where he can attend performing Arts school. August has always wanted to perform on stage and this gives him the chance, though his parent's actions still control some of his decisions. August ends up putting on a persona that is not him, this honestly makes him quite a unlikeable character for most of the book but it is clear that deep down this is not the real August. We follow him as he works out the actor he wants to become, and the people he meets along the way that helps him. The book discuss transphobia within school, and the theatre, as well as discussing conversion therapy which his family want to put him into. This is not a light read at all and has trigger warnings for: transphobia, conversion therapy, homophobia, dead naming, and miss gendering.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Cursing, Emotional abuse, Homophobia, Suicidal thoughts, Transphobia, Alcohol, Alcoholism, Deadnaming, Outing, Child abuse, and Drug use
Moderate: Self harm
heartbookmark's review
emotional
funny
hopeful
informative
inspiring
reflective
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
Despite all the LGBTQIA+ books that I have read and own, this is the first one I've read with a transgender protagonist. I live in a small, religious town, so I have to drive out of my way to find and purchase these kinds of books.
Anyways, I actually really enjoyed this book. I would have given it a full five stars, but there were times where the pacing felt off (I'm not really used to reading books with so many small time-skips in them.) and, in my personal opinion, had some minor side plots that seemed entirely unnecessary.
There was also the fact that there was a pansexual character that was portrayed as a cheater and that made me uncomfortable as a bisexual person myself whose best friend is pansexual. It was a trope that I've had to deal with personally in real life where people assumed that's what bisexual and pansexual people always do when in a relationship. I'm not saying that there aren't bi and pan people out there who actually do that, but this is how we are portrayed in any type of media the majority of the time.
The entire section about conversion therapy made me very emotional and I cried near the end. I have never personally be threatened to be sent to conversion therapy, but that's because I was lucky enough that my very religious grandparents weren't so cruel that they would send their only grandchild to be tortured and "fixed" just because of who she is. If they had been that cruel, conversion therapy would have been my reality. I get super uncomfortable and emotional when conversion therapy is brought up because of how horrible it is and how lucky I was to avoid something like that when others weren't so lucky in past and possibly present. It's a well-written section of the book that was meant to make people emotional while reading it and it was successful at doing so, for me at least.
That being said, this is a book that does need some recognition because there's not much transgender representation in YA novels as protagonists. Transgender characters are usually side characters or even characters that show up once and then are never seen again.
Also, I want to note that I loved that there was a content warning inside the book. There needs to be more of that. I am so used to seeing tags on fanfiction (which are essentially content warnings) and not seeing them in actual books that I was pleasantly surprised when I saw it.
For anyone who wants to read this book, I recommend that you go ahead and do so.
Anyways, I actually really enjoyed this book. I would have given it a full five stars, but there were times where the pacing felt off (I'm not really used to reading books with so many small time-skips in them.) and, in my personal opinion, had some minor side plots that seemed entirely unnecessary.
That being said, this is a book that does need some recognition because there's not much transgender representation in YA novels as protagonists. Transgender characters are usually side characters or even characters that show up once and then are never seen again.
Also, I want to note that I loved that there was a content warning inside the book. There needs to be more of that. I am so used to seeing tags on fanfiction (which are essentially content warnings) and not seeing them in actual books that I was pleasantly surprised when I saw it.
For anyone who wants to read this book, I recommend that you go ahead and do so.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Deadnaming, Dysphoria, Emotional abuse, Homophobia, Religious bigotry, Suicidal thoughts, and Transphobia
Moderate: Alcoholism, Bullying, and Mental illness
Minor: Drug use, Lesbophobia, and Outing
More...