Scan barcode
aimzthereader's review against another edition
dark
emotional
inspiring
reflective
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
4.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: Transphobia, Deadnaming, Toxic relationship, Homophobia, Gaslighting, Mental illness, Suicidal thoughts, and Lesbophobia
Moderate: Outing and Alcohol
Minor: Forced institutionalization and Abandonment
mystic_bookwyrm's review
challenging
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
fast-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? It's complicated
3.75
I liked this book overall, but the thing I had trouble with was the way August was always acting a part…. Now it gets addressed later and it makes sense, I just didn’t feel like the author went about it quite the right way. A lot of times it didn’t feel like it was coming from a place of self preservation but of trying to get what he wanted from other people.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Self harm, Lesbophobia, Religious bigotry, Deadnaming, and Homophobia
kayladaila's review
challenging
dark
emotional
hopeful
reflective
sad
tense
slow-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
Content Warnings
Graphic: Deadnaming, Dysphoria, Religious bigotry, Transphobia, Emotional abuse, Homophobia, Lesbophobia, and Suicidal thoughts
Moderate: Grief, Abandonment, Infidelity, Outing, Suicide attempt, Alcohol, and Cursing
Minor: Drug use, Drug abuse, and Forced institutionalization
cora_hreads's review
dark
emotional
informative
inspiring
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.0
Act Cool was a book that taught me a lot about the different parts of being a transgender actor; from trans/homophobic family members you still love to petty directors who want their fifteen minutes of fame regardless of who they hire. I feel that I came out of this reading with a lot more consideration and knowledge about how I can try and help the trans people around me, at least the best I can. I would recommend this for someone who wants to see what they can do to help others while still getting a good story over the course of the book.
The reason why Act Cool is only 3 stars is because the basic plotpoints weren’t as impactful as they could’ve been. Personally, I feel that this story was more plot-driven when it should’ve been character driven. Important scenes, like being with the Conversion cast and director and August confronting his parents, had a relatively large impact, but that was because it more directly related to the main character. At the Rocky Horror party, August leaving his friends and calling out Tess didn’t feel like August was caught between two worlds — professional vs. personal — but just petty and that the newfound fame from Conversion was getting to his head. I would’ve liked to see more sensory detail, especially when describing the boys’ dressing room, the auditorium where they performed Grease, and August’s hometown house. All of those locations were/are central to August’s character and the plot of Act Cool, and should’ve been put forth with more importance to match the intensity of the characters, emotions, or situation.
Overall, I give Act Cool 3/5 stars. It taught me a great deal about what transgender people may go through, which I will be forever grateful for. I only wish that there was more detail to fully immerse readers into the story.
The reason why Act Cool is only 3 stars is because the basic plotpoints weren’t as impactful as they could’ve been. Personally, I feel that this story was more plot-driven when it should’ve been character driven. Important scenes, like being with the Conversion cast and director and August confronting his parents, had a relatively large impact, but that was because it more directly related to the main character. At the Rocky Horror party, August leaving his friends and calling out Tess didn’t feel like August was caught between two worlds — professional vs. personal — but just petty and that the newfound fame from Conversion was getting to his head. I would’ve liked to see more sensory detail, especially when describing the boys’ dressing room, the auditorium where they performed Grease, and August’s hometown house. All of those locations were/are central to August’s character and the plot of Act Cool, and should’ve been put forth with more importance to match the intensity of the characters, emotions, or situation.
Overall, I give Act Cool 3/5 stars. It taught me a great deal about what transgender people may go through, which I will be forever grateful for. I only wish that there was more detail to fully immerse readers into the story.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Deadnaming, Dysphoria, Homophobia, Self harm, Suicidal thoughts, and Transphobia
Moderate: Lesbophobia, Panic attacks/disorders, and Suicide attempt
spottedcow's review
adventurous
challenging
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
lighthearted
reflective
relaxing
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
3.75
This book was a very quick fun read :D i loved all the theater references and it was nicley written. There are some parts that were odd, but it was an extremely fun read. (Dont get scared by the trigger warnings, it dosent go into to much detail and is mostly light harted)
Content Warnings
Minor: Body shaming, Child abuse, Deadnaming, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Gaslighting, Hate crime, Homophobia, Lesbophobia, Cursing, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Suicidal thoughts, Biphobia, Dysphoria, Abandonment, Alcohol, Bullying, and Forced institutionalization
softsuunshine's review
challenging
emotional
fast-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
2.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Transphobia, Religious bigotry, Deadnaming, and Lesbophobia
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
betweentheshelves's review
emotional
sad
fast-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
3.0
Thanks to Quill Tree Books and NetGalley for an advanced copy of this book to review! I am actually completely in love with this cover. The color pallette is amazing and I think it really fits the story. I also read Stay Gold last year and was interested to see what this author did next!
Unfortunately, this book missed the mark for me. I just don’t think McSmith’s writing style is for me. Stay Gold was a book that didn’t really seem to know what it wanted to do, and I felt much the same about this one. August acts so much in this story that it’s difficult to pick out what his actual identity is. He loses himself in his love for acting, and this isn’t quite resolved by the end of the book.
Additionally, the romance in the book felt forced to me. Honestly, I don’t even think this story needed the side romance; there’s so much here with August dealing with his parents that I think this plot line could have been completely removed. Instead, I wanted more from August and his Aunt. This was the best aspect of the book as the two of them gain the courage to breakaway from August’s parents. That’s the redeeming quality of book, in my opinion.
While I understand the acting was a huge part of August’s journey, I wanted to see more resolution in terms of breaking away from transphobic parents. Also, I thought we had finally gotten away from inculding deadnames in books with trans main characters, but I guess not. It’s been done in other books, so let’s keep that trend!
Anyway, there were good aspects to this book, but overall, it wasn’t really for me. I can see some teens relating to it, though!
----
I just don't think McSmith's writing style is for me. This book was very much a mixed bag for me. Full review to come next week!
I just don't think McSmith's writing style is for me. This book was very much a mixed bag for me. Full review to come next week!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Deadnaming, Religious bigotry, Suicidal thoughts, and Transphobia
Moderate: Homophobia, Lesbophobia, and Mental illness
Minor: Alcohol and Drug use
There are also a lot of mentions of conversion therapy
More...