Reviews with content warning for Transphobia - This Is How It Always Is

Reviews tagging 'Transphobia'

This Is How It Always Is by Laurie Frankel

114 reviews

lholley's review against another edition

emotional funny hopeful informative inspiring lighthearted reflective fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? N/A
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

5.0

I loved this book so much. The story is beautiful and I want so much to give the main characters a hug. It covers what some may say is a controversial topic, and others may say the way it plays out is unrealistic because of what is ultimately being discussed, but for me this presented hope just as much as realism. It's a bit of a fairytale I hope will come true in the future for both children and adults.

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drraytay's review against another edition

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challenging emotional

4.0

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bobinsbooknook's review against another edition

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challenging 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? It's complicated

4.0

This book is a beautiful depiction of the journey of gender indentity for a family of a young child.

I couldn’t help but love Claude/Poppy and his/her relationship with family and friends.

It covers the topic of trans-identity in a way that was inspiring, celebrated without negating the harsh reality around it.

I regularly found myself falling in love with the heartwarming moments and having such empathy for the pure heartbreaking moments.

I loved the depiction of Claude running around in a pink swimsuit to the public pool. So full of joy and family acceptance.

My heart absolutely broke for Poppy when the kids at her new school found out and even went as far as to climb under the table!

You can tell the author has put alot of thought and energy into this book and has lots of creative metaphors and subtle changes to help capture development.

That being said the writing style felt like it could have done with a bit more editing to make it feel a tad less dense and clunky.

Overall a very powerful, beautiful read that I’d recommend anyone to read for the storyline alone.

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helllceyy's review against another edition

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emotional hopeful inspiring sad medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

5.0

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rachsteiner's review against another edition

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emotional hopeful lighthearted medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.75

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antidietleah's review against another edition

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emotional hopeful inspiring reflective slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.25

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1quillb's review against another edition

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emotional hopeful inspiring reflective fast-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

This only thing that prevents me from rating this 5 stars is the (annoyingly) heavy emphasis placed upon keeping Poppy’s identity a secret—I didn’t, and continue to not, understand why not telling everyone that she’s trans is an issue. But seeing as this is written by the mother of a trans kid, I guess I can understand why it focused so much on the effects of “hiding” her identity. I just don’t personally see how it could be a problem.

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