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Reviews tagging 'Transphobia'

Ponyboy: A Novel by Eliot Duncan

26 reviews

maybephasing's review against another edition

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emotional tense fast-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

3.5

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jakinabook's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional reflective sad slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

Review from 2023 after DNF: 

Hit too close to home, reading about a guy like me, who has a transphobic partner and no access to medical transition. Will go back to it.
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leollii's review against another edition

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dark emotional inspiring mysterious sad tense fast-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? Yes

4.5

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seawarrior's review against another edition

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4.0

Ponyboy is a devastating and uplifting story of a young man trying to form his identity and find his place in the world and among the people he loves. Ponyboy struggles to stride through alcoholism and toxic romances as his self-reflected is misted over by heavy emotions. He has a poetic way of thinking that I did not fully understand, but could always feel. This is a unique and lyrical book with a sense of intimacy for its leading character, who stumbles at times but ultimately finds himself in a happier place than he was when we first met him. 
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jemappellecat's review against another edition

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emotional hopeful reflective sad tense fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

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earlydecember's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional sad tense 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

4.0

Ponyboy delves into the eponymous character's struggles with addiction as he embraces his trans-masculine identity and navigates messy queer relationships. The book has an experimental, hybrid form that includes emails, letters, and poems written to writers, philosophers, trans people, and others. 
The prose style can be disorienting since Ponyboy's narrative voice prioritizes emotion and theory over concrete description.
Especially in the first half of the narrative when Ponyboy is in the thick of his addiction and not in a clear state of mind. In the second half, Ponyboy goes to rehab but experiences a relapse. Personally, what sold me is the realistic portrayal of recovery and its setbacks, healing and its discomfort.
As a debut novel, Ponyboy shows great promise, and I am eager to see Duncan's future works. If you're a fan of queer, character-driven stories, I think you'll enjoy Ponyboy too. 

Thank you to NetGalley and W.W Norton for the digital ARC.
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