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levtitticus's review
adventurous
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
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
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual content, Alcohol, and Drug use
Moderate: Grief, Dysphoria, Homophobia, Infidelity, Toxic friendship, and Toxic relationship
Minor: Addiction, Medical content, Mental illness, Outing, Sexual harassment, Vomit, Alcoholism, Drug abuse, Injury/Injury detail, and Violence
beanwa's review against another edition
emotional
funny
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
5.0
I really struggled to get into this book. I bought it last year, read the first chapter, put it down. Then picked it up again four months ago - reread the first chapter, put it down. Then a week ago, I decided I just had to soldier on and get this book over with. And I ended up fucking loving it!!!!
The first chapter is sex scene after sex scene, which was a bit off-putting, but I'm really glad I stuck with it in the end. I love Paul, love Jane, I love how delightfully camp, cool, overly romantic, and pretentious Paul is - while still remaining vaguely self aware. The book often pokes fun at Paul's youthful romanticism, which I really enjoyed.
I rated this five stars because of how much fun I had reading it and how much I loved the concept (especially as a non-binary/gender fluid person!!) - but I did find the ending a bit unsatisfying + I found the artsy snippets (fairy tale-esque, mythical, etc.) a bit boring. Mostly because I wanted to get back to Paul! The ending felt open ended, which on one hand makes sense as Paul is in his very early 20s but I wish he'd gotten a better ending.
The first chapter is sex scene after sex scene, which was a bit off-putting, but I'm really glad I stuck with it in the end. I love Paul, love Jane, I love how delightfully camp, cool, overly romantic, and pretentious Paul is - while still remaining vaguely self aware. The book often pokes fun at Paul's youthful romanticism, which I really enjoyed.
I rated this five stars because of how much fun I had reading it and how much I loved the concept (especially as a non-binary/gender fluid person!!) - but I did find the ending a bit unsatisfying + I found the artsy snippets (fairy tale-esque, mythical, etc.) a bit boring. Mostly because I wanted to get back to Paul! The ending felt open ended, which on one hand makes sense as Paul is in his very early 20s but I wish he'd gotten a better ending.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual content
Moderate: Homophobia, Alcohol, Vomit, and Death
abyjane's review
funny
hopeful
inspiring
sad
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? It's complicated
4.25
Content Warnings
Minor: Homophobia and Transphobia
writtenontheflyleaves's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
emotional
funny
informative
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.75
Paul Takes the Form of A Mortal Girl by Andrea Lawlor 🌺
🌟🌟🌟🌟✨
🌺 The plot: Paul Polydoris is a shapeshifter bouncing around the queer scene in the US in 1993. Able to transform his body at will, he uses his powers to hedonistically explore sexual experiences with the men and women he meets. However, when he falls in love with a woman - as a woman - he's pitched head-first into heartbreak and a reckoning with who and what he is.
The best kind of magical realism for me is one that feels liberating to read because it allows you to tunnel out of (and critique!) the rigid structures of reality, and this book did that with the gendered body. Paul's magical powers don't invent a fluidity that doesn't exist when it comes to gender or identity, they just make it literal, as well as illuminating how artificial the categories we impose upon bodies are. Though Paul undoubtedly experiences things differently when presenting as Polly vs as Paul, this doesn't mean he's two people - he is one changeable person, full of possibilities.
As well as critiquing rigid gender categories, the book also takes aim at compulsory heterosexuality. All bar, I think, two of Paul's sexual encounters in the novel are queer, and I found myself dreading the conclusion of his encounter with a straight man when he was presenting as Polly. After the free flow of his earlier encounters, each explorative and variously fulfilling, not fitting any one mold, the sudden encounter with heteropatriarchal roles (my English degrees are jumping out here lmao) was jarring, and spoke volumes about the limited possibilities of sex within this system. It's a book that is a huge fuck-you to binaries and I loved it.
🌺 Read it if you love plotless novels, books where almost every character is queer, and critiques of the gender binary. Also if you want to read about absolute shedloads of sex lol
🚫 Avoid it if you need a plot or a definitive ending - the loose ends fly free at the end of this novel!
🌟🌟🌟🌟✨
🌺 The plot: Paul Polydoris is a shapeshifter bouncing around the queer scene in the US in 1993. Able to transform his body at will, he uses his powers to hedonistically explore sexual experiences with the men and women he meets. However, when he falls in love with a woman - as a woman - he's pitched head-first into heartbreak and a reckoning with who and what he is.
The best kind of magical realism for me is one that feels liberating to read because it allows you to tunnel out of (and critique!) the rigid structures of reality, and this book did that with the gendered body. Paul's magical powers don't invent a fluidity that doesn't exist when it comes to gender or identity, they just make it literal, as well as illuminating how artificial the categories we impose upon bodies are. Though Paul undoubtedly experiences things differently when presenting as Polly vs as Paul, this doesn't mean he's two people - he is one changeable person, full of possibilities.
As well as critiquing rigid gender categories, the book also takes aim at compulsory heterosexuality. All bar, I think, two of Paul's sexual encounters in the novel are queer, and I found myself dreading the conclusion of his encounter with a straight man when he was presenting as Polly. After the free flow of his earlier encounters, each explorative and variously fulfilling, not fitting any one mold, the sudden encounter with heteropatriarchal roles (my English degrees are jumping out here lmao) was jarring, and spoke volumes about the limited possibilities of sex within this system. It's a book that is a huge fuck-you to binaries and I loved it.
🌺 Read it if you love plotless novels, books where almost every character is queer, and critiques of the gender binary. Also if you want to read about absolute shedloads of sex lol
🚫 Avoid it if you need a plot or a definitive ending - the loose ends fly free at the end of this novel!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual content
Minor: Homophobia and Death
rubycs's review
emotional
funny
hopeful
mysterious
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? It's complicated
4.0
It’s quite a queer book, in both the gay sense and the odd sense 😂
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual content
Moderate: Biphobia
Minor: Homophobia
ecarper's review against another edition
emotional
funny
lighthearted
slow-paced
3.5
This is a book I’m still trying to figure out how I feel about but overall it’s a good thing that it’s making me think. Paul is such an interesting character and the premise is so intriguing, however I don’t feel like the novel fully delivered on its promise in some ways. Throughout, Paul searches for belonging while also relishing his uniqueness. I think I would have preferred a little more direction in the plot besides Paul entering into a borderline abusive relationship with a TERF-y woman . But I can appreciate the experimental nature of the storytelling and it’s sheer radicalism for just existing. Some of the passages, as well, were so heartbreakingly beautiful I had to pause. Overall, would recommend.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Transphobia, Homophobia, and Biphobia
maryxdarko's review against another edition
adventurous
funny
hopeful
informative
inspiring
mysterious
sad
medium-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
Interesting read for sure!
Content Warnings
Moderate: Homophobia
lucypratt7's review against another edition
dark
emotional
funny
mysterious
slow-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
4.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual content and Alcohol
Moderate: Grief, Homophobia, Lesbophobia, Death, and Terminal illness
kaitisbooknook's review
challenging
funny
mysterious
reflective
medium-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
3.75
A clever and funny introspection into the many facets of identity, especially the fluidity of gender and sexuality, and the ways in which we take different forms (but literally and figuratively) as part of a never ending search to find ourselves and to please others.
The story follows Paul, a gay college student in the nineties in the Midwest, who inexplicably is able to transform his body with mere thought, often doing so in the pursuit of various sexual exploits.
Lawlor expertly weaves anecdotes of Paul’s escapades into self discovery with references to various fables and folktales involving creatures which are able to take various forms, adding an interesting magical quality to an otherwise gritty, often meandering tale.
While I enjoyed Paul’s inner world and grew to empathize with him as well as laugh at his musings, I often found myself lost trying to find the threads of a plot, and felt that I could have stopped at any point without any sort of stakes driving me to the end.
If you’re a fan of the absurd and favor character and conceit over plot, I think you’ll enjoy this novel, especially if you’re looking for something that is unapologetically queer and questions the rules of society that bind us all.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual content
Moderate: Homophobia
iheartm4m's review
challenging
dark
emotional
funny
mysterious
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.25
This book has a lot of potential but Lawlor takes gender identity and sexuality to a literal and physical form that feels necessary for some of the plot but not all. the book pointed to understanding the world through different lenses (girl, woman, man, beta, alpha, lesbian, bisexual) and how a person that has flowed through the gender/sexuality spectrum can and will expirience these situations portrayed in the book throughout their younger years.
This can be eye opening for those who are are cis/het/certain in their sexuality/gender, but for those who have always fell through the cracks when it comes to identity, this book is a bit obvious.
This can be eye opening for those who are are cis/het/certain in their sexuality/gender, but for those who have always fell through the cracks when it comes to identity, this book is a bit obvious.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual harassment, Alcohol, Homophobia, Grief, Cursing, Sexual content, Death, Racial slurs, Alcoholism, Dysphoria, Toxic relationship, Stalking, and Racism
Moderate: Classism, Xenophobia, Chronic illness, Deadnaming, Sexual assault, Body shaming, Gaslighting, and Biphobia
Minor: Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Misogyny, Toxic friendship, Abandonment, Drug use, Hate crime, Lesbophobia, Addiction, Blood, Eating disorder, and Infidelity