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hazel_oat's review against another edition
emotional
funny
inspiring
reflective
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? Yes
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Dysphoria, Deadnaming, Drug abuse, Drug use, Suicidal thoughts, and Transphobia
bookishmillennial's review against another edition
disclaimer: I don’t really give starred reviews. I hope my reviews provide enough information to let you know if a book is for you or not. Find me here: https://linktr.ee/bookishmillennial
Okay, so half of this book felt as if it was second-person because often during the narration, the narrator would say “you know” etc. so I think that made me enjoy it even more — I love a tangential stream of consciousness hahaha!
I loved that we leave Maria in the first part and then move to James, who meets her a month after the events of the first part take place. It was a funny time jump and I didn’t expect that level of spontaneity hahaha.
I also thought it was so fascinating how short Maria & James’ intersecting parts were after they met; the complete lack of closure could ring anticlimactic to some readers but whenever this happens, I just think it’s a fantastic parallel to real life. We don’t always get closure, sometimes we have to make peace with that and just keep it moving!
I’m also glad I read this with the updated author’s note at the end, because Imogen provided helpful context and perspective of why she wrote that ending for both Maria & James.
I am loving finding new authors (to me, not to the world) this week & I’m so grateful for the #TransRightsReadathon for providing that impetus.
Okay, so half of this book felt as if it was second-person because often during the narration, the narrator would say “you know” etc. so I think that made me enjoy it even more — I love a tangential stream of consciousness hahaha!
I loved that we leave Maria in the first part and then move to James, who meets her a month after the events of the first part take place. It was a funny time jump and I didn’t expect that level of spontaneity hahaha.
I also thought it was so fascinating how short Maria & James’ intersecting parts were after they met; the complete lack of closure could ring anticlimactic to some readers but whenever this happens, I just think it’s a fantastic parallel to real life. We don’t always get closure, sometimes we have to make peace with that and just keep it moving!
I’m also glad I read this with the updated author’s note at the end, because Imogen provided helpful context and perspective of why she wrote that ending for both Maria & James.
I am loving finding new authors (to me, not to the world) this week & I’m so grateful for the #TransRightsReadathon for providing that impetus.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Drug abuse, Transphobia, Suicidal thoughts, and Homophobia
chronicloser's review against another edition
funny
hopeful
informative
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
4.25
these are maybe some of the most real characters I’ve ever read. definitely up in the top 10— all of them were so different, even when they were similar; that made it such a fun journey. not to mention, imogen binnie is great at making every bit of word salad into a beautifully plated meal. her stream-of-consciousness writing is one she dips in and out of so effortlessly, and I ate it up big time! when it’s done well, I love it, and this was done more than just well
Content Warnings
Graphic: Alcohol, Suicidal thoughts, Transphobia, and Drug use
Moderate: Dysphoria, Misogyny, Toxic relationship, Toxic friendship, and Sexual content
adragoninspace's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
funny
inspiring
reflective
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
3.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: Suicidal thoughts, Alcohol, and Drug use
carly_they_themsen's review against another edition
dark
emotional
funny
sad
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
wow! lovely. 3 stars, just shy of 4. the writing style wasn't my favorite, and i didn't love all the new york stuff, but the second half of the book, especially the ending, was fantastic. im OBSESSED with the last chapter of this book. the afterword was lovely too and gave me a lot of recommendations to read more stuff [:
Content Warnings
Graphic: Drug use, Transphobia, and Sexual content
Moderate: Suicidal thoughts
detailed discussion of autogynephilia and other transphobic tropeswrittenontheflyleaves's review
adventurous
challenging
emotional
funny
hopeful
informative
lighthearted
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Nevada by Imogen Binnie 🚘
🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟
🚘 The plot: Maria is a trans woman in her thirties, and she's in crisis. Her girlfriend has broken up with her because she's never really present in the relationship, and Maria decides the solution to her predicament is to "borrow" (read: steal) her ex's car and go on a cross-country road trip. On the way, she meets James, a young stoner who is locked in a struggle of his own, and the two form an unlikely connection.
This was lent to me by a friend and it turned out to be my first five star read of the year! Maria was a brilliant protagonist: Binnie lets you right into her head as soon as you open the novel, but doesn't shy away from puncturing the seriousness of her inner monologue, for instance by pointing out that the crisis she's in is actually part of a pattern she hasn't recognised yet.
As well as being really funny, this means you get the benefit of Maria's musings on discovering her own transness while also seeing the bigger picture of her flaws and where she is in her personal growth.
This is thrown into particular relief when Maria meets James. James is questioning his gender and Maria instantly recognises her younger self in him and wants to impart her knowledge. Binnie says in the afterword that her goal with the novel was partly to explore the wish she'd often had that she'd had a "trans fairy godmother" to let her know who she was sooner, and to show that it probably wouldn't have shortened the timeline of her transition.
James and Maria's relationship does this brilliantly, because it shows that being told something by someone else can't deliver the felt truth of it like discovering it for yourself. Nor can imparting past knowledge to someone else help you out of your present confusion. I found this super relatable to all kinds of self-understanding, not only of gender: that all the time we look back on as wasted, when we were denying the truth to ourselves or making ourselves miserable, was actually grist to the mill of who we'd become. No shortcuts in life folks!! We're all taking the long way round!!
I loved this novel and highly recommend it!!
🚘/🚫 Read/ avoid in comments 👇
🚘 Read it if you love a conversational writing style with a sense of humour, discussion of interesting social issues without being preachy, and any novel that discusses self-discovery. Also if you like Torrey Peters as she's cited this book as a big influence!
🚫 Avoid it if you find chaotic/messy main characters a bit of a headache, or if you want there to be a clear plot or ending to your stories. Also check TWs before reading if transition is a sensitive topic for you!
🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟
🚘 The plot: Maria is a trans woman in her thirties, and she's in crisis. Her girlfriend has broken up with her because she's never really present in the relationship, and Maria decides the solution to her predicament is to "borrow" (read: steal) her ex's car and go on a cross-country road trip. On the way, she meets James, a young stoner who is locked in a struggle of his own, and the two form an unlikely connection.
This was lent to me by a friend and it turned out to be my first five star read of the year! Maria was a brilliant protagonist: Binnie lets you right into her head as soon as you open the novel, but doesn't shy away from puncturing the seriousness of her inner monologue, for instance by pointing out that the crisis she's in is actually part of a pattern she hasn't recognised yet.
As well as being really funny, this means you get the benefit of Maria's musings on discovering her own transness while also seeing the bigger picture of her flaws and where she is in her personal growth.
This is thrown into particular relief when Maria meets James. James is questioning his gender and Maria instantly recognises her younger self in him and wants to impart her knowledge. Binnie says in the afterword that her goal with the novel was partly to explore the wish she'd often had that she'd had a "trans fairy godmother" to let her know who she was sooner, and to show that it probably wouldn't have shortened the timeline of her transition.
James and Maria's relationship does this brilliantly, because it shows that being told something by someone else can't deliver the felt truth of it like discovering it for yourself. Nor can imparting past knowledge to someone else help you out of your present confusion. I found this super relatable to all kinds of self-understanding, not only of gender: that all the time we look back on as wasted, when we were denying the truth to ourselves or making ourselves miserable, was actually grist to the mill of who we'd become. No shortcuts in life folks!! We're all taking the long way round!!
I loved this novel and highly recommend it!!
🚘/🚫 Read/ avoid in comments 👇
🚘 Read it if you love a conversational writing style with a sense of humour, discussion of interesting social issues without being preachy, and any novel that discusses self-discovery. Also if you like Torrey Peters as she's cited this book as a big influence!
🚫 Avoid it if you find chaotic/messy main characters a bit of a headache, or if you want there to be a clear plot or ending to your stories. Also check TWs before reading if transition is a sensitive topic for you!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Drug use
Moderate: Transphobia and Dysphoria
Minor: Suicidal thoughts
lidia7's review
challenging
inspiring
reflective
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? It's complicated
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual content, Toxic relationship, Alcohol, Cursing, and Drug abuse
Moderate: Dysphoria and Toxic friendship
Minor: Vomit, Deadnaming, Infidelity, Suicidal thoughts, and Medical content
lilifane's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
funny
hopeful
informative
reflective
tense
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
5.0
I'm not awake or smart enough to write the review this book deserves.
Let's just say it blew me away.
I usually don't read/enjoy these kinds of books where there is hardly any plot, just a lot of inner (or even outer) monologue. But this one surprised me.
Written by a trans woman about a trans woman and her experiences after transitioning, it's full of messed up characters and thought-provoking topics. And I loved this. I'm not trans, I never questioned my gender, but Maria was still highly relatable. And I actually enjoyed her never ending raging about gender, feminism, misogyny, etc.
Definitely not a feel good book, rather painful and depressing and eye-opening. But I did laugh out loud several times.
Just a warning, there is a lot of sexual content and drug use in the book, which I usually don't like reading about but it fit the atmosphere here. And although I appreciated the writing style by the end, it took me a while to get into (especially since English isn't my first language and there were lots of specific references I didn't have the energy to research).
Let's just say it blew me away.
I usually don't read/enjoy these kinds of books where there is hardly any plot, just a lot of inner (or even outer) monologue. But this one surprised me.
Written by a trans woman about a trans woman and her experiences after transitioning, it's full of messed up characters and thought-provoking topics. And I loved this. I'm not trans, I never questioned my gender, but Maria was still highly relatable. And I actually enjoyed her never ending raging about gender, feminism, misogyny, etc.
Definitely not a feel good book, rather painful and depressing and eye-opening. But I did laugh out loud several times.
Just a warning, there is a lot of sexual content and drug use in the book, which I usually don't like reading about but it fit the atmosphere here. And although I appreciated the writing style by the end, it took me a while to get into (especially since English isn't my first language and there were lots of specific references I didn't have the energy to research).
Content Warnings
Graphic: Alcohol, Drug use, Sexual content, and Suicidal thoughts
leftofthedialmp3's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
funny
hopeful
informative
inspiring
lighthearted
reflective
tense
medium-paced
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
Kinda plotless yet weirdly eventful coming-of-age-at-29 novel where the main character is allowed to deeply dwell in her transness and how it impacts her life. Half of me wishes that this would replace the cultural touchstone that Catcher in the Rye is, because this time around, the characters' disillusionment has more motivation behind it than like, being fifteen and wanting to be disillusioned. The other half of me thinks that cis people shouldn't really read this, because it's very much written for trans people. I feel like a lot of the weight of the sentiments expressed in this book that may be easily misinterpreted by people who have never had the experience of questioning their gender. It's not happy, but it also doesn't bask in superfluous queer pain. I didn't give it 5 stars because the ending of it is a pretty abrupt and I wish more had been done with the character introduced in Part ii. But yeah. Loved this book, wish it were longer, I wanna hang out with Maria in Reno.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Drug use and Sexual content
Moderate: Transphobia
Minor: Drug abuse and Suicidal thoughts
moonyreadsbystarlight's review against another edition
challenging
dark
funny
reflective
slow-paced
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
This book was fascinating and brilliant in an unexpected way. It felt almost akin to Catcher in the Rye. While it is told in the third person and does shift focus some, it focuses primarily on Maria - a trans woman in New York who is at a turning point in her life. There are parts of the narrative and Maria's characterization that are inconsistent - but that inconsistency is essential for the story. While Maria isn't necessarily the narrator, she is still the person whose understanding we have to go through to learn about her as a character - and her dissociation, frustration, and need for self-development clearly comes through in how we come to understand the character. We can see this mirrored in the way that we see James' character as well . This separation within her character is mirrored by the writing style.
Maria is not a likable character, but some of the ways in which she is unlikable or confusing, I found relatable. There are areas of the story where she is very clearly selfish, but she also has existed in spaces where she has to fake for the sake of others. These may seem contradictory, but I have found that they can absolutely exist together (though the level of selfishness that she exhibits does get to a ridiculous level as the book progresses). Additionally, the discussion of dissociation - generally, but also how it relates to being trans - is a big point that I found relatable - and is not something people frequently discuss (certainly not within fiction).
I will say that this book is not for everyone. I could easily see how some people could see this as sloppy or confusing - or at least overly pretensions. But I think that, over all, the parts worked together to say something important about the continuous nature of self-discovery.
There were parts of it that I think could have been more polished. Some aspects that I read as intentionally casual or rushed could have been editing errors. The second part of the book also felt a lot less finished or polished. I understood the inclusion of James, and I think more could have been done with it. There were some of Maria's monologues that felt more preachy. I understand the need to discuss the negative ramifications of the framework of autogynephilia - and it was an interesting piece to include. However, I felt like it could have been more effective. Even most of the story had been left as-is, I think following James a while longer could have given us more efficient insight. I also would have liked to see some of the loose ends tied up - however, I di understand and respect why things were left open and unresolved.
Maria is not a likable character, but some of the ways in which she is unlikable or confusing, I found relatable. There are areas of the story where she is very clearly selfish, but she also has existed in spaces where she has to fake for the sake of others. These may seem contradictory, but I have found that they can absolutely exist together (though the level of selfishness that she exhibits does get to a ridiculous level as the book progresses). Additionally, the discussion of dissociation - generally, but also how it relates to being trans - is a big point that I found relatable - and is not something people frequently discuss (certainly not within fiction).
I will say that this book is not for everyone. I could easily see how some people could see this as sloppy or confusing - or at least overly pretensions. But I think that, over all, the parts worked together to say something important about the continuous nature of self-discovery.
There were parts of it that I think could have been more polished. Some aspects that I read as intentionally casual or rushed could have been editing errors. The second part of the book also felt a lot less finished or polished. I understood the inclusion of James, and I think more could have been done with it. There were some of Maria's monologues that felt more preachy. I understand the need to discuss the negative ramifications of the framework of autogynephilia - and it was an interesting piece to include. However, I felt like it could have been more effective. Even most of the story had been left as-is, I think following James a while longer could have given us more efficient insight. I also would have liked to see some of the loose ends tied up - however, I di understand and respect why things were left open and unresolved.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual content, Drug use, and Transphobia
Moderate: Addiction and Suicidal thoughts
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