Reviews tagging 'Child death'

Detransition, Baby by Torrey Peters

5 reviews

annaofjesup's review

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challenging emotional reflective sad tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0


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friendofdorothea's review against another edition

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challenging slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.75

I feel bad rating this book so low because it is written by a trans author through such a big publishing company. But it was really bad, and I would have DNF'd if I didn't find an audiobook because the book kept jumping to random moments in time or rants that had no correlation to the plot of the book. There was way too many words and there needed to be like 10 more editors. And with all of the words that were written, I think maybe only 5 pages actually focused on the plot. There were 50+ pages in every chapter, the text was super small and it was extremely inaccessible. Also, the thinking in the book was so flawed and most of the characters sucked, especially Reese who just seemed like a really bad person. There was also so much misogyny and transmisogyny that was not okay. There have been so many positive reviews because people have seen this book as a learning experience, but some of the ways in which this book looks at the world is not okay. I would recommend reading, watching, or listening to some other form of trans media to learn about transness: I.e., Transgender History by Susan Stryker, Paris is Burning, Disclosure, Pose, Gender Outlaw by Judith Butler, hell even Euphoria is a better representation of transness. There is so much wordy writing to get through to learn anything about transness. Also the book seemed to erase non-binary identities a lot of the time and there was no consideration that Ames could have been genderfluid or another non-binary identity. There was so much focus on transness as one thing rather than the expansiveness of transness. The basis of transness is not medicalization and the book almost implied that is the only way to be trans. If a cis person picked this up with no prior knowledge of transness, it could be super harmful especially because most of the reviews are saying this book is a learning guide for them. 

The book saw children as merely property. Additionally, womanhood was seen mostly as caring for children or having a baby which is inherently sexist. 


The book was supposed to be funny but nothing about it was funny whatsoever. The summary made it seem like these women were going to be raising a baby together and that’s what I was expecting to see within the first couple chapters not just filler. The ambiguous ending sucked. 
10/10 do not recommend and I am surprised by the overwhelming amount of positive reviews. THIS IS NOT GOOD TRANS REPRESENTATION AND DO NOT PICK THIS UP TO LEARN ABOUT TRANS PEOPLE! I really wanted to root for a trans author but im sorry this book was not the one.

All of these characters deeply need therapy tbh (preferably feminist therapy) 

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queerbookworm's review

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challenging dark emotional reflective tense fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

I'm conflicted about this book. I did think it was a good book but I also didn't really like it. It was well written, or at least sounded well written, and it was a good story, but I think that it was maybe the characters that made me not enjoy it, but the characters had to be who they are for the story to be what it is.

So yeah, good book even though I personally just didn't feel very good while listening to it.

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karol99's review against another edition

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challenging emotional funny hopeful informative inspiring lighthearted reflective sad tense 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


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mezzano's review against another edition

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challenging emotional informative reflective 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

4.0

Detransition, Baby by Torrey Peters feels like a long awaited novel. With so many stories about trans youth becoming more common and popular in Young and New Adult literature, it was frankly past due for a Literary Adult novel to come out featuring adult trans and trans questioning individuals. The writing in this book is phenomenal, perfectly highlighting the complicated and messy trio of characters this story features. Above all, this is an incredible story about gender and motherhood, with a premise which fundamentally breaks the traditional concept of the nuclear family. 

The triad of main characters in this story all offer a different facet to womanhood and identity, and are tied together through past memories and current desires. Reese is a trans woman who desires the comfortable life of upper class motherhood. Reese is a complex character who is fueled by jealousy. She is quick to judge others with little disregard with how her own past actions affect others. Despite this, Reese is a natural caretaker with a knack for caring for infants and children--something that certainly ties into her desire to care for her own child someday. Amos, Reese's ex, has recently de-transitioned and is introduced as the recent divorcee of Katerina. Amos has a complicated relationship with gender. He has hopes that identifying as a man rather than a trans women will be easier, but comes with its own challenges. The most glaring challenge Amos faces in the novel is getting his ex wife pregnant. Fearing commitment and fatherhood, he convinces Katerina to attempt a parenting triad with an individual who is committed to parenthood: Reese. These interactions are at times tense and cautious, as Katerina is a cis Asian American woman pregnant with a man she previously viewed as adhering to the gender binary. Despite this, all three members are willing to work together to figure out if a baby together is truly right for all of them. 

The best moments of this novel are moments of honesty that are bluntly shared throughout the story. Reese's theories on trans and cis identities, Amos' moments of debating his gender identity, and Katerina's reminders of how race and sexism also shape the cis experience emphasize how all these characters are different and the result of an intersectional society. It's great to see how each character interacts in uncomfortable situations, with their flaws splayed out for the reader without apology. At times this story can feel slow as it transitions back and forth between the past and present, but overall, it builds to a very well rounded and nuanced modern story. 

For fans of Pose and Disclosure, this book will be a treat while offering new concepts to chew on. This book is currently on a couple Best sellers lists, which comes at no surprise for me as a reviewer. On a completely separate note: the cover is gorgeous. Make sure to get a copy from your local bookstore as soon as possible. 

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