Reviews tagging 'Domestic abuse'

Detransition, Baby by Torrey Peters

166 reviews

fisheyedfish's review against another edition

emotional funny informative slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

DNF 
Even halfway through it still felt like a slog. I found myself caring more about the present story but annoyed by the constant flashbacks. 
As a nonbinary person, I was annoyed that the author kept the characters very binary. They were either a man or a woman with no allowance for something in between or discussion of gender as a spectrum. I read Ames/Amy as a genderfluid person but the author and the other characters wanted to shove them in a box.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Mental illness, Misogyny, Pregnancy, Sexual content, Transphobia, Emotional abuse, Domestic abuse, Hate crime, Homophobia, Infidelity, and Sexism

Minor: Outing

aquakirst's review against another edition

dark reflective sad 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

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Domestic abuse, Sexual content, Infertility, Grief, Abortion, Miscarriage, Infidelity, Pregnancy, Outing, Violence, Toxic relationship, Toxic friendship, Emotional abuse, and Transphobia

Moderate: Car accident and Drug use

songofsyenite's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional medium-paced

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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Dysphoria, Emotional abuse, Transphobia, and Domestic abuse

who_dat_beasht's review against another edition

tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

this strongly brought up the feeling you get of wanting to shove a fork in your brain after you get a text from a friend saying “well I did the thing 😭😂”, and “the thing” is something they complain about doing every single second of waking life, they proceed to send you multiple drawn out paragraphs/voice notes, it just goes on and on, and they’ll never learn, and actually you don’t know why you’re friends, because they’re a horrible person, but then again so are you, and what would you do without them?

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Toxic relationship, Cursing, Homophobia, Grief, Transphobia, Outing, Toxic friendship, Hate crime, Deadnaming, Death, Domestic abuse, and Emotional abuse

Moderate: Abortion and Pregnancy

theteaisaddictive's review against another edition

challenging emotional informative sad 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

5.0

I think I want to eat this book. Ames and Reese are unlikeable, messy, flawed and beautiful characters, and that ending is wonderful; the loss of ambiguity in one sense, while the ultimate fate of their little family remains undecided for the reader. Fantastic. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Violence, Transphobia, and Domestic abuse

annierosalinde's review against another edition

challenging emotional funny reflective sad medium-paced

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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Violence, Domestic abuse, Pregnancy, and Transphobia

Moderate: Abortion

ez_heath's review against another edition

dark emotional reflective medium-paced

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

3.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Infertility, Misogyny, Sexual assault, Medical content, Miscarriage, Suicidal thoughts, Self harm, Sexual content, Suicide attempt, Transphobia, Domestic abuse, Dysphoria, Abortion, Medical trauma, Outing, Rape, Homophobia, Suicide, Sexual harassment, and Sexual violence

zeus_strider's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional tense medium-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

4.0

I find it hard to describe this book, I thoroughly enjoyed it but wouldn't recommend lightly.

This book uses the word

"transsexual"

a lot and frankly a lot of slurs, and if that is going to upset you I might recommend you skip this one.

With that being said this is a book about two terrible people who engage in self-destructive behavior that shows little indication of changing by the end of the book, Reese throws herself into abusive relationships seeking validation, 
while Ames seeks to disassociate themselves because the pain of being present is too much for them to bear.

As a queer individual myself it is interesting to see queer characters who they themselves are not allies as counterintuitive as it is it does happen, Reese in particular is downright hateful of those around her, of those in her community and those of adjacenting communities, and quite frankly anyone who might treat her decently, I suspect that she believes everyone to be as hateful as she is which is what causes her to have such disdain in them which at times can be very difficult to read. 

But overall it's very well written and an interesting view into a very different perspective. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Deadnaming, Infertility, Sexual content, Dysphoria, Pregnancy, Sexual harassment, Toxic relationship, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Transphobia, Abortion, Body shaming, Lesbophobia, Miscarriage, Outing, Physical abuse, Toxic friendship, Homophobia, Racial slurs, and Self harm

Moderate: Cultural appropriation and Suicide attempt

Minor: Suicide

rumade's review against another edition

dark emotional funny hopeful reflective medium-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

3.5

Potential parenthood explored from a totally new angle through 3 characters, each flawed in their own special way. I found it really captivating, and had massive amounts of empathy for the characters, but the end felt a little rushed. The nature of the actual ending may really piss some people off too. I really liked that there's no clear "good" character or "bad" one.

One thing I really didn't like about the book is that for a story about trans people, it really trod the line of the gender binary. Ames, the character who detransitioned, at no point explores whether he may actually be non-binary of more gender fluid, despite never having committed to bottom surgery, and clearly having complicated feelings about gender. It also seemed very bizarre to me that at no point did Katrina solidly consider being a single mother, or even moving back in with her own mother or divorced friends and living that way. You were willing to consider sharing your baby with your baby daddy's ex but not raising a kid alone or with other family or friends???

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Outing

Moderate: Miscarriage, Transphobia, and Physical abuse

Minor: Addiction, Hate crime, Infertility, Abortion, Car accident, Death, and Domestic abuse

the_vegan_bookworm's review against another edition

emotional reflective sad 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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Content Warnings

Graphic: Infidelity, Transphobia, Domestic abuse, and Sexual content