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4.03 AVERAGE
4.03 AVERAGE
I wanted to enjoy this story but the writing fell flat. The characters were not interesting. The story followed a pattern of a bunch of nonsense then a section of big words that felt totally different from the rest of the book. Was a struggle to finish.
informative
reflective
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Thought provoking
challenging
dark
emotional
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
challenging
emotional
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
As I was reading this book, even from about 50 pages in, I kept saying to myself “this is going to be my favourite book from 2023”.
To me, the story is about being a woman, in all the complexities of that and about three very different people navigating that and grappling with their own unique relationship to femininity, sexuality, biological possibility, gender, queerness and transition.
This book was everything I could want in a novel. Well-written and compelling characters with meaningful nuance, flaws, and complexities. A clear story arc with meaningful advancements and background info given to add depth and weight to the present. And most importantly of all: it gave me a whole perspective into a world I have never and could never live in a way that brought both empathy and understanding for that world and also insight and reflection to my own. I also really appreciated the way that all of the characters are so messy and flawed and yet if not always likeable, at least feel like people whose motives you can understand and therefore feel somewhat attached to amidst all of their mistakes and clear longing for self-acceptance and fulfillment in their lives.
You can tell that Torrey Peters had thought so much about her own experiences, and those of the people around her and really important issues and perspectives to bring up around being a trans woman (and specifically here a white trans woman, which I thought was very well addressed, even in the cringy fallibility and narrow experience of whiteness). I think she did an excellent job of bringing these perspectives up in a very organic way throughout the story that confronted you with them without seeming as though the book was trying to teach you a lesson or formally bring up an issue for debate. I loved that. I think if I could write a book I would want to write it exactly as Peters did.
Ultimately this book is thought-provoking, engrossing, tender, sad-but-not-too-sad/grief porn, and so beautifully intimate. I would give it 100/5 stars if I could.
To me, the story is about being a woman, in all the complexities of that and about three very different people navigating that and grappling with their own unique relationship to femininity, sexuality, biological possibility, gender, queerness and transition.
This book was everything I could want in a novel. Well-written and compelling characters with meaningful nuance, flaws, and complexities. A clear story arc with meaningful advancements and background info given to add depth and weight to the present. And most importantly of all: it gave me a whole perspective into a world I have never and could never live in a way that brought both empathy and understanding for that world and also insight and reflection to my own. I also really appreciated the way that all of the characters are so messy and flawed and yet if not always likeable, at least feel like people whose motives you can understand and therefore feel somewhat attached to amidst all of their mistakes and clear longing for self-acceptance and fulfillment in their lives.
You can tell that Torrey Peters had thought so much about her own experiences, and those of the people around her and really important issues and perspectives to bring up around being a trans woman (and specifically here a white trans woman, which I thought was very well addressed, even in the cringy fallibility and narrow experience of whiteness). I think she did an excellent job of bringing these perspectives up in a very organic way throughout the story that confronted you with them without seeming as though the book was trying to teach you a lesson or formally bring up an issue for debate. I loved that. I think if I could write a book I would want to write it exactly as Peters did.
Ultimately this book is thought-provoking, engrossing, tender, sad-but-not-too-sad/grief porn, and so beautifully intimate. I would give it 100/5 stars if I could.
medium-paced
emotional
reflective
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
challenging
emotional
informative
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
adventurous
emotional
funny
hopeful
informative
reflective
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:
Yes
challenging
dark
emotional
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I enjoyed the perspectives of Ames and Reese navigating their trans identities and journeys. This story certainly was not written for me and there was a lot I needed to look up to understand in the beginning. I found Reese’s narrative to be callous/selfish. I almost DNFed this a few times because of her but ultimately I’m glad I finished the story. I found Ames/Amy’s storyline to be heartbreaking. This story does not have a full resolution - or a necessarily happy ending - but if it did, that would make it unrealistic.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Addiction, Adult/minor relationship, Homophobia, Infertility, Infidelity, Miscarriage, Misogyny, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Toxic relationship, Transphobia, Violence, Grief, Abortion, Pregnancy, Outing