Reviews tagging 'Classism'

Most Ardently: A Pride & Prejudice Remix by Gabe Cole Novoa

32 reviews

jayisreading's review against another edition

emotional hopeful fast-paced

4.0

Most Ardently is an interesting queer take on Austen’s Pride & Prejudice. I admit that I picked this one up without reading the synopsis, so I was only aware that it was Novoa’s own spin on a classic that happened to be queer. It was certainly a surprise to discover that Elizabeth Bennet in this retelling is actually Oliver Bennet, a trans teenage boy. This decision to have a trans protagonist made it that Novoa added another complex layer to the existing discussions about gender dynamics in the original novel. It was interesting to see how Novoa’s queering of Pride & Prejudice impacted the direction of the story, which was simultaneously familiar yet not, as a result of having to attend to what it meant to be queer during the Victorian era. I thought Novoa handled this pretty well without getting too caught up in the details to lose the plot. I did feel that Oliver’s thoughts were a bit repetitive once you’re further in the novel, but this might not bother everyone.

Also, a warning to trans readers: Considering the time period and the protagonist being trans, it shouldn’t come as a complete surprise that transphobia is rampant in this novel. There’s very frequent deadnaming and misgendering, which is critical in the development of the story.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Deadnaming, Homophobia, Dysphoria, and Transphobia

Moderate: Outing, Classism, Misogyny, and Sexism

Minor: Stalking, Lesbophobia, and Suicidal thoughts

evarinya's review against another edition

funny hopeful inspiring lighthearted fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Deadnaming, Misogyny, Dysphoria, and Sexism

Moderate: Outing, Transphobia, and Classism

Minor: Homophobia, Infidelity, and Suicidal thoughts

eleos01's review against another edition

emotional inspiring lighthearted relaxing medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes

4.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Homophobia, Deadnaming, Sexism, Transphobia, Lesbophobia, and Misogyny

Moderate: Incest, Classism, and Outing

its_vendetta's review against another edition

emotional hopeful inspiring mysterious tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

this book was so beautiful!! I loved Oliver so much and it’s so nice to see historical romances about trans people. Trans people have always existed and I think this book does an amazing job at representation in an accurate, yet uplifting way.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Deadnaming, Homophobia, Dysphoria, and Transphobia

Moderate: Outing

Minor: Stalking and Classism

carpenterbeeoli's review

emotional hopeful inspiring tense 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? It's complicated

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Misogyny, Transphobia, Deadnaming, Dysphoria, and Homophobia

Moderate: Panic attacks/disorders and Classism

There is a moment when the main character describes, in detail their dysphoria-induced disassociation. This may be triggering to some queer folks.

novella42's review against another edition

emotional hopeful fast-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? No

4.75

This might be the most intense and effective depiction of gender dysphoria and euphoria I've ever read as a cis person.

I read and loved A Lady for A Duke, an original love story with a transfemme protagonist who used the chaos of Waterloo to escape her old life. That book had many of the same elements of this one, and I don't suppose it's fair to compare the very different stories. But there was something especially effective about setting this in the framework of a classic that gave it an extra kick.
 
There's just something about writing this particular story within that of a familiar, famous character in a time period where gender roles were even more rigid than they are today. It was powerful to read the dysphoria and euphoria of Oliver's internal experience, set against the backdrop of all our expectations that come with the story of Pride and Prejudice. 

Jane Austen's version of Elizabeth Bennett has become a very particular kind of role model for femininity and for a certain kind of feminist, and that framework provided a kind of fuel to the fire of this story. Over the course of the book I became acutely aware of nuances of my own social programming and emotional baggage I brought to the story. It was a relief to acknowledge them and let them go. 

Oliver's discomfort and constant pain was visceral but gracefully depicted. Seeing his happiness at even the smallest affirmation was a profound relief and a joy to read. 

Highly recommend this.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body shaming, Homophobia, Gaslighting, Deadnaming, Body horror, Misogyny, Sexual harassment, Dysphoria, and Transphobia

Moderate: Classism, Suicidal thoughts, and Outing

Minor: Bullying

kirkspockreads's review against another edition

emotional hopeful reflective tense fast-paced

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

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Homophobia, Sexism, Deadnaming, Classism, and Transphobia

Moderate: Outing and Panic attacks/disorders

jehansen127's review

hopeful lighthearted 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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Outing, Classism, Transphobia, and Deadnaming

Minor: Death of parent

booksthatburn's review

hopeful reflective medium-paced

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

4.0

MOST ARDENTLY is a retelling of Jane Austen's PRIDE AND PREJUDICE, where Oliver is a trans boy whose family still thinks his name is Elizabeth. When he meets Darcy originally, Oliver is dressed as a girl and the other boy is very dismissive of him. A day or so later, he's at a local fair as himself and ends up spending the day with Darcy and Bingley. As the two sides of his life collide, soon he has to choose whether to declare himself or to let nefarious actors force the issue for him.

One of my favorite parts of this retelling is the way that it provides an explanation beyond plot convenience for Darcy to have inconsistent reactions to Oliver. Instead of Darcy being hot and cold to someone who seems to be the same person, his reactions around Oliver as a girl are impacted by getting to spend time with Oliver as a boy and maybe starting to fall for him. For those not familiar with the original story, this stands on its own and doesn't require any prior knowledge in order to make sense. 

I enjoyed this as a retelling and as its own story, a great addition to the Remixed Classics series!

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Dysphoria, Classism, Sexism, and Misogyny

Moderate: Panic attacks/disorders, Transphobia, and Deadnaming

Minor: Death, Physical abuse, Pregnancy, and Emotional abuse

ghostlyprince's review against another edition

hopeful inspiring lighthearted fast-paced

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

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Misogyny, Outing, Classism, Deadnaming, and Sexism

Moderate: Panic attacks/disorders, Stalking, Transphobia, Dysphoria, and Incest

Minor: Homophobia, Vomit, Death of parent, Suicidal thoughts, and Lesbophobia