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3.92 AVERAGE
3.92 AVERAGE
This was a very sweet queer story of self and family history discovery.
protagonist, trying to figure out her identity. As well as a family secret . There's some queerphobia and bullying. But mostly lovely about acceptance and discovery.
Spoiler
PansexualSpoiler
that the woman she thinks is her grandmother is actually a step grandmother, and she actually had a trans man grandfather
This is a great book. I love that it does not use labels and instead lets people live their lives as they see fit. It is a great LGBTQ+ book and is very inclusive without stereotyping. I loved it. My problem (and why it lost a star) is with some of the decisions the author took. The first time Amanda has sex was really off-putting and I did not agree with how it was done. I think it was the wrong decision for Amanda, but I understand why the author made that choice. Also, I hated Cat. I found her obnoxious and annoying. Otherwise, a great read.
While I typically really enjoy LGBT-focused stories, I can’t say I loved this one. The premise of “closeted person has super religious friends and/or family that shun them when they come out” seems a bit overplayed. I didn’t have a problem with the inclusion of a trans grandparent for the main character, like some did, but it did feel a little half-assed. I guess it’s just gotten to the point where it’s exhausting to read about the hatred some harbor towards LGBT (especially T) folks. I wanted to see more of a relationship built between the main character and her step-grandma Dina. I wish that was explored more and less time was spent on trying to get the audience to have a soft spot for characters that wound up being incredibly homophobic. It’s just something I would have preferred to read about.
emotional
sad
fast-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
This is a book that younger me probably could have used and would have enjoyed which, if I'm being honest, is the reason I picked it up in the first place. I was expecting to be a story about a girl figuring out she doesn't like boys, or she doesn't just like boys. And while that was still a part of the story, the way the girl gets to figuring out that she's Not Straight is incredibly fucked up. I'm not going to go into detail, but there is a lot of dead-naming and misgendering involved, in addition to a transgender's person identity being used as a plot twist and in order to further the plot, which is very yikes, at least in my eyes. And I don't care that the dead-naming and misgendering could have been to make a point, I don't think it's ever okay to do that, especially as it was never made clear that that kind of behavior is not okay.
practically perfect in every way. loved the characters, the empathetic and well-rounded representation, the art. in the end, the only thing I wanted more of was resolution with some of the relationships — and even then, it's kind of refreshing that everything wasn't wrapped up neatly. it was a little messy and a lot beautiful, just like life.
This was very different from what I expected. A dramatic and powerful story.
***3.5 Stars*** I’m finding it hard to rate this book. When Amanda first began to come head-to-head with her sexuality, all of the people in her life were pretty much overtly negative about the entire LGBTQ+ community.
Her father has a trans parent who he and his father refuse to acknowledge appropriately and without disparaging him as someone who abandoned his family because his mental illness had escalated, rather than approaching him with compassion and acceptance as the trans man he was. Amanda’s whole family hides this from her.
Amanda is really just dealing with the fact that she has a years-long crush on her best friend, Cat. Cat is in no way likable and has zero redeeming qualities, so when it turns out she’s as terrible as we always thought, it’s incredibly anticlimactic. Amanda becomes rather unlikable in the moment when she chooses to, heartbroken by Cat’s utter selfishness, mutually lose her virginity with Adam, who has a massive crush on her, abandon him at a part, and kiss his older sister and one of her best friends all in one night. Obviously, it is disturbing to see the way Amanda’s church members and classmates other and isolate her, but none of these relationships are ever really resolved in any satisfying way.
Thankfully, Amanda’s mom, godfather, new friends in the GSA at her new school, and her grandfather’s long-term partner offer support and unconditional love. However, her father clearly loves her but never seems to accept the truth about his own parent or Amanda’s life until the “epilogue.” Even then, I feel it unlikely that he is to come around completely.
I obviously believe that there are very valid and important arguments to make for representation of both unaccepting and accepting parents, friends, and communities of LGBTQ+ characters, but this book felt very negative for a long time before Amanda seems to abruptly become aware of LGBTQ+ issues and make a complete 180 from her own recently held beliefs. Again, this is not necessarily unrealistic. It just felt as if everything was building up to Amanda confirming her space in the LGBTQ+ community to so suddenly wrap the story up. I think the ending could have benefited from more context for the characters.
Overall, I enjoyed the book and appreciated the representation and educational nature, but there were some particularly harsh scenes of homophobia and transphobia that were difficult to read. I would recommend this text but would also recommend reading some stories of positive, affirming, and accepting experiences with coming out and questioning your identity and/or sexuality.
Her father has a trans parent who he and his father refuse to acknowledge appropriately and without disparaging him as someone who abandoned his family because his mental illness had escalated, rather than approaching him with compassion and acceptance as the trans man he was. Amanda’s whole family hides this from her.
Amanda is really just dealing with the fact that she has a years-long crush on her best friend, Cat. Cat is in no way likable and has zero redeeming qualities, so when it turns out she’s as terrible as we always thought, it’s incredibly anticlimactic. Amanda becomes rather unlikable in the moment when she chooses to, heartbroken by Cat’s utter selfishness, mutually lose her virginity with Adam, who has a massive crush on her, abandon him at a part, and kiss his older sister and one of her best friends all in one night. Obviously, it is disturbing to see the way Amanda’s church members and classmates other and isolate her, but none of these relationships are ever really resolved in any satisfying way.
Thankfully, Amanda’s mom, godfather, new friends in the GSA at her new school, and her grandfather’s long-term partner offer support and unconditional love. However, her father clearly loves her but never seems to accept the truth about his own parent or Amanda’s life until the “epilogue.” Even then, I feel it unlikely that he is to come around completely.
I obviously believe that there are very valid and important arguments to make for representation of both unaccepting and accepting parents, friends, and communities of LGBTQ+ characters, but this book felt very negative for a long time before Amanda seems to abruptly become aware of LGBTQ+ issues and make a complete 180 from her own recently held beliefs. Again, this is not necessarily unrealistic. It just felt as if everything was building up to Amanda confirming her space in the LGBTQ+ community to so suddenly wrap the story up. I think the ending could have benefited from more context for the characters.
Overall, I enjoyed the book and appreciated the representation and educational nature, but there were some particularly harsh scenes of homophobia and transphobia that were difficult to read. I would recommend this text but would also recommend reading some stories of positive, affirming, and accepting experiences with coming out and questioning your identity and/or sexuality.