Reviews

Fierce Femmes and Notorious Liars: A Dangerous Trans Girl's Confabulous Memoir by Kai Cheng Thom

christelisreading's review

dark hopeful inspiring tense fast-paced

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

3.5

livid_olive's review against another edition

It's just too surreal for me. It is hard to know what to believe. I guess that's in the title, though

mxunsmiley's review

5.0

Tongue-in-cheek, surreal, and often heart-wrenching, this was definitely a big surprise for me, as it's billed like a memoir, and now I want all memoirs written this way--improbable scenarios and all, because the sentiments and meanings of this novel all align with those you might expect from a memoir.

I loved the rejection of a neat and complete resolution. One chapter toward the end also stuck out to me, in which she remarks that kindness can be a type of violence as well. That additional rejection of easy and readily comprehensible dichotomies was so meaningful to me as well.

So much of the imagery and symbolism was so mesmerizing. The one chapter in the latter half of the book detailing the growth of her hair was full of the most astounding descriptive language I've read in a while. Obviously, I preferred the second half of the book, but the entire novel is beautifully written and structured.

Eat your heart out, Gabriel García Márquez, Ms. Thom does magical realism with ten times more of an impact.

littlebookterror's review against another edition

fast-paced

3.0

_cherry_'s review

dark emotional funny sad tense fast-paced

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

4.0

jess_mango's review

4.0

This book counts towards the Book Riot Read Harder 2019 challenge task #18: a novel by a trans or non-binary author

thepetitepunk's review

Such a great writing style and a very unique take on genre. Loved it.

deliadiaz's review

challenging emotional hopeful medium-paced

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

5.0

sunshine_sophia's review against another edition

adventurous emotional inspiring sad 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

4.0

this was a magical, unique, and fun read! i really enjoyed the lyrical, prose style of the book and how it flowed seamlessly into each chapter. 

i enjoyed the themes of sisterhood, the discussion on transphobia, and the elements of found/chosen family. this was a very wholesome read, one that will absolutely stick with me. 

the only downside was i wish there were more to the story, i would have loved to see where the main character ended up and what the rest of her journey looked like. 

my heart will always be with the fierce femmes <3 

foolishdahlia's review

3.0

i read this for my english class and it was pretty cool! beautiful writing and a very poetic story with so so much symbolism, i liked it :)