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kennabix's review
funny
tense
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.25
This was a crazy read. An extremely fun depiction of unquestionable queerness and lesbian culture and gender. Sasha’s intentional annoying personality trait was insufferable, and I kept waiting for something to happen that was not her self-spiraling love/hate train.
Then there was the livestream and that happened! Crazy town body horror. Unanswered questions. The last 100 pages were a wild ride I don’t want to go back onto but was happy to have done once. Miss Fran Davis all I have to say is HUH??
Then there was the livestream and that happened! Crazy town body horror. Unanswered questions. The last 100 pages were a wild ride I don’t want to go back onto but was happy to have done once. Miss Fran Davis all I have to say is HUH??
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body horror and Torture
mstrouse's review against another edition
emotional
tense
slow-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
2.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Torture, Body horror, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Toxic relationship and Sexual content
Minor: Dysphoria
skyhouse's review
challenging
funny
mysterious
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
3.0
an extremely queer book. very steeped in dyke culture, I found the start of this to be very compelling and parts of it to be quite sexy and interesting, but the end felt a little deflated and it didn’t come together for me.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body horror
meemawreads's review against another edition
emotional
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.5
I was interested enough in this book to speed through it but in the end it's a story about about a bunch of privileged queers making their own conflict by refusing to communicate clearly. The characters are shallow, petty, manipulative, resentful, and self-obsessed. I think they're supposed to be unlikeable so I don't think my dislike of them is a fault of the writing. I especially didn't enjoy the graphically portrayed "performance", partially based on personal sensitivity to body horror and partially because both the performance and its fallout didn't seem realistic enough to make me care at all about the stakes. These relationships all came off as shallow, again probably purposefully, and I not only wasn't surprised when they got their feelings hurt, but thought they mostly deserved it. I appreciated the ending, especially the moments of truthful dialogue that came shortly before it. It wasn't enough of a turnaround to make me fully endorse the book, but it kept me from rating it lower. Two and a half taters.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body horror
lilkstew's review
2.5
Jenny Schecter, is that you?
I don't even know where to begin with this book. The opening certainly captures my attention with the Grinch nudes, but the shock factor wears off quickly after the third attempt at catching the reader off guard with bizarre references or questions. Even the body horror at the end falls so flat because it tries so hard to be transgressive and thought-provoking. It isn't, though.
I don't usually mind autofiction or think it's a bad thing, but this instance is too much for me. Dykette had the mark of Iowa's MFA allllll over it (and not in a splendid way). The pug. The pink. The self-importance. The article. The thirsting after the totally-not-Rachel-Maddow character. Idk, this book is marketed as a thoughtful, insightful look into contemporary butch/femme dynamics, but I think this book has such an ungrounded viewpoint that it feels shallow.
I read another review that described the book as an argument that someone has in their head, which felt so true. But I think that this book specifically reads like the arguments that that HRH Collection girl has with herself. I know she's horrible, but that's exactly how the pacing and neuroticism of the book come across.
Also, whenever there is a long description of someone's outfit, it feels very similar to My Immortal. It's actually uncanny. It's all very "I put on black high heels with pink metal stuff on the ends and six pairs of skull earrings." It seriously makes me wonder if Jenny Fran Davis was inspired by that fanfiction.
Anyways, if you are looking for a snapshot into the mind of a modern-day Bushwick version of Jenny from season 6 of The L Word, perhaps you will love this book. I, personally, do not think it's a book that has earned itself the status of a staple of lesbian literature.
I don't even know where to begin with this book. The opening certainly captures my attention with the Grinch nudes, but the shock factor wears off quickly after the third attempt at catching the reader off guard with bizarre references or questions. Even the body horror at the end falls so flat because it tries so hard to be transgressive and thought-provoking. It isn't, though.
I don't usually mind autofiction or think it's a bad thing, but this instance is too much for me. Dykette had the mark of Iowa's MFA allllll over it (and not in a splendid way). The pug. The pink. The self-importance. The article. The thirsting after the totally-not-Rachel-Maddow character. Idk, this book is marketed as a thoughtful, insightful look into contemporary butch/femme dynamics, but I think this book has such an ungrounded viewpoint that it feels shallow.
I read another review that described the book as an argument that someone has in their head, which felt so true. But I think that this book specifically reads like the arguments that that HRH Collection girl has with herself. I know she's horrible, but that's exactly how the pacing and neuroticism of the book come across.
Also, whenever there is a long description of someone's outfit, it feels very similar to My Immortal. It's actually uncanny. It's all very "I put on black high heels with pink metal stuff on the ends and six pairs of skull earrings." It seriously makes me wonder if Jenny Fran Davis was inspired by that fanfiction.
Anyways, if you are looking for a snapshot into the mind of a modern-day Bushwick version of Jenny from season 6 of The L Word, perhaps you will love this book. I, personally, do not think it's a book that has earned itself the status of a staple of lesbian literature.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual violence and Body horror
fkshg8465's review against another edition
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
1.0
I was really excited to read this, but it fell flat for me, and I really could’ve done without the whole green string thing.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body horror, Dysphoria, Emotional abuse, Physical abuse, Toxic relationship, and Toxic friendship
carokv's review
dark
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body shaming, Body horror, and Blood
annietaber's review
Literally so disturbing and for WHAT. I like a dark novel but the sudden body horror was simply too much and wasn’t even remotely connected to the plot or any character development. Shock just for scandal’s sake. I couldn’t recommend it to anyone in good conscience. Also, the characters never revealed who they were. Each action they made caught me off guard consistently; I’d think I knew each character and then they’d react in a way completely unhinged from any prior development or plot. Seemed confused in its vision and goal; instead all I got was that to be a modern lesbian you had to mutilate yourself— literally and figuratively. I thought about finishing just to say I’d read it, but after sleeping on the horrifying porno scene, I couldn’t justify putting myself through that for a book that wasn’t even important to me in the first place.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Emotional abuse, Body horror, Physical abuse, Toxic relationship, Injury/Injury detail, Sexual violence, Gore, Blood, Sexual content, and Toxic friendship
ec_holland's review
dark
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
Problematic likable MC that reads like Jenny from the L Word? Check!
What a book. What a twisted and impossible feeling book. It’s a book that plays so well into tropes yet also picks the worst kind of queer women to exaggerate and languish through.
I know women like this, and I really didn’t expect it to dive into some of the places it did. This was as enjoyable as it was awful. I think I’ll enjoy thinking about this book and it’s dynamics but hope to never re-read it.
What a book. What a twisted and impossible feeling book. It’s a book that plays so well into tropes yet also picks the worst kind of queer women to exaggerate and languish through.
I know women like this, and I really didn’t expect it to dive into some of the places it did. This was as enjoyable as it was awful. I think I’ll enjoy thinking about this book and it’s dynamics but hope to never re-read it.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body horror