Reviews tagging 'Transphobia'

Can't Take That Away by Steven Salvatore

39 reviews

jenny_librarian's review

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emotional hopeful informative inspiring fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes

4.75

I will protect Carey Parker with my life. That kid is so precious. From the very first chapter I was 100% rooting for them.

While the beginning is pretty cute, it’s not an easy read. There’s a lot of queer pain and queerphobia in this book, which made it a bit harder for me to get through. I am very much a reader of queer joy and – while the ending was worth it – it was rough getting there.

I’m not a Mariah fan, but I recognize the fangirling (term used as genderneutral here) and obsession of a specific artist that you feel understands you better than you sometimes understand yourself.

There is one mention of HP that completely took me out the story, and that I find extremely disappointing, especially coming from a genderqueer author who has to know how harmful that woman is. It was a tiny thing, a single word used as a comparison, and I wish it had been changed before publishing.

As a whole, it is a hard but inspiring story of standing up for yourself, of friends having your back and of fighting for those who can’t use their voice yet.

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bookswtheo's review

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hopeful informative reflective 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

3.5


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theboywithallthekeys's review

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emotional hopeful inspiring slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? No

5.0


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erins_bookshelf_'s review

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emotional funny inspiring fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes

4.5

I've never read a book about a genderqueer character before so this was very interesting to me. I really liked it and it was really cool to see the point of view of a character like that, especially since it's an OwnVoices book. The storyline was really good and the representation of a couple other identities was really casual, but for a book like this that was definitely the best way to do it- showing that all identities are "normal". The drama was pretty good and the romance in this was sweet and soft, which is my favorite kind of romance to read because I''m not a fan of smutty stuff and they're just so fricking cute 🥰
I do kinda think the part when they arrest the transphobic/homophobic teacher (Johnson? Jackson? I can’t remember his name i wrote this review a little after I finished the book) that the sudden “hey wait he can’t teach he doesn’t have good credentials” wasn’t great since I’m not 100% sure how realistic that is…? I’m glad he got what he deserved but I think he would’ve gotten arrested for assaulting Carey in the human chain thing (idk maybe it’s more common to fake credentials than I thought).

I think this is definitely a good book to read if you're trying to read about more sexualities/identities of the LGBTQ+ community and if you're into reading about people coming together to make change. 
I got this from my local library so I'm definitely going to be buying it soon because I need to own this book :)

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lettuce_read's review

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4.0


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bennispizza's review

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emotional funny hopeful inspiring lighthearted sad medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.5


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averyconfusedhomosapiensbooks's review

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emotional funny hopeful informative slow-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? Yes

2.25


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misssleepless's review

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

2.5


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melaniereadsbooks's review

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challenging emotional 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

3.75

This book is a heavy-hitting YA contemp about a genderqueer teen dealing with extreme homophobia from classmates, teachers, and school board members.  Throughout it all, Carey manages to stay hopeful and strong and surrounded by a few people that make their life better.  I was so angry at the school. As someone who works for a small school district, I 100% know the likelihood a similar queer-phobic incident occurring, and the saddest part about that is most of the time things don't get changed like they did in this book. I'm glad for the hope of that, and I loved seeing Carey grow throughout the novel!

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foreverinastory's review

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

4.0

The school/principal really made me mad. But otherwise I definitely loved this! However, the audio quality was TERRIBLE and it's not even from Netgalley--wtf @Bloomsbury!?!

Rep: white genderqueer MC with anxiety and anxiety/panic attacks, Black female side character, bisexual male love interest, disabled elderly grandmother who can't speak much--implied side effects of a stroke possibly.

CWs: Alcohol consumption, biphobia, bullying, death/death of grandparent, dysphoria, gaslighting, grief, hate crime, homophobia, lesbophobia, mental illness (anxiety), panic/anxiety attacks, misogyny, sexism, transphobia.
 

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