Reviews with content warning for Murder - Fèms magnifiques et dangereuses: Mémoires affabulées d'une fille trans

This was a super short book and I listened to it on audiobook via the Libby app (library books ftw).

When I first picked this up, the only reference I had for a memoir steeped in magical realism was Carmen Maria Machado's In the Dream House. I realized very quickly that Fierce Femmes is a completely different thing! While this book is still full of fantastical elements and absurdities, it is a novel/faux memoir.

The main character is a trans girl who is the daughter of Chinese immigrants (in Canada, I believe) who live in a crooked house in a city called Gloom. Her parents are abusive so, although she feels guilty about leaving her sister, she knows running away will be for the best.

The MC is a self-described liar so we already know we have an unreliable narrator, which made this kind of intriguing. I loved the stories of connecting with other femmes in the pleasure district and the MC's journey of enforcing consent. It's a much needed discussion when others feel as though they are entitled to your body.

This novel includes:
transphobia, consent, sex work, drug use and abuse, found family, love, murder, revenge, adventure, and hot ghosts, among other things.

Content Warnings

chattie_the_mad_chatter's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional funny hopeful informative inspiring reflective sad tense 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? It's complicated

4.5

For such a small book it really packs a punch.
This has a magical realisim, surreal feel that is so full of truth.
There are wonderful metaphors abounding displayed as a physical reality and inserts of poetry.

This book I had to put down at certain moments and breathe as I felt so moved by our protagonist and their friends and know that their story Echoes so many stories that go Unheard in our world.

So many moments that feel powerful, and give hope and show anyone who is not trans how it feels. It has been a delight and a horror to walk in her fabulous stilleto shoes for a moment.

Content Warnings

blackcatkai's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging funny fast-paced

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

4.0

CW: abuse, transphobia, death, self harm, sexual content, violence, medical content/trauma, racism, blood, casual ableism

this was a wild ride of a novel. what part is fantasy, what part is made up, what is real and what isn't? though that's probably not the point by any means, I loved the mix of magical realism and surrealism. different readers will probably interpret things their own way but a lot of it, to me, felt like ways for the MC to process the trauma and struggles she went through as a young trans girl who just ran away from home.

we've got girl gangs, mermaids, revenge plots, and found families. we've got struggles and hardships but also hope. cheering our MC on is so easy to do and you feel for her as she finds her place in the world and what she wants. I can see the fast paced writing/plot and the uncertainty of what is or isn't real putting some readers off, but I thoroughly enjoyed it.

Content Warnings

yaoipaddle's review against another edition

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challenging emotional funny fast-paced

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

3.0

Listened to the audiobook. It was just ok. A fun and quick listen.

Content Warnings

abbie_'s review against another edition

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adventurous fast-paced

3.25

Equal parts fun and sobering! It was a little too fast and surreal for me, but I did love it when the trans girl gang was formed and they wreaked havoc. I also liked the little side quests in the forms of letters back to the MC's little sister, and the odes to her penknife.

Content Warnings

pucksandpaperbacks's review against another edition

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adventurous dark emotional funny medium-paced

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

Content Warnings

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