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garlinds's review against another edition
- 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
4.75
Graphic: Homophobia, Sexism, and Transphobia
Moderate: Mental illness, Sexual harassment, and Racism
Minor: Islamophobia, Lesbophobia, and Toxic relationship
anarmandameg's review
- 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
5.0
Graphic: Dysphoria, Grief, Bullying, and Deadnaming
Moderate: Drug use, Homophobia, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic friendship, Transphobia, Abandonment, Sexism, Sexual content, Grief, and Mental illness
Minor: Toxic relationship
mattyb's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Graphic: Homophobia, Dysphoria, and Transphobia
Moderate: Mental illness, Drug use, Sexual content, Racism, Acephobia/Arophobia, Grief, Islamophobia, Deadnaming, Emotional abuse, Injury/Injury detail, Medical content, Misogyny, Panic attacks/disorders, Self harm, and Toxic relationship
Minor: Sexual harassment, Animal cruelty, and Pandemic/Epidemic
kayladaila's review
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Graphic: Deadnaming, Dysphoria, Emotional abuse, Self harm, Sexual content, Lesbophobia, Transphobia, and Homophobia
Moderate: Alcohol, Biphobia, Bullying, Acephobia/Arophobia, Toxic relationship, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, and Sexual harassment
Minor: Outing, Pregnancy, Racism, Vomit, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Drug use, Hate crime, Eating disorder, and Medical content
melaniereadsbooks's review
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
River is like a man-o-war: trapped in a tank they can't survive in, accidentally stings. They are on the swim team and loving the water, but have extreme body dysphoria and are struggling to survive. When they cross paths with Indy, River is able to see parts of themself they've never noticed before.
This book is an absolutely amazing exploration about discovering who you are and the pain and trauma it can cause when you don't feel like you fit. River is such a complex character--they're vicious and soft and hating and loving. I feel like River's character really shows the way people can change as they grow and understand themselves more.
Some of the moments with River's mom and coach really hurt to read about. They have some toxic people in their life, but also some amazing people that really help them through.
I adooooooore the relationship arc in this book. Cory does such a great job of writing a relationship that is so many different things and showing the way people can grow next to each other and apart. It shows the way someone else can hold a mirror up so you can really understand yourself better, but be able to form that way on your own. It is... poignant, and heart-breaking, and I loved it.
This book does time jumps which I usually don't like, but I didn't have a problem with it here. I thought it did such a good job representing the dysphoria that River goes through and hitting on the important things but still moving the story along. What I was nervous about at first ended up being a great narrative tool that made the story that much better.
I love love love this book and hope you all get it when it comes out in May.
Graphic: Dysphoria, Homophobia, Gaslighting, Emotional abuse, Bullying, Transphobia, and Biphobia
Moderate: Racism, Acephobia/Arophobia, Deadnaming, Sexual harassment, Mental illness, and Outing
Minor: Alcohol and Sexual content
foreverinastory's review
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
After reading their spouse's book The Heartbreak Bakery I thought there couldn't be another book that would speak to my own tangled relationship with gender identity and then I read this book. I am in tears up to my soul after reading this. I am in pieces but so full of love and hope for the future. I didn't know how much I needed this book.
I haven't completely read all of Cory's backlog, but I know without a doubt that this is their best work yet. Man O'War is full of reflection and questioning. It was not an easy book, but it was one I desperately needed. I'll be singing it's praises all through next year. I loved River's character and their journey into queer identity. There's no single one way to be queer and that point is made many times in this book. We see River, Indy and other characters grow. They change and make mistakes, but they're continuing to learn the whole time.
This review isn't going to be completely coherent because I am still INCREDIBLY emotional about this book. I loved it so much and I truly don't have enough words to tell y'all about it. Books like these are the reason I read contemporary books. This was everything. I can't wait to physically have this book in my hands and cry over it.
Rep: questioning pansexual nonbinary white presenting Lebanese-Irish MC with anxiety and depression, bisexual agender love interest, Lebanese-Irish asexual male side character, Asian lesbian female side character in a WLW relationship, white lesbian female side character, Black cishet male side character, white queer demiboy side character, trans male side character, achillean BIPOC side character.
CWs: Acephobia/acemisia, alcohol consumption, biphobia/bimisia, bullying, deadnaming/misgendering, dysphoria, homophobia/homomisia, lesbophobia/lesbomisia, mental illness (anxiety and depression), outing, transphobia/transmisia. Brief: sexual content.
Graphic: Acephobia/Arophobia, Alcohol, Biphobia, Bullying, Deadnaming, Dysphoria, Homophobia, Lesbophobia, Mental illness, Outing, and Transphobia
Minor: Sexual content