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bookishplantmom's review against another edition
medium-paced
- 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
0.25
The sheer transphobia of the last few chapters of this book knocked this book wayyyy down in my enjoyment. I don’t know why the hell the author thought this was an appropriate thing to write. It’s disgusting and I’m truly pissed. The book was fine up until then, even enjoyable in places. I found myself waiting to see if and how the magical realism the author kept bringing up and hinting at would come to fruition but that was left completely unresolved for the sake of this transphobic diatribe???? Ugh I’m so disappointed!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child abuse, Rape, Racism, and Transphobia
danaran's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? N/A
- Loveable characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
1.5
Content Warnings
Moderate: Abandonment, Child abuse, Transphobia, and Racism
Minor: Rape
jerichola's review against another edition
1.0
While a tolerable book, it was slightly confusing with the jumping between timelines and narrators between parts. I never felt like I had a great handle on the characters or their motives or emotions. The premise sounds like it would pack a punch, the execution fell flat and I had no emotional attachment to the characters. However, there were quite a few beautiful quotes.
That would have been a 3 star, but the ending. Oh goodness. Even if it wasn’t incredibly disrespectful and prejudiced, it was a storyline that would need more than 20 pages to be flushed out. Within the last 20 pages the author changes this story to introduce a trans character just to insinuate that being trans is caused by insanity and trauma, that transitioning creates vile and abusive people, that it caused a curse on the next two generations, and that curse can only be broken by de-transitioning. It felt like she wrote an entire book and her editor said, “you know what it’s missing? Transphobia.” so she just haphazardly slammed it in in the last 3 chapters. I’m so disappointed.
My recent read of “The Ways of White Folks” by Langston Hughes gave me a much better look at the racial topics presented in this story, and I felt more emotionally connected to those characters in 20 pages than I did in the 300+ with these characters. I wish this one would have stayed unread on my bookshelf.
That would have been a 3 star, but the ending. Oh goodness. Even if it wasn’t incredibly disrespectful and prejudiced, it was a storyline that would need more than 20 pages to be flushed out. Within the last 20 pages the author changes this story to introduce a trans character just to insinuate that being trans is caused by insanity and trauma, that transitioning creates vile and abusive people, that it caused a curse on the next two generations, and that curse can only be broken by de-transitioning. It felt like she wrote an entire book and her editor said, “you know what it’s missing? Transphobia.” so she just haphazardly slammed it in in the last 3 chapters. I’m so disappointed.
My recent read of “The Ways of White Folks” by Langston Hughes gave me a much better look at the racial topics presented in this story, and I felt more emotionally connected to those characters in 20 pages than I did in the 300+ with these characters. I wish this one would have stayed unread on my bookshelf.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Transphobia, Racism, Child abuse, and Deadnaming
Minor: Body shaming
rivalmancy's review against another edition
Content Warnings
Graphic: Racism, Child abuse, and Transphobia
Moderate: Sexual assault and Rape
kenrya's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
2.5
The writing is great, but this felt unfinished. Loose ends abound and the choice of narrator for what this story ended up being was poor, to say the least.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Transphobia, Emotional abuse, Sexism, Racism, Rape, Death, Child abuse, Classism, Deadnaming, Sexual assault, Violence, Abortion, Homophobia, Lesbophobia, and Physical abuse
katieandkiri's review against another edition
dark
emotional
reflective
sad
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
2.5
Like many others I’m pretty disappointed and put off by the last 50 pages of the book. I think the author was going for something maybe different to how it’s perceived but regardless of intent it still feels pretty harmful. It’s disappointing considering how much I enjoyed the book up until a certain point. Certain aspects could have been handled with more care.
Content Warnings
Minor: Transphobia and Sexual assault
cassiereadsalot's review against another edition
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.0
Content Warnings
Minor: Racism, Sexual assault, Transphobia, and Animal cruelty
jesticulate's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
reflective
sad
slow-paced
1.0
I am furious about this book. I loved the writing and found myself thinking deeply the whole way through. And then the whole book ends with a terrible 30 page bullshit transphobic ending. It’s incredibly insulting and disgusting. Wow.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Emotional abuse, Child abuse, Deadnaming, Transphobia, and Racism
Minor: Fatphobia, Sexual assault, Rape, Classism, Abortion, Alcohol, Dementia, Death of parent, Stalking, Sexual harassment, and Sexual violence
mireanthony's review against another edition
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
2.0
This book started out so strong and complex and then failed to follow through. The ending felt trite and contrived, transphobic cliche used in a handwavy fashion instead of digging into what was set up earlier in the book and presenting a conclusion. Prominent themes are motherhood, identity, intergenerational trauma and racism.
Boy's struggles connecting to her adopted daughter Snow and her choice to send her away in favor of holding onto her biological daughter Bird, despite the racism Bird faces from her father's extended family throughout the book, and the way this decision is shaped by Boy's abusive relationship with her own parent, feels very rich and interesting and compelling as a foundation for conflict within the story. The switch in perspective to Bird and the epistolary section deepening Bird and Snow's relationship complicates that first section; Boy's choices, while in her best interest and partially an attempt to protect her own daughter over the daughter from her husband's previous marriage, nevertheless have far-reaching consequences for her children. And then section three takes that character work and instead of running with it to a meaningful conclusion,throws in a plot twist of a trans father and the loss of a mother figure to Boy. Honestly, it's not even the unacceptable way this topic is handled that bothers me the most (although that certainly is egregious from a book that was written in 2014) but the way Boy packing her family into a car to rush off and "help" her "sick" "mother" is the final story beat of the book. It feels so rushed that I have to assume the author expects us to agree with Boy's view that her "mother" is sick and that Boy confronting the rat catcher about their shared past will genuinely bring her meaningful closure about Boy's own tenuous grasp on motherhood. To me, it feels self-evident and consistent with the rest of the book to say that Boy's actions in the final pages are driven by the desire to absolve herself of guilt over her behavior towards her own daughters, and it is disappointing to wonder, in a book that so well explores racism and identity, if the way the ending is rushed and tied up rather than given the space to see how Boy's confrontation with the rat catcher failing to alter her relationship with Snow and Bird, is motivated by prejudice. It just feels like there are things we are supposed to take for granted in the conclusions here and the book is weaker for it.
I will not be reading any more of Helen Oyeyemi's work, after both this and White is for Witching failed to satisfy me, which is a shame because I think for the most part she has a good grasp on characterization and I enjoy her prose style. Oh, well.
Boy's struggles connecting to her adopted daughter Snow and her choice to send her away in favor of holding onto her biological daughter Bird, despite the racism Bird faces from her father's extended family throughout the book, and the way this decision is shaped by Boy's abusive relationship with her own parent, feels very rich and interesting and compelling as a foundation for conflict within the story. The switch in perspective to Bird and the epistolary section deepening Bird and Snow's relationship complicates that first section; Boy's choices, while in her best interest and partially an attempt to protect her own daughter over the daughter from her husband's previous marriage, nevertheless have far-reaching consequences for her children. And then section three takes that character work and instead of running with it to a meaningful conclusion,
I will not be reading any more of Helen Oyeyemi's work, after both this and White is for Witching failed to satisfy me, which is a shame because I think for the most part she has a good grasp on characterization and I enjoy her prose style. Oh, well.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Transphobia