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3.94 AVERAGE
3.94 AVERAGE
It was so refreshing and somehow calming to read a novel about a trans person and feel like I could trust the implied author to do their job. Well, of course it took some time and it wasn't until the very end that I could wrap the story around myself and let it it breath itself into me, but when I did, it was so worth it.
The paratexts told that the author is trans herself. "Oh, that's why" has to be my conclusion. I'm sorry, cis authors, but your books come nowhere close when reading [i]about being trans[/i]. (I'm not sure if you should really try, even. Yes, do write trans characters! But focusing on the specific experience of being trans? Maybe not. I appreciate imagination and encourage research but some positions in society seem to be so marginalized you still can't simply imagine them?)
Russo explained in the end notes that the novel was made as accessible as possible to cis readers with a protagonist that fills all the typical trans narrative boxes you can think of. (If you want to read something where that has not been done, in my opinion, read Imogen Binnie's Nevada. It's not YA though.) I see this, and I could criticize it, and I kind of want to. But I don't think there really are many books I could sincerely call good books about trans kids/youth, so I guess we have to start from the normative narratives. But we need and deserve and will get and are getting much more, too!
Okay, why did I like this book. I felt it embraced me, and lent me a space to stay for a while. It was a calm spot in a city full of angry people late from work, a corner no one noticed, where the story was whispered to me by a kind soul. It was a sad story and a hopeful story and it didn't need everything to be precisely clear and clean as many YA books seem to. It had a good set of characters, a lovely romance, teenage feelings. And the raw pain of teenage depression and dysphoria. The hopelessness, but not without filters, the narrator gave me controlled glimpses, so that I as a reader did not drown in it, but got reminded of it.
It also touched on issues most authors writing about trans people have not dealt with, like internalized transphobia, the tension between stealth life and friends who are out, and learning about social injustices like misogynia from a different (not opposite but, at least for me and the protagonist, different) point of view than before.
Recommended: To all who read YA. This is a really, really good book to start if you've never read a book with a trans character. Trigger warnings include at least transphobia, physical, mental, and (attempted) sexual violence, suicide, and homophobia. But it's still a YA book of a girl going to a new school and making new friends and meeting a boy she likes. Just, you know, an interesting one.
The paratexts told that the author is trans herself. "Oh, that's why" has to be my conclusion. I'm sorry, cis authors, but your books come nowhere close when reading [i]about being trans[/i]. (I'm not sure if you should really try, even. Yes, do write trans characters! But focusing on the specific experience of being trans? Maybe not. I appreciate imagination and encourage research but some positions in society seem to be so marginalized you still can't simply imagine them?)
Russo explained in the end notes that the novel was made as accessible as possible to cis readers with a protagonist that fills all the typical trans narrative boxes you can think of. (If you want to read something where that has not been done, in my opinion, read Imogen Binnie's Nevada. It's not YA though.) I see this, and I could criticize it, and I kind of want to. But I don't think there really are many books I could sincerely call good books about trans kids/youth, so I guess we have to start from the normative narratives. But we need and deserve and will get and are getting much more, too!
Okay, why did I like this book. I felt it embraced me, and lent me a space to stay for a while. It was a calm spot in a city full of angry people late from work, a corner no one noticed, where the story was whispered to me by a kind soul. It was a sad story and a hopeful story and it didn't need everything to be precisely clear and clean as many YA books seem to. It had a good set of characters, a lovely romance, teenage feelings. And the raw pain of teenage depression and dysphoria. The hopelessness, but not without filters, the narrator gave me controlled glimpses, so that I as a reader did not drown in it, but got reminded of it.
It also touched on issues most authors writing about trans people have not dealt with, like internalized transphobia, the tension between stealth life and friends who are out, and learning about social injustices like misogynia from a different (not opposite but, at least for me and the protagonist, different) point of view than before.
Recommended: To all who read YA. This is a really, really good book to start if you've never read a book with a trans character. Trigger warnings include at least transphobia, physical, mental, and (attempted) sexual violence, suicide, and homophobia. But it's still a YA book of a girl going to a new school and making new friends and meeting a boy she likes. Just, you know, an interesting one.
Une traduction qui se lit assez rapidement malgré plusieurs moments qui manquent de clarté.
Les personnages sont plutôt flous et ont des personnalités très similaires (Chloé, Layla, Anna) où il est difficile de les différencier. Sinon ils sont très simplistes et stéréotypés (Parker).
Par contre, quel travail admirable autour d’Amanda. On s’attache immédiatement à elle et à son histoire. Les moments en alternance entre le présent et le passé nous aide à la comprendre et nous la rendent très attachante. J’étais pleine d’empathie pour elle.
Son histoire d’amour est touchante et m’a donné des papillons. Ces blessures et toutes les épreuves qu’elle a dû surmonter m’ont crevé le cœur.
Quelle fille courageuse.
C’est elle et son histoire le highlight.
Les personnages sont plutôt flous et ont des personnalités très similaires (Chloé, Layla, Anna) où il est difficile de les différencier. Sinon ils sont très simplistes et stéréotypés (Parker).
Par contre, quel travail admirable autour d’Amanda. On s’attache immédiatement à elle et à son histoire. Les moments en alternance entre le présent et le passé nous aide à la comprendre et nous la rendent très attachante. J’étais pleine d’empathie pour elle.
Son histoire d’amour est touchante et m’a donné des papillons. Ces blessures et toutes les épreuves qu’elle a dû surmonter m’ont crevé le cœur.
Quelle fille courageuse.
C’est elle et son histoire le highlight.
3.5 stars
I really enjoyed reading this book. I like how it's interesting all throughout and doesn't feel like a pain to read. But that end. The last pages had me almost sobbing, they had me intrigued and I couldn't stop reading, they had me anxiously thinking about what was going to happen next. I wasn't expecting anything from what happened to the end, in fact, I was actually hoping SOMETHING bad would happen 'cause I was getting kinda bored with all the happy stuff but I was not expecting it to be THAT great. I wish the book had a follow up so we could see if Amanda and Grant made it together happily, but I guess it's up to the reader. Would recommend, a really fun read.
I really enjoyed reading this book. I like how it's interesting all throughout and doesn't feel like a pain to read. But that end. The last pages had me almost sobbing, they had me intrigued and I couldn't stop reading, they had me anxiously thinking about what was going to happen next. I wasn't expecting anything from what happened to the end, in fact, I was actually hoping SOMETHING bad would happen 'cause I was getting kinda bored with all the happy stuff but I was not expecting it to be THAT great. I wish the book had a follow up so we could see if Amanda and Grant made it together happily, but I guess it's up to the reader. Would recommend, a really fun read.
chomping on my quest to read every stonewall ya award book
Worst book I have ever read. Poorly written, needed a lot more editing (it read like a first draft). And it is dangerous for trans people.
I would suggest no young trans girls read this. Please avoid
I would suggest no young trans girls read this. Please avoid
Not a recommendation, read entire review, please.
Enjoyable and mostly feel-good YA book about a trans woman, Amanda, finally being able to live a somewhat normal teenage life after a failed suicide attempt. Many things that trans people face have been sugarcoated in this one: Amanda is straight, only into girly stuff, her parents could just afford bottom-surgery, she got hormones from official medical facilities right away etc. The author clearly wanted to write a hopeful story, inspired by her own experience as a trans woman. Amanda also faces a lot of discrimination, she failed to kill herself once, and also TW for abuse in the novel. It doesn't shy away from this. It's not entirely a fairy tale, thus. (Also it's full of YA and highschool romance stereotypes but there's something wholesome about this.)
When reading up on the author though, my initial praise turned to ash very fast. The author is an abuser herself and what you can read up on the court case is frankly quite shocking. I will no longer support this author, I will not buy the sequel, so this review is not a recommendation. The novel was quite influential when it first came out and I am glad that it gave a lot of queer folks hope and told them that they too deserve to be happy, but I am pretty sure that there are now newer and better books by good people out there.
3 Stars and maybe I'll delete the rating entirely. Geez.
Enjoyable and mostly feel-good YA book about a trans woman, Amanda, finally being able to live a somewhat normal teenage life after a failed suicide attempt. Many things that trans people face have been sugarcoated in this one: Amanda is straight, only into girly stuff, her parents could just afford bottom-surgery, she got hormones from official medical facilities right away etc. The author clearly wanted to write a hopeful story, inspired by her own experience as a trans woman. Amanda also faces a lot of discrimination, she failed to kill herself once, and also TW for abuse in the novel. It doesn't shy away from this. It's not entirely a fairy tale, thus. (Also it's full of YA and highschool romance stereotypes but there's something wholesome about this.)
When reading up on the author though, my initial praise turned to ash very fast. The author is an abuser herself and what you can read up on the court case is frankly quite shocking. I will no longer support this author, I will not buy the sequel, so this review is not a recommendation. The novel was quite influential when it first came out and I am glad that it gave a lot of queer folks hope and told them that they too deserve to be happy, but I am pretty sure that there are now newer and better books by good people out there.
3 Stars and maybe I'll delete the rating entirely. Geez.
After an incident that lead Amanda to trying to commit suicide at her old school, Amanda moves in with her father for a new start. She just wants a normal life, able to forget her past as Andrew and live her truth as the girl she's always meant to be.
This was amazing. I just don't have the words.
This was amazing. I just don't have the words.
Not just a good book about a trans girl, but a good book about being in love for the first time, about loneliness, and about depression. The beginning reminded me a bit of Twilight--girl moves to a small town to live with her estranged dad, is suddenly hit on by boys for the first time ever--which just proves that the same concept can be really great or really terrible depending on whether the author who writes it is any good.
Only doing a quick review.
It wasn’t a bad book at all. The story was important and I think it’s amazing to have a book like this written by someone who understands it well. Personally it was a bit quick, short and plain to read for me, but I also think this is good because it means it’s something that a lot more people can read (including people who maybe get bored reading normally as it’s not too long or detailed). It gets the key message across and that’s the most important part of this book.
It wasn’t a bad book at all. The story was important and I think it’s amazing to have a book like this written by someone who understands it well. Personally it was a bit quick, short and plain to read for me, but I also think this is good because it means it’s something that a lot more people can read (including people who maybe get bored reading normally as it’s not too long or detailed). It gets the key message across and that’s the most important part of this book.
This book broke me. And then put me back together again in the best way possible. <3