Review by bookobsessedmommy - Hot Girls with Balls

bookobsessedmommy 's review for:

Hot Girls with Balls by Benedict Nguyễn

fast-paced

Diverse cast of characters: Yes

The premise of the book, two transwomen dominating in men's volleyball, is a vehicle to look at just how nasty this world is, how overwhelming it is to be the one who's different, and how easy it is to judge people mercilessly. The internet is where human decency goes to die, and this book is a graveyard. The multimedia aspect with interviews, comments, and crowd conversations means we get the full gamut of tone policing, transphobia, misogyny, and general internet nastiness. I nearly DNF'd the book a couple of time listening to the vile comments. It's one thing to scroll past the trolls or avoid the comments entirely on a post, but to listen to this vitriol in rapid fire was tough. There is a bit of a mystery that crops up, but I wanted more from the resolution. (I'm using this word lightly.) The constantly changing POV's were a little difficult to keep up with, but reading this with your eyeballs might help. If I realized this was satire, I probably wouldn't have picked it up. While this one wasn't for me, it did give me some things to think about. I liked the look at Six and Green's relationship, and how you got to see them both holding back and thinking through their interactions. There were some good conversations about the trans community gatekeeping what "real trans" looks like or acts like, and it's good to remember that division is what the powers that be want. If marginalize communities are fighting amongst themselves, then they won't have the time or energy to fight their common enemy. The internet can make it feel like it's us against the world, but we are the world, and a house divided against itself cannot stand.

Content Warnings