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A review by teri_reads
One Day I Will Grow Up and Be A Beautiful Woman by Abi Maxwell
emotional
inspiring
reflective
slow-paced
3.0
Thank you to Netgalley and Knoph for sending me an eARC of this book!
I usually hesitate give a star rating for memoirs, because I don't want to diminish the story itself. I think the story of this family's journey was incredible and emotional and gut-wrenching and anger-inducing. I loved seeing Greta grow and blossom and overcome so much as she was able to live more and more like her true self. I think stories like this are so crucial for people to understand a real story about a trans child, rather than making their own assumptions about bogeyman on the news or straw man arguments that don't even really exist. I think it was important for Abi to write truthfully, explaining the moments of her own apprehension, showing their family's imperfections, successes and failures, as they navigated their new reality.
There are a couple of critiques about the way the book itself was actually structured which led to me giving it three stars. First off, for a book that isn't even really that long, it took me a very long time to read and at times felt like it was dragging. I think the way the book is formatted, with dense, long paragraphs, makes it feel like a lot more to get through. Even when I was really interested in the story and the family, I sometimes found it hard to pick the book up, and if I did I wouldn't make much progress in a reading session.
Secondly, I think the author needed to focus the story a little bit more. The main story was about her daughter, but we would often go on tangents about her Grandparents, her brother, her early relationsihp with her husband, and the lake itself. While moments like that do provide context for how they are navigating through life now, it felt like they often pulled away from the story abruptly and went on a bit too long.The author also *very* briefly mentions a couple of moments where she was raped and sexually assualted. I'm talking only a couple of sentences about each. That felt a bit weird to me. I think those either needed to be properly explored (though maybe in their own book in the future) or left out completely, because they almost felt like they were just dropped in for some kind of shock factor, or just to add drama to the author's story? I'm not sure. It just didn't feel right within this story about her daughter's gender journey.
I usually hesitate give a star rating for memoirs, because I don't want to diminish the story itself. I think the story of this family's journey was incredible and emotional and gut-wrenching and anger-inducing. I loved seeing Greta grow and blossom and overcome so much as she was able to live more and more like her true self. I think stories like this are so crucial for people to understand a real story about a trans child, rather than making their own assumptions about bogeyman on the news or straw man arguments that don't even really exist. I think it was important for Abi to write truthfully, explaining the moments of her own apprehension, showing their family's imperfections, successes and failures, as they navigated their new reality.
There are a couple of critiques about the way the book itself was actually structured which led to me giving it three stars. First off, for a book that isn't even really that long, it took me a very long time to read and at times felt like it was dragging. I think the way the book is formatted, with dense, long paragraphs, makes it feel like a lot more to get through. Even when I was really interested in the story and the family, I sometimes found it hard to pick the book up, and if I did I wouldn't make much progress in a reading session.
Secondly, I think the author needed to focus the story a little bit more. The main story was about her daughter, but we would often go on tangents about her Grandparents, her brother, her early relationsihp with her husband, and the lake itself. While moments like that do provide context for how they are navigating through life now, it felt like they often pulled away from the story abruptly and went on a bit too long.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Homophobia, Transphobia
Minor: Sexual assault