A review by spookieboogie
A Dream of a Woman by Casey Plett

emotional reflective medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

Books read by their authors, especially an #OwnVoices take are such a treat.

What I love most about Casey Plett is that she writes her books, her trans characters, their trans experiences for trans readers. Her work has never read as watered down to be palatable to cis readers but has remained accessible enough to them.

When I first read A Safe Girl to Love, I hadn’t quite figured out my gender situation. I won’t say it helped me do that, but I can say it helped me feel comfortable being messy. Trans women (note: I’m not a trans woman, just a trans person) rarely get the chance to be seen as messy and flawed but respected, so stories like hers that highlight realistic trans experiences are so wonderful to see.

These short stories are emotional and I loved every single last one of them. At the end of the first story I thought to myself, wow this is going to be great. At the end of the second, this one is going to be my favorite. But as it went on, each new story became a favorite. The gem of the collection is Obsolution, which is told in pieces through the entire collection.

The audiobook is read by the author herself. I freaking love that. She did a fantastic job reading and voicing the characters. The conversations flowed so smoothly that I felt some of these women were my friends.

This was just such a fantastic experience. I highly recommend reading this book, but if you like audiobooks please listen to this one! The stories are engaging and digestible in pieces or in a binge like me.

Thanks so much to NetGalley, Bespeak Audio and Casey Plett! I received a free copy of the audiobook to review.

Content Warnings: ADBL & age play, alcohol abuse/addiction, drug abuse, explicit sex, homophobia/lesbophobia, rape, transphobia 

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