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blithesquesttoread 's review for:
Mutant Pride
by S.J. Whitby
There's always an uncertainty for me while writing reviews because I always start with squealing about how amazing the book is and all. And frankly, for this particular book I am all squeals. To say that this book was amazing is so underrated because it was so much more. I mean what do I need more than an extremely queer read with an amazing diverse rep which is cute, fluffy and deadly, action-packed at the same time? The next installment, of course!
To start with this book, I really loved how the book was unapologetically diverse and made sure that it didn't seem as if it was a forced representation. We meet Dylan who is super awkward and would love to tape her mouth at any chance of conversation. She discovers that she can somehow converse with objects after kissing Emma at Emma's birthday party because of a game app. Through a chance encounter with Alyse in a bathroom who was able to change her appearance based on how she was feeling, Dylan realizes that she might not be the only person with mutant powers. Growing up with X-men as her safe haven, Dylan is super excited about the prospect of having a mutant team of her own. Together Alyse and Dylan find other who have mutants power, which includes Dani and Bianca. Dylan wants nothing more than to gather all these people in a team and make sure that a person who is quaking stuff is dealt with. Dani isn't really keen on this plan and openly says she won't be a part of it. Lou, Dylan's boyfriend, isn't really keen with this plan too.
Aahh, well it isn't really that easy for me to summarize this book but here I go. I honestly loved all the five characters I mentioned above except of course the quaking person. I'll start with saying how come the objects were so freaking smart?? This whole concept of talking to objects is super creepy for Dylan but I love the way she still goes with it. Lou, being a trans boy, is forced to go to an all-girls school because of his unsupportive parents. Throughout the book his struggle in accepting himself and deal with his parents and general transphobia is reflected.
I liked how in some or the other way the insecurities of all characters was shown so naturally. Pear (Dylan's parent) and Dylan's relationship was soo goofy and I loved reading about it soo much. Pear or Ness understood Dylan really well and they made sure to deal with Dylan's social anxiety and insecurities in a positive way. Coming onto other aspects that the book dealt with, there was a found family of misfits that we see in the end. And oh, that was the best aspect honestly. All the characters are soo diverse, there's possibly next to no commonness that you can overtly find between the characters but still they make so much sense together.
Throughout the book we see that the characters try to pinpoint where and how do they belong in the group and in the society. They are questioning their sexualities and gender identity and their interests. There are people who know what they want to do later in life, like Dani and Emma, and others who have no clue, like Dylan. I liked how the characters were so creative, like Lou who was a really good cartoon artist. Furthermore, there's dealings with homophobia, transphobia, racism, sexual assault, troubled past and so much more in the book. It's surprising how all of this was mentioned and showed in the book but it still somehow didn't seem heavy.
Apart from all this, there was the whole concept of relationships that was handled so well! I mean there was this whole instance of Lou being extremely jealous and frankly a d*ck sometimes. We had Dani's ex who gave a hard to to her constantly and then there was the relationship between Bianca and her girlfriend which was kind of different? I mean I still haven't formed an opinion there but alright. The negative and ugly sides of a relationship was highlighted but at the same time the beautiful sides were highlighted too, like Ness and Sarah.
So to conclude, go pick up this book ASAP because it is just too good to miss out on. It does contain lots of slang which some people might not appreciate and lots of references to X-men (there is a guide sort of thing at the end) which might be difficult for people to catch up on if they haven't read it before but I assure you it is SUPER AMAZING!
REP: Pansexual, Grey-ace, Demisexual, Lesbian, Bi-romantic, Trans, Genderqueer, Kiwi-Chinese, Korean, Pasifika, Non-binary...
Trigger/Content Warning: Homophobia, Panphobia, Transphobia, Racism, Sexual Assault (forced kissing), Death, Violence, Hate Crime, Mention of Divorce and troubled past, Bullying, Earthquake, Blood, Deadnaming, Language.
I was provided a review copy for a book tour by Caffeine Book Tours and the Author and this is my honest review.
To start with this book, I really loved how the book was unapologetically diverse and made sure that it didn't seem as if it was a forced representation. We meet Dylan who is super awkward and would love to tape her mouth at any chance of conversation. She discovers that she can somehow converse with objects after kissing Emma at Emma's birthday party because of a game app. Through a chance encounter with Alyse in a bathroom who was able to change her appearance based on how she was feeling, Dylan realizes that she might not be the only person with mutant powers. Growing up with X-men as her safe haven, Dylan is super excited about the prospect of having a mutant team of her own. Together Alyse and Dylan find other who have mutants power, which includes Dani and Bianca. Dylan wants nothing more than to gather all these people in a team and make sure that a person who is quaking stuff is dealt with. Dani isn't really keen on this plan and openly says she won't be a part of it. Lou, Dylan's boyfriend, isn't really keen with this plan too.
Aahh, well it isn't really that easy for me to summarize this book but here I go. I honestly loved all the five characters I mentioned above except of course the quaking person. I'll start with saying how come the objects were so freaking smart?? This whole concept of talking to objects is super creepy for Dylan but I love the way she still goes with it. Lou, being a trans boy, is forced to go to an all-girls school because of his unsupportive parents. Throughout the book his struggle in accepting himself and deal with his parents and general transphobia is reflected.
I liked how in some or the other way the insecurities of all characters was shown so naturally. Pear (Dylan's parent) and Dylan's relationship was soo goofy and I loved reading about it soo much. Pear or Ness understood Dylan really well and they made sure to deal with Dylan's social anxiety and insecurities in a positive way. Coming onto other aspects that the book dealt with, there was a found family of misfits that we see in the end. And oh, that was the best aspect honestly. All the characters are soo diverse, there's possibly next to no commonness that you can overtly find between the characters but still they make so much sense together.
Throughout the book we see that the characters try to pinpoint where and how do they belong in the group and in the society. They are questioning their sexualities and gender identity and their interests. There are people who know what they want to do later in life, like Dani and Emma, and others who have no clue, like Dylan. I liked how the characters were so creative, like Lou who was a really good cartoon artist. Furthermore, there's dealings with homophobia, transphobia, racism, sexual assault, troubled past and so much more in the book. It's surprising how all of this was mentioned and showed in the book but it still somehow didn't seem heavy.
Apart from all this, there was the whole concept of relationships that was handled so well! I mean there was this whole instance of Lou being extremely jealous and frankly a d*ck sometimes. We had Dani's ex who gave a hard to to her constantly and then there was the relationship between Bianca and her girlfriend which was kind of different? I mean I still haven't formed an opinion there but alright. The negative and ugly sides of a relationship was highlighted but at the same time the beautiful sides were highlighted too, like Ness and Sarah.
So to conclude, go pick up this book ASAP because it is just too good to miss out on. It does contain lots of slang which some people might not appreciate and lots of references to X-men (there is a guide sort of thing at the end) which might be difficult for people to catch up on if they haven't read it before but I assure you it is SUPER AMAZING!
REP: Pansexual, Grey-ace, Demisexual, Lesbian, Bi-romantic, Trans, Genderqueer, Kiwi-Chinese, Korean, Pasifika, Non-binary...
Trigger/Content Warning: Homophobia, Panphobia, Transphobia, Racism, Sexual Assault (forced kissing), Death, Violence, Hate Crime, Mention of Divorce and troubled past, Bullying, Earthquake, Blood, Deadnaming, Language.
I was provided a review copy for a book tour by Caffeine Book Tours and the Author and this is my honest review.