Review by apixler - Boy Parts

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apixler 's review for:

Boy Parts by Eliza Clark

5.0

challenging dark emotional sad tense fast-paced

Plot or Character Driven: Character

Strong character development: No

Loveable characters: No

Diverse cast of characters: Complicated

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

I had a hard time giving this book a star rating because of the content, but I really think it’s 5 stars for me. This book was a lot. It was the kind of book that made me wish I had taken a gender studies class in college so that I could have read this with a more educational lens. The protagonist, Irina, is, objectively, a terrible person - so cruel to the people in her life regardless of if their relationship to her, completely self destructive, manipulative, and morally grey/black, but not in a “doing the wrong things for the right reasons” kind of way, but more “doing the right and wrong things, always for the wrong reasons regardless of consequence”, and more. But she also has significant trauma in her past and her mom SUCKS. I found her endlessly fascinating even though I was also consistently disgusted by her behavior. It feels like she weaponizes her trauma to justify her decisions while also denying that it had an effect on her at all.

It’s kind of like the darker, grittier, more unhinged and hostile cousin of My Dark Vanessa by Kate Elizabeth Russel.

I definitely recommend this book (especially if you’re into exploring gender roles, power dynamics, the boundaries of art) so I don’t want to keep going because I’ll definitely not be able to avoid spoilers. That said, this book has A LOT of triggering content so take care while reading if you pick this one up.

Content Warnings