A review by mar
The Order of the Pure Moon Reflected in Water by Zen Cho

adventurous lighthearted fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.0

this book started off pretty fun, but. i Really didn't enjoy the way the transmasc character was handled. the hints that he was trans made me excited at first, but the not-really-consensual coming out that's kinda treated like a Big Reveal/Plot Twist and the language used to talk abt it just... made my skin crawl. like
"brother, does everyone know you’re a woman?" or "I live the life of a man, but my heart hasn't changed from when I was a woman. This is the body of a woman. But it carries the sins of a man".... Feels Bad. especially the "body of a woman" part like UGH god...
it was very messy and genuinely not something i'd have expected from a book published in 2020, especially one i've seen praised for its LGBT representation. left a bad taste in my mouth :/
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