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A review by maisierosereads
Between Perfect and Real by Ray Stoeve
emotional
funny
hopeful
reflective
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
4.0
Between Perfect and Real is such an apt title for this book. It's a wonderfully written contemporary coming-of-age story about Dean Foster, and how starring as Romeo in the school play helps him to come out as trans to his friends, family, and school. I'm certain that many trans and nonbinary people will see themselves reflected in these pages - not just through Dean's narrative, but also through the other trans and nonbinary characters we meet through a support group Dean attends, showing that not all trans and nonbinary people are the same or even have identical experiences. There is other queer representation, too, with a range of sexualities shown across the cast of side characters. There were so many moments in this book which were eerily similar to my own experiences and those of my queer loved ones; it was refreshing, and I'm so glad that queer & trans teenagers will have this book to look to for representation!
The characters were definitely not all perfect, and some of their mistakes were worse than others - the main character included. That being said, most of them were still very much likeable, and showed strong character development.
Ray Stoeve did a great job reflecting common negative experiences such as transphobia and relationship difficulties whilst keeping the overall tone of the book hopeful. I love that they completely avoided using Dean's deadname, and also included educational moments (e.g. unsafe vs safe binding) for readers who may not already have that knowledge. I also really liked the ending, which just like the title and book as a whole had a great balance of realism, optimism, and happiness.
Overall, I highly recommend this book. It's a very impressive YA debut and I can't wait to see what Ray Stoeve will write in the future!
Many thanks to the publisher for giving me access to an eARC through NetGalley so that I could write this review!
The characters were definitely not all perfect, and some of their mistakes were worse than others - the main character included. That being said, most of them were still very much likeable, and showed strong character development.
Ray Stoeve did a great job reflecting common negative experiences such as transphobia and relationship difficulties whilst keeping the overall tone of the book hopeful. I love that they completely avoided using Dean's deadname, and also included educational moments (e.g. unsafe vs safe binding) for readers who may not already have that knowledge. I also really liked the ending, which just like the title and book as a whole had a great balance of realism, optimism, and happiness.
Overall, I highly recommend this book. It's a very impressive YA debut and I can't wait to see what Ray Stoeve will write in the future!
Many thanks to the publisher for giving me access to an eARC through NetGalley so that I could write this review!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Transphobia and Bullying
Moderate: Homophobia and Violence
Minor: Suicide, Deadnaming, and Drug use