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asterope 's review for:

Detransition, Baby by Torrey Peters
2.5
challenging emotional reflective slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven: Character
Strong character development: No
Loveable characters: No
Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

I liked the challenge of examining the different ideas posed by this book regarding family and motherhood. The portrayal of detransition, exploring why a trans woman would decide on that process, was fascinating too. I would have enjoyed this more without the intense misogyny though. It appears so early on, it left a lasting impression on me.

While this book does focus on the flaws and motivations of its three main characters, I had a hard time trying to separate their views from the author's messages. This was mainly down to the writing style - it devolves into lectures delivered by the character's inner voice too often. They were very indulgent rants that didn't read as organic.

It's a character-driven book, but they aren't portrayed realistically. I found this quite overwritten with lots of information dumps and explanations with too much detail. I would have preferred to see the characters working through their relationships with each other more naturally, rather than having the narrator just tell me how they're feeling. 

From a personal point of view, the misogyny just really threw me for a loop. I also felt the author's handling of Katrina's race was clumsy - this seemed shoehorned in and wasn't explored in the same way gender was. Why bother then?