A review by booksjessreads
Detransition, Baby by Torrey Peters

medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

When I read this book, I definitely became utterly obsessed, to the point where I sticky-tabbed it, which is a rarity. I think there are some things in this book that are incredibly symbolic and have such great synthesis for the development of a complex, tangled and ultimately amazing plotline.

I think perhaps my favourite thing, is that it is packed full of complex characters and themes of motherhood, queerness, gender identity and race. It is thought-provoking, messy and heavy. I found Peters has fully fleshed out these characters and really gets into the psyche of them. I have not read a book that delves so deep into that psyche for a long time, and it really made me feel like I was the one making the decisions, and experiencing the emotions of the characters alongside them. The emotional depth of these characters is astonishing.

This book is also full of unreliable characters, which are like us. They are human. They are navigating their individual identities, out there trying to live life to their own potential, whilst also making it messy and complicated. I think Peters also makes a great point that not every trans person lives their life in the way the trans characters in the books do, and she really emphasises that everyone is different. There is the banality of every day life juxtaposed with a very unique, yet realistic, story-line and I really liked this also. 

This book answered a lot of questions you might subconsciously, or even consciously, have about the trans community, and even answers ones you never even knew could exist. It is unapologetically queer and completely wonderful and I would highly recommend this to anyone!
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