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A review by eddiesourboy
Horse Barbie by Geena Rocero
emotional
inspiring
reflective
medium-paced
3.75
Disclaimer: Geena is my friend and she sent me a copy of this book for free. I love her dearly. However I think I am still more than capable of being objective here.
Geena's story pulls you in. I remember watching her TED talk for the first time years ago, not long after I myself came out. I had never seen a transgender adult before, I didn't think they existed. To say I found it inspiring is an understatement. Then, I had the opportunity to meet her in person. She cooked a meal and ate with me and a few other people. We exchanged information and kept in touch. I was so excited when she told me she wrote a book, because I aspire to do the same someday.
Do I love her writing style? Well. It's complicated. The conversational tone is too casual at times, throwing "I mean" and "Basically" at the start of so many sentences was a bit annoying. Additionally, there are a lot of times where instead of description, she compares things to actors or scenes in films. If these comparisons were in tandem to an actual description I would be ok with it, as it's clear that media is an important part of the story. However, having to google what an actor looks like in order to get an idea of someone is disruptive to reading -- but if you don't do it, how do you know what all these people look like?
When she includes descriptions, they are very nice and give you a sense of what she is experiencing. I loved learning about all the different places she has been and the people she has met. I also learned a lot about the culture and history of the Philippines. The best parts of this story are the ones where the emotions run highest. I felt the anxiety she felt telling Lorenzo about her transness, the love she had for her family and the emotional turmoil of losing her father, the trust she had for Norman and the relief when he accepted her for who she was, and of course the power of going on stage and telling the world her truth. Geena is an amazing presence and it shines through her work. She has done so much, been so many places, and accomplished so much. Being transgender is scary, but also beautiful and empowering. At first, I was skeptical about how many things seemed to go right for her. Where was the pain, the conflict, the struggle? But the hardships are there, detailed but not dwelled on. Geena moves forward through it all, and honestly, that is a good thing. This book is ultimately about trans joy and how we can be whatever we want to be. Our stories don't need to be tragic to be moving.
Geena's story pulls you in. I remember watching her TED talk for the first time years ago, not long after I myself came out. I had never seen a transgender adult before, I didn't think they existed. To say I found it inspiring is an understatement. Then, I had the opportunity to meet her in person. She cooked a meal and ate with me and a few other people. We exchanged information and kept in touch. I was so excited when she told me she wrote a book, because I aspire to do the same someday.
Do I love her writing style? Well. It's complicated. The conversational tone is too casual at times, throwing "I mean" and "Basically" at the start of so many sentences was a bit annoying. Additionally, there are a lot of times where instead of description, she compares things to actors or scenes in films. If these comparisons were in tandem to an actual description I would be ok with it, as it's clear that media is an important part of the story. However, having to google what an actor looks like in order to get an idea of someone is disruptive to reading -- but if you don't do it, how do you know what all these people look like?
When she includes descriptions, they are very nice and give you a sense of what she is experiencing. I loved learning about all the different places she has been and the people she has met. I also learned a lot about the culture and history of the Philippines. The best parts of this story are the ones where the emotions run highest. I felt the anxiety she felt telling Lorenzo about her transness, the love she had for her family and the emotional turmoil of losing her father, the trust she had for Norman and the relief when he accepted her for who she was, and of course the power of going on stage and telling the world her truth. Geena is an amazing presence and it shines through her work. She has done so much, been so many places, and accomplished so much. Being transgender is scary, but also beautiful and empowering. At first, I was skeptical about how many things seemed to go right for her. Where was the pain, the conflict, the struggle? But the hardships are there, detailed but not dwelled on. Geena moves forward through it all, and honestly, that is a good thing. This book is ultimately about trans joy and how we can be whatever we want to be. Our stories don't need to be tragic to be moving.