A review by rhii_reading
Bellies by Nicola Dinan

emotional hopeful reflective sad medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.25

Bellies is a queer coming of age story but it also takes the time to really explore all aspects of the challenges young people face when growing up and exploring your identity, and so it becomes much more than this in the best way possible. Dinan puts such care into exploring so many different threads for various characters that never feel forgotten or undeveloped by the end of the novel: Ming’s relationship to Malaysia and his family; the role of food in creating a cultural identity; masculinity and working to Tom’s sense of his political identity and the conflict with his job. Ming is not only trans but she is also Malaysian and the book doesn’t shy away from the specific complexities that brings.

It was really great to have a trans character that was fully fleshed out and had actual flaws, which is not always the case. At the same time, is impossible to ever really dislike Ming or Tom as Dinan always does a great job of rationalising their decisions when writing from their perspectives. 

The only issue was that I felt like the catalyst that happens towards the end of the novel could have happened a little earlier. Based of the description of the book I thought that there were be a more substantial amount of time spent on Ming and Tom’s interactions and relationship post Thin Frames. 

Overall, this was a wonderful read that captures both the highs and the lows of exploring and discovering your gender identity and the trans experience.
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