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A review by courtofsmutandstuff
Becoming Nicole: The Transformation of an American Family by Amy Ellis Nutt
3.0
I picked this up for the TransRights ReadaThon and this has been on my TBR for years.
Maybe I would have liked it if I had read it closer to its release, but now it reads like a book very much written for a cis audience (which isn't necessarily bad, but it feels... uncomfy, even as a cis reader myself).
Nutt deadnames Nicole for the majority of the book, which I think would be very uncomfortable for especially trans readers. It also spends a lot of time talking about Nicole's genitals and medical situation and surgeries. There is a lot of focus on the parents (very supportive (though initially lost) mother, and a father in what I would say is denial (who eventually becomes a robust advocate)) and I think the best intended audience for this book would be a parent or family member who has zero experience with trans people and is trying to understand a family member. If you are not that audience... you may have issues with this book.
Maybe I would have liked it if I had read it closer to its release, but now it reads like a book very much written for a cis audience (which isn't necessarily bad, but it feels... uncomfy, even as a cis reader myself).
Nutt deadnames Nicole for the majority of the book, which I think would be very uncomfortable for especially trans readers. It also spends a lot of time talking about Nicole's genitals and medical situation and surgeries. There is a lot of focus on the parents (very supportive (though initially lost) mother, and a father in what I would say is denial (who eventually becomes a robust advocate)) and I think the best intended audience for this book would be a parent or family member who has zero experience with trans people and is trying to understand a family member. If you are not that audience... you may have issues with this book.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Deadnaming and Transphobia