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A review by caidyn
Miss Meteor by Anna-Marie McLemore, Tehlor Kay Mejia
emotional
inspiring
mysterious
medium-paced
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
I received an ARC through Hear Our Voices for an honest review!
CW: homophobia, transphobia, and bullying
Trans voices in fiction matter, so when there was a sign up for this book (who has a trans author) for ownvoices trans reviewers, I jumped on it. Trans voices really do matter, as we've been seeing lately in the bookish world on discourses on transphobia from authors and in the books that we read. Of course, we tend to focus on main characters for trans rep, ones who are telling their stories and, well, tend to be sad to show the truths of what transpeople face.
And this book was very refreshing. For one, the trans rep is of a minor character, Cole. He's best friends to one of the main characters and his sister is the main antagonist/bully in the story. Yet, this isn't Cole's story, but we see what he goes through. Not being allowed to use the boy's locker room despite being on a male sport's team. Having to constantly educate people about gender and sexuality. Living with the knowledge that if he wasn't related to his sister, he would likely be a victim of bullying as well. It was beautifully crafted with learning experiences for cis readers and, for me, the fun nods of being a transman and knowing exactly what Cole was talking about. It was woven in beautifully in a way that I really enjoyed.
Cole's character wasn't there to be a trans learning lesson, he was there as a side character to support his best friend. Those roles are just as important in fiction as trans main characters. And I loved that it wasn't all about trans pain but trans joy and transpeople thriving.
CW: homophobia, transphobia, and bullying
Trans voices in fiction matter, so when there was a sign up for this book (who has a trans author) for ownvoices trans reviewers, I jumped on it. Trans voices really do matter, as we've been seeing lately in the bookish world on discourses on transphobia from authors and in the books that we read. Of course, we tend to focus on main characters for trans rep, ones who are telling their stories and, well, tend to be sad to show the truths of what transpeople face.
And this book was very refreshing. For one, the trans rep is of a minor character, Cole. He's best friends to one of the main characters and his sister is the main antagonist/bully in the story. Yet, this isn't Cole's story, but we see what he goes through. Not being allowed to use the boy's locker room despite being on a male sport's team. Having to constantly educate people about gender and sexuality. Living with the knowledge that if he wasn't related to his sister, he would likely be a victim of bullying as well. It was beautifully crafted with learning experiences for cis readers and, for me, the fun nods of being a transman and knowing exactly what Cole was talking about. It was woven in beautifully in a way that I really enjoyed.
Cole's character wasn't there to be a trans learning lesson, he was there as a side character to support his best friend. Those roles are just as important in fiction as trans main characters. And I loved that it wasn't all about trans pain but trans joy and transpeople thriving.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Homophobia, Transphobia, and Bullying