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bookishflaneur's reviews
230 reviews
Nevada by Imogen Binnie
adventurous
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
nevada was a really strongly written characterisation of a trans experience that was difficult to put down. it studies different aspects of transitioning and living a trans life and what comes before with so much nuance from the extremely specific perspective of a thirty-something trans woman living in new york. it’s sort of advertised as a road trip novel but it’s really about how we travel in circles until eventually those circle become spirals and we are sort of climbing through life although it feels like we keep returning to mistakes and low points.
i think the blurb was misleading. there’s so much reflection in this book, so much this is something that went wrong and i realise that but how the fuck do i fix it and i really appreciated how real it was. the main character and the secondary characters were extremely fleshed out but i think that the author was trying to show with the ending that not every story has a happy ending or a resolution, and i think while that was good in hindsight there might have been some reflection on this. overall a really interesting read and an insight to what it was like growing up trans in earlier decades than the one we live in now.
this book definitely made me feel uncomfortable a lot and i think that wasn’t necessarily a bad thing. it doesn’t shy away from the language of the time or certain cultural norms that have definitely changed over time.
i think the blurb was misleading. there’s so much reflection in this book, so much this is something that went wrong and i realise that but how the fuck do i fix it and i really appreciated how real it was. the main character and the secondary characters were extremely fleshed out but i think that the author was trying to show with the ending that not every story has a happy ending or a resolution, and i think while that was good in hindsight there might have been some reflection on this. overall a really interesting read and an insight to what it was like growing up trans in earlier decades than the one we live in now.
this book definitely made me feel uncomfortable a lot and i think that wasn’t necessarily a bad thing. it doesn’t shy away from the language of the time or certain cultural norms that have definitely changed over time.
You Exist Too Much by Zaina Arafat
emotional
hopeful
reflective
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
4.0
‘she has always known first what i have yet to discover, has always seen it before i could.
look at me, i wanted to say to her then. please don’t look away.’
‘maybe one day you’ll learn you can’t treat people with such disregard. even yourself.’
when i reached the part of you exist too much from which the title comes, there was a genuine and sudden ache in my heart.
you exist too much is a coming of age story that follows a young palestinian woman as she grows into adulthood. it deals with the topic of codependency and setting boundaries with the mother that raised you, learning to recognise how to have healthy familial relationships. it comments on israel/palestine and a lot of the history of the middle east. it also talks about settling as a young adult and forging relationships, both platonic and romantic, in adult life.
arafat captures what it means to be in the liminal space between cultures through the main character, who feels her arab identity as such a large part of her yet struggles to fit into some aspects of the culture and expectations. as the main character learns about herself, she also reflects on how her mother’s traumatic youth impacted her profoundly, despite her current status and seeming power. the book flits around the topic of religion and the stigma around queer people in the middle east but recognises that homophobia is something that is rooted in people rather than religion and is something that can be unlearnt.
as the unnamed main character grows up, she deals with a destructive search for love as she learns what is healthy. she finds herself keeping distant from long term partners and obsessing over unattainable almost strangers, a ‘love addiction’ that leads to her struggling with disordered eating and other destructive habits. the book deals with her trying to learn to find healthy love, but the journey is realistic, frustrating and painful to read. i thoroughly enjoyed the writing style - it’s not lyrical nor overly simplistic but is reflective and honest and unfiltered - the book almost reads like a memoir. overall i would highly recommend the book as a queer coming of age, as a book about identity and race, as a book about healing.
look at me, i wanted to say to her then. please don’t look away.’
‘maybe one day you’ll learn you can’t treat people with such disregard. even yourself.’
when i reached the part of you exist too much from which the title comes, there was a genuine and sudden ache in my heart.
you exist too much is a coming of age story that follows a young palestinian woman as she grows into adulthood. it deals with the topic of codependency and setting boundaries with the mother that raised you, learning to recognise how to have healthy familial relationships. it comments on israel/palestine and a lot of the history of the middle east. it also talks about settling as a young adult and forging relationships, both platonic and romantic, in adult life.
arafat captures what it means to be in the liminal space between cultures through the main character, who feels her arab identity as such a large part of her yet struggles to fit into some aspects of the culture and expectations. as the main character learns about herself, she also reflects on how her mother’s traumatic youth impacted her profoundly, despite her current status and seeming power. the book flits around the topic of religion and the stigma around queer people in the middle east but recognises that homophobia is something that is rooted in people rather than religion and is something that can be unlearnt.
as the unnamed main character grows up, she deals with a destructive search for love as she learns what is healthy. she finds herself keeping distant from long term partners and obsessing over unattainable almost strangers, a ‘love addiction’ that leads to her struggling with disordered eating and other destructive habits. the book deals with her trying to learn to find healthy love, but the journey is realistic, frustrating and painful to read. i thoroughly enjoyed the writing style - it’s not lyrical nor overly simplistic but is reflective and honest and unfiltered - the book almost reads like a memoir. overall i would highly recommend the book as a queer coming of age, as a book about identity and race, as a book about healing.
You've Reached Sam by Dustin Thao
hopeful
inspiring
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? No
2.5
You've reached Sam was a YA book with so much nuance and discussion on its key themes of grief and growing up despite being an easy read with not very much plot. I think this book came to me a little late: it was a light young adult read that I think is really powerful in bringing difficult discussions to younger readers/romance readers etc.
The book follows a girl called Julie who is dealing with the loss of her boyfriend Sam, who died in a tragic car accident. She becomes closed off from her friends and family and from everyone who tries to reach out to her. Until she calls Sam's phone.. and he picks up. This element of fantasy is so intriguing and it was a really creative way to open up discussions of dealing with loss, and especially loss of love.
A big conversation in the book was the question of what Julie would do with her future, her college plans, how to move away and continue to grow up and grow as a person without the boy who had been her rock. The book doesnt really conclude anything and her future isnt replanned - but learning to be an adult doesnt come wiith carefully laid out timescales. Its about change and learning about yourself and about what you value and its never going to be predictable, and I think the book handles that really really well. Its a really good opening to a lot of discussions and to the sorts of themes that a lot of literary fiction books deal with without benig as graphic or devastating. It hurts but its a safe and comforting kind of hurt with the promise of being found and feeling better at the end and I think this would have been a really valuable read to me a few years ago - I would definitely recommend it.
The book follows a girl called Julie who is dealing with the loss of her boyfriend Sam, who died in a tragic car accident. She becomes closed off from her friends and family and from everyone who tries to reach out to her. Until she calls Sam's phone.. and he picks up. This element of fantasy is so intriguing and it was a really creative way to open up discussions of dealing with loss, and especially loss of love.
A big conversation in the book was the question of what Julie would do with her future, her college plans, how to move away and continue to grow up and grow as a person without the boy who had been her rock. The book doesnt really conclude anything and her future isnt replanned - but learning to be an adult doesnt come wiith carefully laid out timescales. Its about change and learning about yourself and about what you value and its never going to be predictable, and I think the book handles that really really well. Its a really good opening to a lot of discussions and to the sorts of themes that a lot of literary fiction books deal with without benig as graphic or devastating. It hurts but its a safe and comforting kind of hurt with the promise of being found and feeling better at the end and I think this would have been a really valuable read to me a few years ago - I would definitely recommend it.