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cassianlamb's reviews
753 reviews
Hammajang Luck by Makana Yamamoto
adventurous
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
2.5
Content Warnings
Moderate: Cancer, Deadnaming, Misogyny, Terminal illness, Classism
Minor: Drug use, Death of parent, Dysphoria
Transgender History, second edition: The Roots of Today's Revolution by Susan Stryker
informative
reflective
slow-paced
2.5
This book made me angry for both good and bad reasons. I'll start with the good, as I do think the premise of this book is very important.
This is a comprehensive of trans history in the last 100 years of the United States (while the cover does not say that, the summary does). While I vaguely knew some of it, I did not know the extent of our own history. Our surgeries and hormonal treatments have existed for approximately that century, yet they still get called "experimental." The same arguments against us have been recycled over and over again with what feels like little progress over that time. I think this history is very important to be known for everyone, especially other trans people, and the fact it has been so deeply buried is what angers me and makes me think this book important.
However, I cannot ignore the downsides of it. The author starts off the book with her prologue where she, a self-professed binary non-disabled non-intersex white woman, calls herself disabled, nonbinary, nearly intersex, and comes very close to calling herself black. She mis-identifies multiple terms, starting with the very premise of the book with the word "transgender." She blatantly gets the definitions of bisexual, polysexual, and polyamorous wrong. She belittles singular they/them as newfangled, as well as every neopronoun she comes across. She makes fun of the term cisgender, and insults younger trans people for not wanting to be called a slur. There are many other things wrong with her wording but that's the basis of it.
Furthermore, her portrayal of trans men is downright insulting. Inadvertently or not, she suggests trans men are women, or that many of us are women. The claim it is easier for trans men to pass is made when in reality it is simply we are considered less dangerous so we get less attention. She also claims trans men had no groups until Lou Sullivan (who she refers to by his first name, which she does not do to trans women), which may be accurate but as we have been ignored so much by history seems unlikely. She also degenders trans men and only refers to some of us as transmasculine, such as Brandon Teena. It's also difficult to find her sources on such matters, which makes it hard to check when she refers to Sullivan as a "10 year-old girl" or acts like it's surprising he continued to be a gay man when he entered feminist spheres. The final claim I cannot get past is when Stryker claims that trans men are more visible and the first thought for the word "transgender." There are still trans men coming out today who did not realize being a trans man was an option because the most prominent examples of being trans are trans women.
Overall, maybe further edits would make this book good for me. But I cannot get past how she treats trans men, or easily corrected definition and terminology inaccuracies.
This is a comprehensive of trans history in the last 100 years of the United States (while the cover does not say that, the summary does). While I vaguely knew some of it, I did not know the extent of our own history. Our surgeries and hormonal treatments have existed for approximately that century, yet they still get called "experimental." The same arguments against us have been recycled over and over again with what feels like little progress over that time. I think this history is very important to be known for everyone, especially other trans people, and the fact it has been so deeply buried is what angers me and makes me think this book important.
However, I cannot ignore the downsides of it. The author starts off the book with her prologue where she, a self-professed binary non-disabled non-intersex white woman, calls herself disabled, nonbinary, nearly intersex, and comes very close to calling herself black. She mis-identifies multiple terms, starting with the very premise of the book with the word "transgender." She blatantly gets the definitions of bisexual, polysexual, and polyamorous wrong. She belittles singular they/them as newfangled, as well as every neopronoun she comes across. She makes fun of the term cisgender, and insults younger trans people for not wanting to be called a slur. There are many other things wrong with her wording but that's the basis of it.
Furthermore, her portrayal of trans men is downright insulting. Inadvertently or not, she suggests trans men are women, or that many of us are women. The claim it is easier for trans men to pass is made when in reality it is simply we are considered less dangerous so we get less attention. She also claims trans men had no groups until Lou Sullivan (who she refers to by his first name, which she does not do to trans women), which may be accurate but as we have been ignored so much by history seems unlikely. She also degenders trans men and only refers to some of us as transmasculine, such as Brandon Teena. It's also difficult to find her sources on such matters, which makes it hard to check when she refers to Sullivan as a "10 year-old girl" or acts like it's surprising he continued to be a gay man when he entered feminist spheres. The final claim I cannot get past is when Stryker claims that trans men are more visible and the first thought for the word "transgender." There are still trans men coming out today who did not realize being a trans man was an option because the most prominent examples of being trans are trans women.
Overall, maybe further edits would make this book good for me. But I cannot get past how she treats trans men, or easily corrected definition and terminology inaccuracies.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Transphobia, Violence, Medical trauma
Moderate: Homophobia, Sexism, Sexual violence
The Feeling of Falling in Love by Mason Deaver
emotional
lighthearted
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
1.0
I'm not convinced Mason Deaver talked to a single trans man before writing this book.
A 16 year old got top surgery at least a year or two prior to the book starting, despite most doctors even refusing to do this type of surgery on people younger than 16. No to mention it sounds like he got on T around the same time as he got top surgery, which for the amount of chest growth he probably had doesn't make sense. T doesn't remove chest growth, but it can deflate it a bit with fat redistribution, so it could have been unnecessary for him to get top surgery at all. The fact Neil wore binders briefly is mentioned, but it's talked about like it's a horrible decision. I do think there's wording used is just bad, but it's a serious oversight of how it could be read ("It's like the short period when I wore a binders briefly, before I did the proper research, when I put myself in danger by binding too tightly for too long").
The author also switches between saying Neil is on patches or shots. These are two very different forms of administering testosterone, and while both are effective and he could have changed what he uses, they're both talked about in the present sense. Plus, where is a 16 year old trans kid getting testosterone in North Carolina? It's not exactly the most friendly state, and testosterone is a regulated substance.
Deaver also is absolutely horrible about the relationship this trans boy has with his mom. The mom is said to "just throw" him into medical transitioning and it's made to sound like he wasn't even entirely sure he wanted it in the first place, he just knew he was a boy. Transphobes love to say that trans boys don't know who we are, that we're forced by our parents, so to have this in here is a deep oversight. Plus Neil says he finally got the attention he craved from his mom when he came out, and given trans people in general are called attention seekers this is a horrible thing to include.
Even the premise of this book, outside of trans issues, doesn't make sense. A 16 year old is in a friends-with-benefits situation. The same child when he was 14 somehow was sneaking into clubs and stole a car. To me this would make more sense for a college student, not a literal child.
Furthermore on the friends-with-benefits, Neil is somehow made to feel like he owes him an apology for not loving him. (He's also made to apologize to his mom for calling her out on never defending him against transphobia or how she raised him). I absolutely hated Neil throughout the whole book and thought he was a brat, but those two things he did made sense to me and somehow those are the only two things other characters think he did wrong.
This book was a strong hate read after the first few pages. I don't recommend bothering with it.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Transphobia
Minor: Homophobia, Sexual content, Dysphoria
Gwen and Art Are Not in Love by Lex Croucher
dark
funny
lighthearted
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
This book was mostly funny and lighthearted but then in the last 50 pages or so it gets really dark really fast and almost out of nowhere. While I expected some resolution to the growing tension, I expected more Scooby Doo hijinks than what occurred. Overall it was good but I don't like it how it surprised the readers with potentially triggering events.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Alcoholism, Hate crime, Homophobia, Violence, Blood, War
Moderate: Child abuse, Sexism, Vomit, Death of parent
Minor: Outing
Dear Mothman by Robin Gow
emotional
hopeful
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
Content Warnings
Moderate: Child death, Deadnaming, Transphobia, Grief, Dysphoria
Minor: Car accident, Outing
We Have Always Been Here by Samra Habib
challenging
emotional
inspiring
reflective
medium-paced
3.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Genocide, Islamophobia
Moderate: Xenophobia, Suicide attempt
Minor: Child abuse, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Violence
Swordcrossed by Freya Marske
adventurous
emotional
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
The handling of the side trans character doesn't feel right. We learn his dead name needlessly, and at least twice the fact he's trans is used against him in a supposedly welcoming society. Plus this book has instalove, which gave it a very slow start.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Infidelity
Moderate: Sexual content, Violence, Stalking
Minor: Deadnaming, Transphobia
In the Labyrinth of Drakes by Marie Brennan
adventurous
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Kidnapping
Moderate: Confinement, War
Voyage of the Basilisk by Marie Brennan
adventurous
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.0
I'd have rated this book higher but for how some LGBT topics were handled. The main character makes it clear she's a woman but is forced into a cultural nonbinary identity, which as a trans person myself is questionable on the author's part. Plus ke'anaka'i is described as a third gender in a society similar to that of Hawaiian culture, but it is not treated as the same. It's instead treated as something non-human or monstrous, to be tamed by marriage. For Isabella (not Heali'i, for she actually is ke'anaka'i) this is the only gay relationship in the series so far, which again is very questionable.
I do think the author had good intentions here, but I don't think she went about it the right way at all.
I do think the author had good intentions here, but I don't think she went about it the right way at all.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Gun violence, Sexism, Xenophobia
Minor: Deportation
The Tropic Of Serpents by Marie Brennan
adventurous
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.0