jainabee's reviews
509 reviews

The Art of Drag by Jake Hall

adventurous informative inspiring medium-paced

5.0

Scrumptiously gorgeous illustrations and a surprisingly informative history of drag that is also very up-to-date and respectful about gender identities and how misogyny and racism have been a significant factor in this fascinating art form from the beginning. Who knew that Kabuki was started by women wearing men's kimonos?!?!

Polly: Sex Culture Revolutionary by Polly Whittaker

adventurous emotional inspiring medium-paced

4.75

I couldn't put this delightful and fascinating book down. Beautifully written and impressively edited to shine like a latex catsuit. I enjoyed and appreciated the three different Polly POVs weaving their stories together— the Maiden Mother Crone arc of her revolutionary evolution from her unusual family of origin to her even more bizarre Kinky Salon family and then at the edge of her future self, sending encouragement to her younger selves. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual content, Death of parent

Moderate: Drug use, Medical content

Minor: Cultural appropriation

Arbitrary Stupid Goal by Tamara Shopsin

adventurous funny inspiring fast-paced

4.75

A unique tribute to a unique family and fills me with nostalgia for a NYC I never knew. Crossword puzzle included! Other reviews have had stong opinions about the layout and formatting, and I just want to mention that Tamara is a professional graphic designer and I think this book looks EXACTLY the way she meant it to. As oddball as her whole family! (Pretend it's visual poetry. Because it is!)

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Cursing, War

Moderate: Drug use, Sexual content, Terminal illness, Gaslighting

Minor: Pedophilia, Racism, Violence

This is classic Greenwich Village (1960s-1990s), with all the wild and woolly characters, culture clashes, foul language and NYC trimmings that you could imagine. It is told with so much love and reverence. There is a chapter about the author and her husband visiting the site of a WWII Nazi compound.

We Both Laughed in Pleasure: The Selected Diaries of Lou Sullivan by Lou Sullivan

challenging inspiring sad medium-paced

5.0

What a gift to the world, my heart is bursting with so many feelings. Phenomenal. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body shaming, Death, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Homophobia, Sexual content, Terminal illness, Toxic relationship, Transphobia, Medical content, Medical trauma, Gaslighting, Dysphoria

Moderate: Animal death, Deadnaming, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Fatphobia, Incest, Misogyny, Racism, Self harm, Excrement, Grief, Car accident, Death of parent, Outing, Alcohol

Minor: Biphobia, Cursing

These are the diaries of a queer white person who lived through the 60's, 70's and 80's, and the language and attitudes are of the time. The editors have done a great job to not bowdlerize the life of a complex person facing the traumatic experience of trying to live authentically in the face of so much oppression and ignorance. Not for the squeamish, and full of rich insights and wisdom for those who can handle it.

The Handmaid's Tale (Graphic Novel) by Margaret Atwood

challenging dark sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.5

This graphic adaptation is visually beautiful and conveys the dystopian tone and social complexities of the story in a way that enhanced my appreciation for Atwood's novel. (I haven't seen the TV series) There is enough discretion in the visual details that much is left to the reader's imagination, yet the horror of the story's reality is not diminished. This is dark, depressing stuff, especially since the fiction is not far enough away from the facts.

There's no happy ending

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Confinement, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Genocide, Infertility, Miscarriage, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Slavery, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Torture, Toxic relationship, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Xenophobia, Blood, Police brutality, Medical content, Trafficking, Kidnapping, Grief, Religious bigotry, Medical trauma, Murder, Pregnancy, Gaslighting, Toxic friendship, Sexual harassment, Dysphoria, War, Classism

Moderate: Ableism, Child abuse, Child death, Deadnaming, Death, Infidelity, Mental illness, Racism, Abortion, Death of parent

This is a dystopian classic; enter at own risk.

Kiss my gay ass by Tom Ammiano

funny informative inspiring medium-paced

4.0

Such a fun reflection of times that were not always very fun—legalized homophobia, war in Vietnam, activism for better public education, the rise and assassination of Harvey Milk, the AIDS crisis, California political battles of The Gubernator era— I learned a lot about my adopted home town's history and have a deeper appreciation for this hilarious and heartfelt fellow.

Mooncakes by Suzanne Walker

adventurous dark hopeful mysterious fast-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? It's complicated

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Kidnapping, Gaslighting, Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Confinement, Religious bigotry

Minor: Grief, Death of parent

Kisses for Jet by Joris Bas Backer

hopeful inspiring tense 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? It's complicated

4.5

The story conveys the tricky complexity of adolescent social dynamics and self-discovery in a way that constantly defied my expectations.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Bullying, Misogyny, Toxic relationship, Violence, Medical content, Lesbophobia, Outing

Moderate: Sexism, Sexual content, Blood, Alcohol, Dysphoria

Minor: Panic attacks/disorders, Abandonment, Sexual harassment

The Third Person by Emma Grove

emotional inspiring tense fast-paced

5.0

It was impossible for me to put this book down, even though it was very uncomfortable to read. Emma manages to convey nuanced emotions and the wordless experience of dissociation into the lines of her drawings. Maybe it's her animation background that adds to the fast-paced feeling of a flip book?

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Bullying, Child abuse, Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Toxic relationship, Gaslighting, Sexual harassment, Dysphoria

Moderate: Bullying, Misogyny, Death of parent, Lesbophobia, Alcohol

Minor: Forced institutionalization

Ten Steps to Nanette: A Memoir Situation by Hannah Gadsby

challenging funny inspiring medium-paced

5.0

Like all things Hannah Gadsby, this is not at all a typical memoir. I like how she weaves the history of the gay liberation movement in Australia with her own story. And always the surprising twists where she suddenly draws together a bunch of images that I thought were random or unrelated. I love how her brain works!

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Body shaming, Bullying, Child abuse, Fatphobia, Homophobia, Pedophilia, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Medical content, Religious bigotry, Lesbophobia, Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Drug use, Panic attacks/disorders, Outing, Alcohol, Colonisation, Classism

Minor: Animal death, Cancer, Cursing, Genocide, Transphobia, Gaslighting