TW: Rape, physical abuse

I am so conflicted about my feelings for this book.

The first 3/4 of this book gets a strong 4 stars from me. I liked the quirky, strange characters and their relationships with one another. Even though Boy wasn't the most likable character, she was interesting. Other characters, as well, were difficult to connect with, but the discussions of race in the mid-20th century were compelling.

Then the end of the book happened.

I really disliked the discussion about sexuality and gender identity, specifically the idea that the person Boy grew up thinking was her father was actually her biological mother and the fact that she is seeing that as some sort of disease, something to be cured. It's just...no. Why on Earth would it matter if her mother identified as a woman or a man? The truth of the matter is that Boy was brutally abused for her entire childhood by the one person who should have protected her. Whether that person was a man or a woman shouldn't have any bearing on the situation. It felt like we were supposed to believe that if Boy's mother hadn't begun to identify as a man, Boy wouldn't have been abused...and that is just so wrong to me. Plus, the fact that Boy is the product of a rape is completely glossed over because "Fuck that guy." But then the fact that Frank was an abusive piece of crap is also glossed over, and it feels like it's being forgiven because of what Boy sees as his 'disease'.

I felt like it was so rushed and unnecessary. The 'twist' (btw, gender and sexuality shouldn't be a twist, just saying.) And then we are left completely open-ended. There is zero resolution to the story, which makes that twist feel even more unnecessary.

It's really unfortunate, because I was really enjoying this book for the most part up until then. Ultimately I'm going with a 2 star rating because I was so disappointed by the ending.