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*Many thanks to Limerence Press and NetGallery for the eARC of this book!*
TW (as stated on the title page as well): sexual violence, corrective rape, medical discriminations, depression, PTSD, trauma, rejection, bullying, asexual stereotypes, mean and inappropriate internet comments
As an asexual person myself, I found this easy to follow graphic guide beautiful and simple. I would have really benefited from being able to read it when I first was learning details and putting names to feelings I had my entire life. I can fully endorse this book from an ace perspective!
Will Hernandez's illustrations are perfect, not too busy or confusing, and both they and Molly Muldoon are excellent guides on answering commonly asked questions and sorting out any confusion the reader might have. Absolutely essential and I recommend it to all libraries and schools.
*Edit: After more thinking and re-reading, I do have a complaint on the way asexuality in the wider LGBTQIA community was handled. They say 'some people thing the A is for ally" but don't go into dispersing this false claim. I am much more comfortable now ignoring people who claim such a thing, but I know when I was a baby-ace I was severely affected by it, and it would have helped to have this book back us up a bit more in that area.
TW (as stated on the title page as well): sexual violence, corrective rape, medical discriminations, depression, PTSD, trauma, rejection, bullying, asexual stereotypes, mean and inappropriate internet comments
As an asexual person myself, I found this easy to follow graphic guide beautiful and simple. I would have really benefited from being able to read it when I first was learning details and putting names to feelings I had my entire life. I can fully endorse this book from an ace perspective!
Will Hernandez's illustrations are perfect, not too busy or confusing, and both they and Molly Muldoon are excellent guides on answering commonly asked questions and sorting out any confusion the reader might have. Absolutely essential and I recommend it to all libraries and schools.
*Edit: After more thinking and re-reading, I do have a complaint on the way asexuality in the wider LGBTQIA community was handled. They say 'some people thing the A is for ally" but don't go into dispersing this false claim. I am much more comfortable now ignoring people who claim such a thing, but I know when I was a baby-ace I was severely affected by it, and it would have helped to have this book back us up a bit more in that area.
Note: I am an autistic, ADHD non-binary person.
*Thank you to Netgallery for the eARC of this book*
(TW: Teacher frustration with neurodiverse child)
What a charming little gem! Great representation with Meow being neurodiverse and (as the book description hints) gender non-conforming/non-binary! The illustrations were really cute - done in a way I think kids will find engaging and entertaining.
Some parts seemed disjointed, like how a banana cannon seemed to appear out of nowhere? But all in all, I'd highly suggest.
*Thank you to Netgallery for the eARC of this book*
(TW: Teacher frustration with neurodiverse child)
What a charming little gem! Great representation with Meow being neurodiverse and (as the book description hints) gender non-conforming/non-binary! The illustrations were really cute - done in a way I think kids will find engaging and entertaining.
Some parts seemed disjointed, like how a banana cannon seemed to appear out of nowhere? But all in all, I'd highly suggest.
TW: death, murder, blood, vomit, misogyny, acephobia, sex, body horror
I should have liked this book, and many aspects I did. But I just disliked 2 out of the 3 main characters.
I was just constantly frustrated by the fact Marion was obsessed with Val, and how even thou Val did several HORRIBLE things (such as sleep with Marion without disclosing the fact she helped murder her sister!?) Marion just couldn't stay mad because Val was just so hot. You could compose another book strictly from all the instances this book had to mention just how beautiful Val was. In case the reader would forget after the last 20 times?
I should have liked this book, and many aspects I did. But I just disliked 2 out of the 3 main characters.
I was just constantly frustrated by the fact Marion was obsessed with Val, and how even thou Val did several HORRIBLE things (such as sleep with Marion without disclosing the fact she helped murder her sister!?) Marion just couldn't stay mad because Val was just so hot. You could compose another book strictly from all the instances this book had to mention just how beautiful Val was. In case the reader would forget after the last 20 times?
*Many thanks to W. W. Norton & Company and Netgallery for the eARC of this book*
Note: I am a non-binary person
TW: Mentions of death, suicide ideation, murder, discrimination, medical dismissal, transphobia, gender and body dysphoria, sex, abusive relationships
Rhea Ewing's done a fantastic job of translating all their interviews with some amazing people into an interesting and educational, and often emotion, journey through each panel of their artwork. There were so many interesting and varied viewpoints from each person regarding the same questions, and nothing was held back.
So much credit needs to go to the interviewees though. They were all incredibly raw, open ,and vulnerable, and shared many sacred personal experiences, as well as traumatic and scarring moments.
I really appreciated Rhea's honesty when confronting their own ignorance. When they find they have privilege connected to their race, they own up to it, and take responsibility. I also really liked the focus on the aspects of privilege and exclusion that can occur in the LGBTQIA community, as well as even trans spaces.
Masterfully executed, and sorely needed, I cannot recommend this book enough.
Note: I am a non-binary person
TW: Mentions of death, suicide ideation, murder, discrimination, medical dismissal, transphobia, gender and body dysphoria, sex, abusive relationships
Rhea Ewing's done a fantastic job of translating all their interviews with some amazing people into an interesting and educational, and often emotion, journey through each panel of their artwork. There were so many interesting and varied viewpoints from each person regarding the same questions, and nothing was held back.
So much credit needs to go to the interviewees though. They were all incredibly raw, open ,and vulnerable, and shared many sacred personal experiences, as well as traumatic and scarring moments.
I really appreciated Rhea's honesty when confronting their own ignorance. When they find they have privilege connected to their race, they own up to it, and take responsibility. I also really liked the focus on the aspects of privilege and exclusion that can occur in the LGBTQIA community, as well as even trans spaces.
Masterfully executed, and sorely needed, I cannot recommend this book enough.
TW: death, murder, drowning, fatphobia, classism, misogyny
Dark, twisted, funny, blunt - great for murder mystery fans of all sorts. I loved all the clever differing ways Grace came up with to enact her revenge.
Dark, twisted, funny, blunt - great for murder mystery fans of all sorts. I loved all the clever differing ways Grace came up with to enact her revenge.
Note: This review comes from a queer, non-binary person who is white.
*Special thanks to NetGallery and University of Toronto Press for the eARC of this book*
TW: Racism, colourism, homophobia, transphobia, suicide, eugenics, forced castration
This book is right up my ally as someone who has been focusing on reading about anti-racism and queer history. I've been fascinated by Magnus Hirschfeld and his library that was lost during WWII, and all I've learned about him was very positive, his forward thinking, his support of transgender folks and being a safe place in Germany's queer scene. This book has both confirmed that, but also turned it all on its head.
This book focuses on Hirschfeld's impact on queer history, but also how much of it was taken from the fight for civil rights, and again, it's mostly white (or people arguing they are white, as Hirschfeld does) taking advantage of activism for their own gains, without giving credit, or helping to continue the fight for those root causes.
There is amazing complexity, as Hirschfeld is both incredibly before his time, but also incredibly a product of it. Yes he believed homosexuality was a natural part of our world, but he also argued for eugenics and that queer people should never have children; yes he considered himself anti-racist, but he was also incredibly racist and dismissive to Black people.
Now onto the other focus of this book, Li Shiu Tong. He contributed so much to Hirschfeld's work, but is never credited. Li was Hirschfeld's apprentice, assistant, and probable lover. He was also a very complex person, and taken advantage of for Hirschfeld's own gains and fancies. Much of the book is dedicated to Li, which I find appropriate and needed, as in all my learnings I had never heard of him, and yet Hirschfeld would not have been able to do all he did without Li.
Li is an unsung leader in queer history and finally gets the spotlight he deserves after being abandoned to history. Just as Hirschfeld before him, Li also had problematic points, such as believing homosexuality was learned, not inate. We still know so little about him, as much of his work was lost after he died, but what we have managed to rescue needs to be displayed in the same import as Hirschfeld's work.
The final takeaway from this book is that queer history, and current day queer politics are rooted in racist actions, but it doesn't have to be so now. For example, I do not need to exploit other races and their cultures to validate myself, a white person, being non-binary. It is important to know our messy and complicated past, so that we don't repeat it in our present activism, as we so often do.
*Special thanks to NetGallery and University of Toronto Press for the eARC of this book*
TW: Racism, colourism, homophobia, transphobia, suicide, eugenics, forced castration
This book is right up my ally as someone who has been focusing on reading about anti-racism and queer history. I've been fascinated by Magnus Hirschfeld and his library that was lost during WWII, and all I've learned about him was very positive, his forward thinking, his support of transgender folks and being a safe place in Germany's queer scene. This book has both confirmed that, but also turned it all on its head.
This book focuses on Hirschfeld's impact on queer history, but also how much of it was taken from the fight for civil rights, and again, it's mostly white (or people arguing they are white, as Hirschfeld does) taking advantage of activism for their own gains, without giving credit, or helping to continue the fight for those root causes.
There is amazing complexity, as Hirschfeld is both incredibly before his time, but also incredibly a product of it. Yes he believed homosexuality was a natural part of our world, but he also argued for eugenics and that queer people should never have children; yes he considered himself anti-racist, but he was also incredibly racist and dismissive to Black people.
Now onto the other focus of this book, Li Shiu Tong. He contributed so much to Hirschfeld's work, but is never credited. Li was Hirschfeld's apprentice, assistant, and probable lover. He was also a very complex person, and taken advantage of for Hirschfeld's own gains and fancies. Much of the book is dedicated to Li, which I find appropriate and needed, as in all my learnings I had never heard of him, and yet Hirschfeld would not have been able to do all he did without Li.
Li is an unsung leader in queer history and finally gets the spotlight he deserves after being abandoned to history. Just as Hirschfeld before him, Li also had problematic points, such as believing homosexuality was learned, not inate. We still know so little about him, as much of his work was lost after he died, but what we have managed to rescue needs to be displayed in the same import as Hirschfeld's work.
The final takeaway from this book is that queer history, and current day queer politics are rooted in racist actions, but it doesn't have to be so now. For example, I do not need to exploit other races and their cultures to validate myself, a white person, being non-binary. It is important to know our messy and complicated past, so that we don't repeat it in our present activism, as we so often do.
*Special thanks to NetGallery and Wide Eyed Editions for the eARC of this book*
This little book is the perfect introduction for little ones about the wonderful adventure that is exploring their gender. First, they do not need to conform who the box they've been put in. Second, they get to explore what makes them happy. That's it. That's the whole message, and it's wonderful.
If I had been read this as a child, been given that permission to explore my gender and what makes me happy, I can only imagine how much happier and free I would have been. Children deserve to be themselves, not just free to like the toys or games that make them happy, being adventurous or into reading, etc, but able to be themselves in regards to their gender and exploration of that expression.
The illustrations and colours are so fun and colourful, and the simples shapes and easy prose make it a great book for all ages.
This little book is the perfect introduction for little ones about the wonderful adventure that is exploring their gender. First, they do not need to conform who the box they've been put in. Second, they get to explore what makes them happy. That's it. That's the whole message, and it's wonderful.
If I had been read this as a child, been given that permission to explore my gender and what makes me happy, I can only imagine how much happier and free I would have been. Children deserve to be themselves, not just free to like the toys or games that make them happy, being adventurous or into reading, etc, but able to be themselves in regards to their gender and exploration of that expression.
The illustrations and colours are so fun and colourful, and the simples shapes and easy prose make it a great book for all ages.
*Special thanks to NetGallery and Algonquin Young Readers for the eARC of this book*
TW: Attempted suicide, depression,
The art was incredible. I loved the choice of changing colours depending on what what going on in the story. The entirety of my critique is on the story alone, the art masterfully handles each turn the story takes.
This was a great graphic novel that could have really hit off the ending and struck an amazing home run, instead it just kind of...ended. The main driving plot-point wasn't quite resolved in a way I felt did justice to the topic it was covering. Jade is processing her friend's attempted suicide, and unable to see or speak with her. The whole book, Jade is expressing her anger at Phoebe. These are reactions that are human and real, but never eventually learned were wrong or called out. Jade even spouts some quite ignorant thoughts on why a person would make that choice, and again, it's not called out.
Phoebe is, instead of having a voice, reduced to a voiceless plot device.
On a personal note: As someone who studied art, I related to a lot of the things the main character went through in regards to the stresses of art production. So often I wanted to flip the book like a table when the teachers kept pestering Jade for her "reasons" behind her art. "She just did what she liked!" I wanted to scream. This was me very much projecting my own feelings from the trauma of my own art classes, ;)
TW: Attempted suicide, depression,
The art was incredible. I loved the choice of changing colours depending on what what going on in the story. The entirety of my critique is on the story alone, the art masterfully handles each turn the story takes.
This was a great graphic novel that could have really hit off the ending and struck an amazing home run, instead it just kind of...ended. The main driving plot-point wasn't quite resolved in a way I felt did justice to the topic it was covering. Jade is processing her friend's attempted suicide, and unable to see or speak with her. The whole book, Jade is expressing her anger at Phoebe. These are reactions that are human and real, but never eventually learned were wrong or called out. Jade even spouts some quite ignorant thoughts on why a person would make that choice, and again, it's not called out.
Phoebe is, instead of having a voice, reduced to a voiceless plot device.
On a personal note: As someone who studied art, I related to a lot of the things the main character went through in regards to the stresses of art production. So often I wanted to flip the book like a table when the teachers kept pestering Jade for her "reasons" behind her art. "She just did what she liked!" I wanted to scream. This was me very much projecting my own feelings from the trauma of my own art classes, ;)
TW: racism, colorism, Black stereotyping, addiction, underage drinking, drug use, molestation by parent, detention camps, ICE raids
While I really enjoyed this book, especially the audiobook reading, I echo another reviewer who suggests one reads the review "Of Woman and Salt: a beautiful novel from Flatiron Books rubs salt in the wounds of the Black Caribbean" by Lorraine Avila.
While I reccomend it, especially to replace the racist darling 'American Dirt', it still had its own gaps, such as colorism and racism in Cuba that goes largely unaddressed.
While I really enjoyed this book, especially the audiobook reading, I echo another reviewer who suggests one reads the review "Of Woman and Salt: a beautiful novel from Flatiron Books rubs salt in the wounds of the Black Caribbean" by Lorraine Avila.
While I reccomend it, especially to replace the racist darling 'American Dirt', it still had its own gaps, such as colorism and racism in Cuba that goes largely unaddressed.
*Special thanks to NetGallery and Jessica Kingsley Publishers for the eARC of this book*
TW: Mentions of transphobia, homophobia, gender dysphoria
(Note: This review is from a queer, disabled, non-binary person)
This book was a little delight to open, read, and experience. I loved the author's very clear voice and style that felt very conversational, which is great for avoiding the stale ted-talk like styles these books can often end up having. The illustrations were amazing. I loved them, all the differing presenting people. The style is cool and fresh and unique.
I do have one VERY big critique, but as important and necessary this critique is, I don't want it to seem like the rest of the book wasn't amazing.
As mentioned before I myself and disabled, and so when the author goes into the section "Avoid self-diagnosis online" my fur got rubbed the wrong way. This section is incredibly tone-deaf to the classism and ableism that act as gatekeepers to the neurodivergent community (gatekeeping being something the author even brings up earlier in the book).
Often neurodivergent people cannot afford to be formally diagnosed, or have family who keep them from being able to reach out to the proper doctors or channels to find out this information about themselves. Many in the neurodivergent community support and encourage self-diagnosis (never self-medication) as a great stepping point in a person understanding themselves and learning to love themselves and find support and structures to help them function until they can get a formal diagnosis.
Then there is the problem that so many trained professionals know little to nothing of CURRENT care and research on neurodivergence, and many often have incredibly outdated schools of thought that haven't been updated since many attended school 20-odd years before. Example of myself: I self-diagnosed myself as autistc ADHD, went to a general psychiatrist, who dismissed me, told me I was only being "emotional", wanted to prescribe me the wrong medication, and emotionally abused me. When I was lucky enough (and $1000.00 dollars richer enough) to go to a DR specializing in current research on ADHD and Autism, he diagnosed me right away as a classic case. Before this 'official' diagnosis however, my life had improved dramatically since I had read up and taught myself strategies to function that I learned online about ADHD and autism from advocates online. Self-diagnosis can be life-saving.
I'm not saying being professionally diagnosed is wrong, but I'm saying it is an incredibly gray area, and this section paints the picture of "Don't think you have X condition, only wait for a professional to diagnose you and they are always correct". I know this is not what the author is intending. They are trying to say "Don't just do a quiz and invest no other effort", but the message comes across ableist, classist, and wrong. Encourage professional diagnosis, yes, but also include they can get second opinions, find DRs who specialize in those areas, and until they can afford to be seen, work with strategies that can help in the area they think they fall into.
TW: Mentions of transphobia, homophobia, gender dysphoria
(Note: This review is from a queer, disabled, non-binary person)
This book was a little delight to open, read, and experience. I loved the author's very clear voice and style that felt very conversational, which is great for avoiding the stale ted-talk like styles these books can often end up having. The illustrations were amazing. I loved them, all the differing presenting people. The style is cool and fresh and unique.
I do have one VERY big critique, but as important and necessary this critique is, I don't want it to seem like the rest of the book wasn't amazing.
As mentioned before I myself and disabled, and so when the author goes into the section "Avoid self-diagnosis online" my fur got rubbed the wrong way. This section is incredibly tone-deaf to the classism and ableism that act as gatekeepers to the neurodivergent community (gatekeeping being something the author even brings up earlier in the book).
Often neurodivergent people cannot afford to be formally diagnosed, or have family who keep them from being able to reach out to the proper doctors or channels to find out this information about themselves. Many in the neurodivergent community support and encourage self-diagnosis (never self-medication) as a great stepping point in a person understanding themselves and learning to love themselves and find support and structures to help them function until they can get a formal diagnosis.
Then there is the problem that so many trained professionals know little to nothing of CURRENT care and research on neurodivergence, and many often have incredibly outdated schools of thought that haven't been updated since many attended school 20-odd years before. Example of myself: I self-diagnosed myself as autistc ADHD, went to a general psychiatrist, who dismissed me, told me I was only being "emotional", wanted to prescribe me the wrong medication, and emotionally abused me. When I was lucky enough (and $1000.00 dollars richer enough) to go to a DR specializing in current research on ADHD and Autism, he diagnosed me right away as a classic case. Before this 'official' diagnosis however, my life had improved dramatically since I had read up and taught myself strategies to function that I learned online about ADHD and autism from advocates online. Self-diagnosis can be life-saving.
I'm not saying being professionally diagnosed is wrong, but I'm saying it is an incredibly gray area, and this section paints the picture of "Don't think you have X condition, only wait for a professional to diagnose you and they are always correct". I know this is not what the author is intending. They are trying to say "Don't just do a quiz and invest no other effort", but the message comes across ableist, classist, and wrong. Encourage professional diagnosis, yes, but also include they can get second opinions, find DRs who specialize in those areas, and until they can afford to be seen, work with strategies that can help in the area they think they fall into.