rickjones's Reviews (1.66k)

I really wasn't into this book... and at points I just wanted to quit reading. Pony and Georgia weren't interesting people to me, they both seemed shallow and self-absorbed, so I had a difficult time feeling invested in their motivations, much less their love story. Pony kinda skates along acting toxically masculine throughout the book and isn't given opportunity to truly grow out of that mindset or denounce it. I was honestly really appalled by how he was behaving and how remorseless he felt about it. I transitioned at the same age he did, at the same point in time that he did, and never felt pressured to act as he did, and have known plenty of other trans masculine people who would never dream of behaving so offensively just to pass. It's not a requirement, even around hyper-masculine guys, to go around being misogynistic and LGBTphobic just to be stealth, and I'm sick and tired of young trans boys being convinced otherwise. Pony slightly redeems himself at the end, but I really wasn't satisfied with his character progression, and I still left the story with a sour taste in my mouth. 

Ironically I enjoyed listening to Georgia's voice more, though she also behaves LGBTphobically for immature and downright ridiculous reasons. Her act of redemption is more solid and purposeful by the end. My favorite character in the story was probably Ted London, and I was disappointed that he mostly seemed used as a plot device. I didn't feel satisfied with his development either. 

My other main issue was how there was never really a balance that Pony and Max found between accepting that some people need to be stealth for their own physical and mental safety, and that they can still stick up for other LGBT+ people at the same time. By the end this story read almost like a cautionary tale regarding both their perspectives, but they never even opened a dialogue about it. 

I think the high points of this story are the messages that life continues after being outed, life continues after assault, life continues when binding becomes too dangerous to repeat, life continues when you have to wait for gender affirming medical interventions, life continues after being rejected or mocked for your gender and it continues even when you wish you weren't living it. Trans youth have so much more strength and grit than they usually give themselves credit for. And they're often surrounded by so much more love than they know. I was happy that these ideas were reflected in the book, but mostly at the very end, and only very briefly in comparison with the previous pages. I'm not sure I'd recommend this book to others. It's not totally terrible, but I had a lot of issues with the characters and with the narrative that went unresolved. 

This was a delightful story about the magic of working together as a community to create something beautiful. Its writing is minimal but the art is gorgeous eye candy. The characters are expressive and starry eyed, and I adore how Abrego draws Wisteria's curls. The use of color and light was beautiful and dynamic, and left me with a sense of happiness and wonder reading each page. It seems this story is marketed towards kids, but I'm sure it will be enjoyed by readers of every age. I'll definitely read it again myself.

This is an incredible anthology rich with different perspectives from South Asian creatives. I enjoyed that these stories were honest and confrontational, both of society and of the self. The process section of the book explained that the creatives were deliberately instructed not to simplify their narratives or give the reader context solely to make the narrative more palatable, a decision I feel made these works even stronger, since they didn't waste time over-explaining the emotions and observations they wanted to represent. I also liked how many of these stories are ambiguous, they don't pretend to know the answer to every social and interpersonal problem displayed here, and don't shy away from describing the discomfort of being a bystander to acts of injustice while wishing you knew how to flawlessly intervene and rescue others, or yourself. I definitely recommend this book to other readers. Content warnings are included within the table of contents so readers can make informed decisions on which stories they may have to avoid, but triggering subject matter is described with empathy throughout.

This was a difficult book to read because of the subject matter, but it was written very smoothly. I really appreciated the messages about victimization and recovery that are weaved throughout the narrative. I was also relieved that the story ended on a note of acceptance, with Danny now knowing that life will always be ambiguous, and not all people are evil, and he doesn't have to sacrifice himself to play savior to people who aren't yet willing to put distance between themselves and their trauma. Those are troublesome but important lessons for all people to learn, especially when you have been victimized in the past. 

I recommend this book to other readers, but please take note of the content warnings. The story does not shy away from descriptions of physical, sexual, and incestuous assault, though thankfully these events are described on the survivor's own terms.

This was a lovely book to read. Felix endeared himself to me quickly, he has as many strengths as he does flaws, and felt like a teenager who could realistically exist. I really enjoyed getting to know his perspective and following his journey of self discovery. I also enjoyed that the other characters in Felix's world are given more dimension as the story progresses. Felix's fluctuating relationships with Ezra, with his father, with Leah, with Declan, and with all the other peers and adults in his life who he feels either judged or guided by, powerfully speak to the many types of love we can experience in this world, and how to learn which types of love are worth developing and worth our energy.

Many of the plot elements in this book didn't resolve themselves in the way I was expecting but I found that even more rewarding, since it showed how Felix and his values grew throughout the narrative. Overall I felt that this was a very strong and empowering novel and I love how the ending passages mimic the start, but with a new, more loving light glowing over Felix's world. Transgender youth, especially transgender youth of color, are lucky to have this book to read and relate to on their own journeys of self discovery and acceptance. I highly recommend this title to other readers and am grateful I encountered it myself.