Lou

I have mixed thoughts about this one. It felt like it was written specifically and only for other trans women, meaning even I, as a trans man, feel like I was missing some vital piece of the puzzle to understanding it. That isn't necessarily a bad thing.

The writing style was pretty mediocre, and though I was expecting it to spend more time on the repercussions of cis-people having to decide which hormones to take, no time was actually spent exploring this premise. Our knowledge of what happened in society after the infection spread is limited to a couple of throwaway lines at best and a pretty generic dystopian setting, leaving most of the questions I had going into this novella unanswered.

Instead, the point of this novella seems to relate to trans women's anger, and what would happen if they gave into their worse impulses. So it isn't what the infection actually does to people that's important, so much as the fact that Lexi decided to unleash it on the world, playing out her revenge-fantasy. I think it's good that this novella isn't written for cis audiences to understand, but even I don't think a really “got it.” Personally I find this an instance of a good premise wasted, but if you're a trans woman, then maybe this novella will speak to you in some way it didn't speak to me.

4 stars for how much I actually enjoyed reading the book, but 5 stars for the impact it had on me as a young gay transmasculine person. I'm so glad books like this exist!

I'm a huge Neil Gaiman fan, but this one just didn't do it for me. Maybe because I just can't get into classic fantasy. The main character was fairly two-dimensional and unlikable, with hardly any redeeming qualities, the female characters were treated so badly and were so flat and stereotypical, and the plot just wasn't that interesting. I also found the setting pretty weird and wasn't really able to buy into it. This isn't a critique of Neil Gaiman generally, since I absolutely adore some of his other works, but this one wasn't for me.

I really enjoyed this one. I was looking to read a book set somewhere I know basically nothing about, and this was a great pick for that. It was really beautifully written and all the characters were funny and instantly likeable. While it dragged a little in the first half, the second half hit me like a ton of bricks. I was not expecting to feel so sad for these characters. I agree with the others that the ending was a little unrealistic, but it's not like it ruins the book. I've suspended my disbelief for greater things.

I read this series as a kid and absolutely devoured it. I couldn't believe it wasn't more popular! Definitely too old for it now, but perfect for younger readers.

It's like the city of ember except that the sequels are actually good. Read it.

I'm not usually into dystopian books, but I couldn't put this book down! That being said, the rest of the series really isn't as good so I would just read this one and save your time.