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this story is so dear to me! I might prefer the movie over the book, but i loved elements specific to the book like the expansion on Eric's character, and the love between brian and his sister. the writing style doesn't work for me in many ways, but the story itself is so beautiful and incredible that i don't even mind. i love this book.
I loved this, I couldn't put it down and read it in a day. It is really refreshing to read a book by and for trans people that doesn't shy away from the hard parts of being queer, the shame that society makes us feel, the divisions in our own communities, the things that no one wants to say out loud. It made me feel so seen. I love the complexity in Peters' characters and how much they reminded me of myself (in some ways) and the trans people I know. It's interesting that so many cis people are reviewing this book as some piece of misogynist trash rather than a deeply honest book about the experience of (some) trans women. No offense but maybe not every book is for u! Also disappointed in the fellow transmascs mad at how trans dudes were portrayed in the book. I liked the trans male characters (all.... one and a half of them) and felt like the complexity of this group was delved into even when not featured much in a book (which makes sense because this is primarily a book about trans women and motherhood). Idk. No one has to like every book but being mad that it's not for you as cis people or non-trans women is slightly annoying. I already want to reread this because of how on-the-nose it was as commentary on modern trans life and culture.
This was too long and I grew tired of the tangents and poor pacing/lack of plot very quickly, but besides that McBride is a beautiful writer and I really enjoyed a lot of this. I feel like he captured this moment in American history very well. Other folks on here have said that this would work better as a short story collection and I agree – and despite his writing of people's backstories and short conversations in excruciating detail that often spanned 20+ pages, there was also an issue of telling rather than showing of other aspects of the book, like why certain characters like Chona were so beloved yet underdeveloped in the story.
As someone really interested in Jewish immigrants and Black American communities in the early 20th century, this was a cool read that sent me back in time and gave me a lot of love for the coal belt. I liked that it showed cross cultural solidarity while not shying away from the fact that many immigrants (Jewish, Italian, Irish) began to become integrated into white supremacist culture. It also has great themes of love and community building that does all of the ooey gooey heartwarming stuff that it meant to do. But I don't know if I would ever read this again, it's very long and often felt like a slog of pointless pages and pages and pages to get through.
I don't normally read YA but i thought i would give this one a shot because of the trans main character! it definitely fell flat at a lot of points, particularly in dealing with the trans point of view on gender issues, and this can probably be chalked up to a well-meaning cis author and the fact that this book is 12 years old and things have changed a little bit. despite this, it was a fun quick read and i probably would have loved it as a middle schooler. the author has a great music taste and gabe and john's relationship meant a lot to me.
I read this while I was in Prague and it was cool to visit the places that Kundera referenced in the book. besides that experience I didn't enjoy this book much. A lot of his political commentary was interesting, but so much of the book was just constant sardonic condescension towards the women in the story and I really hated it.
this was a great compilation of a lot of information, but as other reviewers have pointed out, the author isn't a historian and often attempts to inject excitement into a story that doesn't need any more sensationalizing. parts of it (especially freedland's conclusion) felt like a kid trying trying desperately to pack things neatly into their outgrown thesis statement because they didn't want to write a better one. like i know “the escape artist” is a catchy title but it isn't necessary to frame every single thing rudi did in his personal life after auschwitz as an escape attempt. also this is a stupid nitpick but it annoyed me how the last sentence of almost every chapter tried to be a cliffhanger/ epic foreshadowing moment. I think the author's tone just frustrated me because it reads so differently to other history books on this subject. but overall, this was a good read and im glad to have learned so much about rudi vrba.
I read this book for an American racial history class and I thought it was incredible. The way it dives into the histories of different immigrant groups (Mexican, Filipino, Japanese, etc) and white reactions provides a background that is entirely necessary to understand the modern controversy around the immigrant “crisis.” Although it's a heavy read, Ngai breaks down each chapter into distinct abstracts that help you retain the information. Really great information and Ngai is a clear and concise author regarding these issues.
I havent read this since i was like 12 but i still remember having insane gender feelings about Nancy's female best friend named George
I really enjoyed this book overall. I didn't love a couple of the short stories (especially Flashback - it just felt ridiculous to me and unattached from the trauma of actual survivors) but I also cried several times while reading this because it tugged on my heartstrings. The shabbat story, the AIDs quilt – this was so meaningful to me and I already have plans to go back and reread the stories that spoke to me. I'm really glad that i read this.
This book was highly informative and further opened my eyes to the perpetual struggle of black women in the South. The book begins at the Civil War and continues chronologically to the early 20th century – and despite the focus on one demographic, it provided a great overview of general American history from a Southern viewpoint. It was a slow read, due to the immense detail that Hunter provides on many aspects of Southern black womanhood; but the detail was much appreciated in formulating a clear view of American history. I loved this book.
Difficult read due to its size, emphasis on tiny details and obviously the content, but still..... amazing, amazing book. The worldbuilding is fantastic; Yanagihara gets into the skin of every character and shows you life, realistically, through their eyes. While reading I caught myself getting annoyed with or realizing things about different characters, but after the book changed perspective, that character themself acknowledged it. I've never read something so realistic as far as the way people think and fear and live - it definitely changed my life for the better and left me thinking about it for weeks. It really showcases the better and worse of humanity... it kind of grounded me. If you're able to handle themes of trauma, abuse and graphic violence, read it.