Kelsey
I guess one never realizes that their worldview is entirely too narrow until they get exposed to new ones. That's what happened for me with this book; I'd never thought about motherhood or family in this way before. I'd never really taken a step back to think about the intricacies of what life as a trans woman must be like aside from the basic, "I can hardly imagine how hard it would be to have everyone question and challenge your identity constantly..." But the ways that the author explores dissociation, feminine relationships, and challenges the reader to dive deeper into new possibilities for what motherhood and intimacy can look like helped me open my eyes to a perspective I never would have considered before. And isn't that one of the main reasons to read a book in the first place?
My only qualms, really: the dialogue was often unrealistic and a bit pretentious (to me, anyway). Reese, in particular, was in turns both self righteous and gracious to such profound degrees that it sometimes felt like her character could have been two different people depending on the chapter or page.
(Slight spoiler: I also would probably argue that Amy's detransition scene toward the end was entirely too rushed, but I could be convinced otherwise.)
I guess one never realizes that their worldview is entirely too narrow until they get exposed to new ones. That's what happened for me with this book; I'd never thought about motherhood or family in this way before. I'd never really taken a step back to think about the intricacies of what life as a trans woman must be like aside from the basic, "I can hardly imagine how hard it would be to have everyone question and challenge your identity constantly..." But the ways that the author explores dissociation, feminine relationships, and challenges the reader to dive deeper into new possibilities for what motherhood and intimacy can look like helped me open my eyes to a perspective I never would have considered before. And isn't that one of the main reasons to read a book in the first place?
My only qualms, really: the dialogue was often unrealistic and a bit pretentious (to me, anyway). Reese, in particular, was in turns both self righteous and gracious to such profound degrees that it sometimes felt like her character could have been two different people depending on the chapter or page.
(Slight spoiler: I also would probably argue that Amy's detransition scene toward the end was entirely too rushed, but I could be convinced otherwise.)