Boy, Snow, Bird

I feel like I read pieces of a vision that didn't quite coalesce, but then, the nature of the ending, as much as the rest of the book, may have been designed specifically to unsettle the reader, which is not my preferred form of story telling. 
Certainly mid-twentieth century historical with heavy racial tension, and other identity issues worked in, is an all new take on a snow white retelling - though this ‘retelling' is more akin to adopting certain elements and twisting until they're recognizable. 
I haven't read own voices' reviews, but based on my knowledge of feminism and LGBTQIA+ history, I could see people finding the threads of a child of SA seen as othered/evil/damned, and a victim of SA and lesbian deciding to become an (incredibly abusive) man after trauma would not be well received. Any whiff of the idea that a transgender identity is the result of a mental illness is pretty damaging to any hard fought recognition trans people have today. 
Certainly the idea of a person who experiences trauma acting out in unhealthy ways and blaming their child for their misfortunes is not new, neither is the idea that a child who experienced frequent abuse by a parent is unable to establish health relationships later in life. The question then is why rehash such miserable truths?
What makes this even messier is it feels like those points/that reveal then overrun the detailed reflections the author provides throughout the narrative on racism, how black people and biracial people historically and modernly oppressed and persecuted reacted to that reality, the limited choices available, how one generation without context might condemn an earlier one, how hate might internalize. 
I feel like I should read Passing and/or The Vanishing Half for a clearer view of this issue in narrative form. 
And the mirror and mimic thing? Just so, so creepy. If the point was to make me feel uncomfortable, mission accomplished. If the idea was to leave the reader with clear, if disturbing realities, I feel like maybe it got muddled?