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howard's review
3.0
I highly recommend the audiobook or a tandem reading experience if that's something you normally like. The book is told in straight 3rd person with frequent interjections from Carlotta in first person. It can be a bit difficult to read visually because there isn't much indication that an interjection has started or ended, but the audiobook uses two narrators and really brings Carlotta's interjections to life.
I didn't really enjoy this book. It had some very funny moments but I found it mostly slow and a bit boring. It covers about 48 hours and not much happens, but the point of the book is getting to know the character of Carlotta herself. I found the perspective of getting out of prison to be very engaging. Carlotta constantly remarks about how much has changed since she went in, and it made me think a lot about the re-entry experience and how jarring it can be, how the system is set up to fail ex-cons and make re-entry very difficult.
There were a handful of moments of fatphobia that didn't sit well with me. At one point Carlotta even acknowledges that she's being fatphobic and congratulates herself for keeping those thoughts to herself (though the reader still has to hear them). Not sure how I feel about that.
I didn't really enjoy this book. It had some very funny moments but I found it mostly slow and a bit boring. It covers about 48 hours and not much happens, but the point of the book is getting to know the character of Carlotta herself. I found the perspective of getting out of prison to be very engaging. Carlotta constantly remarks about how much has changed since she went in, and it made me think a lot about the re-entry experience and how jarring it can be, how the system is set up to fail ex-cons and make re-entry very difficult.
There were a handful of moments of fatphobia that didn't sit well with me. At one point Carlotta even acknowledges that she's being fatphobic and congratulates herself for keeping those thoughts to herself (though the reader still has to hear them). Not sure how I feel about that.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Rape and Dementia
Moderate: Deadnaming
cranedphoenix's review against another edition
dark
emotional
funny
hopeful
reflective
relaxing
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Honestly a really good book the intersection of being black and trans (woman) is just so good
It doesn't shy away from good and bad and funny and sad sometimes in all the same page
The changing from third person to first is also done so well it doesn't bother me at all
And even though some of the characters are frustrating Ibe especially you kinda want it to work out
and I also love how it doesn't give a definite end to all these characters and how Carlotta does fuck up in chapter 9 and instead ends in hope cuz sometimes that's all we got
It doesn't shy away from good and bad and funny and sad sometimes in all the same page
The changing from third person to first is also done so well it doesn't bother me at all
And even though some of the characters are frustrating
Content Warnings
Graphic: Transphobia, Rape, and Sexual assault
Moderate: Alcohol, Deadnaming, Religious bigotry, and Drug use
Minor: Gun violence, Self harm, and Suicidal thoughts
kaitysmitty123's review
dark
emotional
funny
informative
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
laurevanaerschot's review
challenging
dark
emotional
funny
hopeful
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
archytas's review against another edition
emotional
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.5
"... it’s only my ass that got nine thousand stips to worry bout, can’t even talk to nobody cause they might turn out to be a convict an maybe I should move farther down this bench cause I could see people with open cans a beer an shit, or maybe it’s not just me, maybe it’s half these motherfuckers out here is folks that been inside, I dunno, and I’on’t wanna know, I just wanna be me, I just wanna be a human fuckin person like ev’body else, without nobody tellin me not to do who I am, holdin me gainst my will, don’t wanna be no statistic or no tragedy or no symbol of nothin goin wrong in society. Cause I’m what’s right, honey, I’m what’s goin right."
This is exuberant, hilarious, high-caper fun, and deeply moving, and somehow, it is also a savage indictment of the system of parole. But way, way more fun than reading statistics (and I *love* statistics). Hannaham gives us Carlotta, freshly out of a men's prison on parole after a twenty-year sentence (mainly for being in the wrong place at the wrong time with the wrong family member) and determined to meet her "stip(ulation)s", reconnect with her son, rebuild her life and get some fabulous shoes. Carlotta is blessed with a lot of heart, a short amount of temper, and a deep, terrifying fear of ongoing sexual assault that awaits her back in jail if she can't make it work. By following her optimistic, hugely snarky inside voice, we careen through Brooklyn with her, trying to knock over the ever more impossible tasks ahead of her. Crippled by her ignorance with modern technology (Hannaham sets this in 2014, meaning it is plausible that Carlotta has never owned a mobile phone, heard of Ebay or seen a car with autolocking), her lack of a driver's licence, by transphobia, the fact that her boos have moved on with their lives, and most of all by instructions not to spend time with people who drink or carouse, when that describes everyone she knows, she nevertheless manages to create connections with her son, her long-estranged best friend and her over-the-top family. Hannaham gives us scenes full of belly laughs, and several, including a long emotional download over the trauma the friends have experienced since they were friends, that bring all the feels. This is far to sardonic a book for easy reconciliations, but Hannaham shows us that sometimes, moving forward is worth celebrating, especially when the odds against you are so strong.
This is exuberant, hilarious, high-caper fun, and deeply moving, and somehow, it is also a savage indictment of the system of parole. But way, way more fun than reading statistics (and I *love* statistics). Hannaham gives us Carlotta, freshly out of a men's prison on parole after a twenty-year sentence (mainly for being in the wrong place at the wrong time with the wrong family member) and determined to meet her "stip(ulation)s", reconnect with her son, rebuild her life and get some fabulous shoes. Carlotta is blessed with a lot of heart, a short amount of temper, and a deep, terrifying fear of ongoing sexual assault that awaits her back in jail if she can't make it work. By following her optimistic, hugely snarky inside voice, we careen through Brooklyn with her, trying to knock over the ever more impossible tasks ahead of her. Crippled by her ignorance with modern technology (Hannaham sets this in 2014, meaning it is plausible that Carlotta has never owned a mobile phone, heard of Ebay or seen a car with autolocking), her lack of a driver's licence, by transphobia, the fact that her boos have moved on with their lives, and most of all by instructions not to spend time with people who drink or carouse, when that describes everyone she knows, she nevertheless manages to create connections with her son, her long-estranged best friend and her over-the-top family. Hannaham gives us scenes full of belly laughs, and several, including a long emotional download over the trauma the friends have experienced since they were friends, that bring all the feels. This is far to sardonic a book for easy reconciliations, but Hannaham shows us that sometimes, moving forward is worth celebrating, especially when the odds against you are so strong.
katie_konneker's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
funny
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
patches_of_purple's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
funny
hopeful
reflective
sad
medium-paced
4.0
robynisabelle's review
challenging
emotional
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
zinatakara's review against another edition
dark
emotional
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.25
This book was DARK. I enjoyed the way it was written because I definitely felt like I was inside Carlotta’s head but for some reason I just couldn’t really get into it.