Reviews with content warning for Homophobia - The Art of Being Normal

Part of me loved this story and I cried a lot towards the end. However, it felt pretty transphobic and full of stereotypes, which I somehow didn't fully realise until I got towards the end (did I wish too much for a nice rep and purposefully ignored all the signs for a while? Probably yes). I just really don't understand why Kate wouldn't have given the reader her chosen name from the beginning. Sure, she's not out yet, but the way she was constantly referred to by everyone, including herself, with her deadname and wrong pronouns just makes it somewhat harder for the reader to remember she's actually a girl? And why didn't Leo switch which pronouns he used for her once he learned that she's a girl? Also her friends deadnaming even when they're alone (do they even know her name?)?? As someone else pointed out, people only referred to her as a girl when she dressed up "girly". Also,

why the fuck did she react to Leo coming out as trans with "so you're a girl"?! It just seems weird, he's trans - the whole point is that he's not a girl, and another trans person not getting that seems very odd, although perhaps you could argue she's brought up in a transphobic world and not learnt everything yet, but still. Considering all of her research and videos she's watched, that doesn't make sense. Also the way Leo's deadname is thrown around everywhere is so weird, though I suppose there are some trans people who don't mind as much as most.

It's a nice story, and I liked both characters - they were imperfect teenagers figuring out themselves and dealing with some pretty heavy stuff. There were just a lot of weird details that felt icky, and I feel like the story would've been told very differently was it written by a trans person.

Content Warnings

bookwormcat's review

Go to review page

emotional hopeful inspiring reflective 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? It's complicated

4.0

I really loved this book and found it heartwarming (though traumatic in parts)

Content Warnings

alicia_g's review against another edition

Go to review page

challenging emotional hopeful reflective fast-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

5.0

Got better as it went on!! But probably for young adults and teens.

Content Warnings

jomarie's review against another edition

Go to review page

emotional hopeful sad medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

2.75

I'm sure if I had read this in high school and not in my mid-20s, I would have enjoyed it more, so I think this book just wasn't for me. I would still recommend it for fans of Simon vs. the Homo Sapien Agenda and any teen looking to read LGBT+ stories.

Content Warnings

skye620's review

Go to review page

challenging emotional reflective sad medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? N/A
Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A

4.0

I first want to start off by acknowledging that some of the terminology and the way gender was described and expressed isn't 100% accurate. HOWEVER, I'm choosing to overlook those things as this novel was written 8 years ago and things have changed so much in the last 8 years for trans people with the research that has been more readily available but for that reason I have chosen to doc my review by 1 star.

It was a little slow to start, but it was such an amazing story. Having these stories existing is so important, and the whole time, I just couldn't help but long for having a book like this growing up as it would have saved me SEVERAL years of questioning and research.

I love that this gives insight for both trans guys and trans girls as the story features both.

It was sad, emotional, and happy in the best ways. The only thing that could have made this better was the author actually being trans, but it was a wonderful story of discovering and accepting your true self 🏳️‍⚧️

Content Warnings

jasmineslibraryy's review against another edition

Go to review page

emotional hopeful inspiring medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

1.0

my biggest issue with this book is that they kept referring to kate as her deadname in her chapter titles etc, and that leo kept calling her that after she told him. furthermore, i noticed that in the official book description online (and i’m assuming most copies) that kate is referred to with her deadname which is 😬 (on my copy she’s only referred as kate). the second half is much more enjoyable than the first. i love kate i think she’s great she really carried the book imo, leo’s cool, kate’s friends are cool, but that’s kinda it.

Content Warnings

martereadsbooks's review

Go to review page

dark funny hopeful lighthearted sad tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.0

Content Warnings

More...