Reviews tagging 'Medical trauma'

Gender Queer: A Memoir by Maia Kobabe

212 reviews

bibliomich's review

emotional informative reflective fast-paced

5.0

I generally refrain from providing star ratings for memoirs, out of respect for author's personal stories. However, given the widespread banning of this book, I feel it's important to bring attention to the fact that this is a phenomenal story, and certainly one that belongs in libraries and bookstores and everywhere where there are readers.

I read this book as part of the 2024 Trans Rights Readathon, and I'm so glad that I did. Not only did I genuinely enjoy reading Kobabe's story, but I also learned so much from em. From chest binding to e/em/eir pronouns to ways to support people experiencing gender dysphoria, I learned so much that I didn't know before.

I'm so grateful that Kobabe wrote this graphic novel, particularly given the vulnerability it took to share eir story, and I am truly looking forward to reading more of eir work.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Medical trauma

Moderate: Dysphoria

Minor: Blood

antijeffbozo_love2read's review

emotional funny reflective relaxing fast-paced

4.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual content, Blood, Dysphoria, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Gore, Alcoholism, Misogyny, Medical content, Excrement, Transphobia, Drug use, Toxic friendship, Deadnaming, Body shaming, and Medical trauma

Minor: Chronic illness, Pregnancy, Vomit, and Cancer

Injury/gore is metaphorical and features a character impaled on a spike in a couple of different instances. It metaphorically represents emotional/physical pain and features some amount of blood, nothing else. Blood warning mainly applies to menstrual blood.

diannasbooks's review

challenging emotional funny informative inspiring reflective tense fast-paced

5.0

This memoir was beautiful, and so eye opening. I couldn’t put it down. I need to get a physical copy of it. 

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Dysphoria, Medical trauma, and Blood

notsobinaryart's review against another edition

challenging emotional hopeful informative reflective slow-paced

5.0

So many big thoughts and emotions. I relate to almost all of eir experiences. I felt so seen yet so sad for the confusion and loneliness both of us possessed for so long. So tender yet informative, heartbreaking yet hopeful. Must read for everyone. Redefined what a graphic novel can look like for me.

I’m hopefully going to come back and add to my review once I detangle some of my feelings.

CW for transphobia, homophobia, medical content and trauma, Harry Potter references pre-JKR was openly a blatant transphobe, blood, vomit

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Medical trauma, Injury/Injury detail, Sexual content, Transphobia, Blood, Homophobia, and Medical content

Moderate: Vomit

wanderlust_romance's review against another edition

emotional funny informative inspiring reflective fast-paced

4.0

What a joy this was to read. I borrowed a copy of this from my library and am very much considering purchasing a copy to eventually share with my child (they’re too young for some of the content right now). Gender Queer is a graphic novel memoir that follows Maia Kobabe’s (e/em/eir pronouns) deeply personal exploration of eir gender identity. The illustrations are so wonderfully done. It adds another layer of humor and emotion to the accompanying text that shares Kobabe’s personal narrative. Gender Queer is a prime example of the importance of gender affirming care. Beyond just the need for affirming healthcare, Kobabe’s family and friends are depicted in this memoir as unconditionally supportive, thoughtful, caring, and perhaps most importantly - they listen with love and communicate with honesty surrounding the gender and sexuality questions / frustrations Kobabe expresses. E also delves into the complexities of asexuality - what it means, how it impacts relationships, and how it is also a spectrum e explored.

If you haven’t read this, I would absolutely recommend. 

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Medical trauma

Minor: Acephobia/Arophobia

theskyboi's review against another edition

emotional informative inspiring reflective sad tense medium-paced

3.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Biphobia, Dysphoria, Homophobia, Medical content, Acephobia/Arophobia, Body shaming, Blood, Bullying, Lesbophobia, Sexual content, Medical trauma, and Toxic friendship

theintrovertsbooks's review against another edition

challenging emotional informative inspiring reflective medium-paced

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Dysphoria

Moderate: Medical trauma, Sexual content, Blood, and Medical content

Minor: Cancer, Pregnancy, Misogyny, Injury/Injury detail, Alcohol, Alcoholism, Vomit, Transphobia, and Deadnaming

wad3mil3sgarru2's review

informative lighthearted reflective fast-paced

4.25

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Dysphoria

Minor: Medical trauma, Outing, Blood, and Sexual content

buttercat42's review

fast-paced

2.0

Kobabe mentions a few times in the book that e was historically reluctant to share details of eir life and sadly, I think it shows. This would have felt more meaningful as a memoir if there was focus on the deeper meaning of a few important scenarios rather than just a general overview of eir entire life from birth to publishing. 

The more I reflect on this book, the less I like it. While I don’t agree with book bans of any kind, as a queer person I don’t think it provides a particularly helpful or useful lens through which to examine sexuality and gender or the way they operate in society. I wouldn’t give it to a teen to read not because I think it’s inappropriate but because I don’t think it has anything substantial to say about queer identity.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood, Dysphoria, and Medical trauma

gcrkl's review against another edition

emotional informative inspiring medium-paced

4.5

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Dysphoria, Acephobia/Arophobia, Medical trauma, and Blood