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sjeast17's review against another edition
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
Content Warnings
Moderate: Dysphoria, Hate crime, Transphobia, Suicidal thoughts, and Violence
perusinghannah's review against another edition
3.5
Stay Gold is an ownvoice YA contemporary novel for the trans kids, and it's filled with so much love. While I can't speak to the actual representation, I thought this novel was tackling a lot of discussions that sadly still need to be had, ranging from safety and the need for visibility, to activism an allyship.
I also thought the author brought his main character Pony (yes, that's where the title comes from) to life with a lot of vulnerability and tenderness. There was a lot of nuance to him that made for an interesting reading experience, and I enjoyed following him as he slowly stepped into himself and his voice.
I just really wish the same could be said for our other main character, Georgia. The "not like other girls, this cheerleader actually has some personality!" bullshit was far too strong for way too long, and everything that made Georgia 'quirky' felt incredibly forced. It's clear she only exists for the purpose of illustrating Pony's hardships, and had she been a side character (who are also all very caricaturish and flimsy), this wouldn't have bothered me as much as it did with her sharing equal page time. She does have some growth towards the very end, but she never felt like a solid person to me.
So not a perfect novel for me, but that's okay. It's definitely one I am glad exists in the world, especially for the kids like Pony who are just trying to live authentic lives in communities that may not want to let them.
I also thought the author brought his main character Pony (yes, that's where the title comes from) to life with a lot of vulnerability and tenderness. There was a lot of nuance to him that made for an interesting reading experience, and I enjoyed following him as he slowly stepped into himself and his voice.
I just really wish the same could be said for our other main character, Georgia. The "not like other girls, this cheerleader actually has some personality!" bullshit was far too strong for way too long, and everything that made Georgia 'quirky' felt incredibly forced. It's clear she only exists for the purpose of illustrating Pony's hardships, and had she been a side character (who are also all very caricaturish and flimsy), this wouldn't have bothered me as much as it did with her sharing equal page time. She does have some growth towards the very end, but she never felt like a solid person to me.
So not a perfect novel for me, but that's okay. It's definitely one I am glad exists in the world, especially for the kids like Pony who are just trying to live authentic lives in communities that may not want to let them.
julesthefool's review against another edition
funny
inspiring
lighthearted
relaxing
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
paydendyer's review against another edition
medium-paced
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
2.5
Wish I would've read the other reviews before reading this. It started out good but had quite a lot of triggering things, especially for it being a YA novel. The ending felt very rushed, and the hate crime towards the end was alarming and graphic. I didn't like how the book focused so much on Pony not being out, and how everyone around him pressured him to be out. I think the author was maybe attempting to make a point of why it's not always safe for trans people to be out with the scene towards the end, but it just felt like a terrible way to do that. I don't like the idea that trans people have to be educating other people- some people choose to but nobody should have to. I didn't like Georgia's character and I definitely didn't like how it took Pony being hate crimed to make her want to be with him. Also the dad's words were very triggering as well. Realistic I guess, but just not the type of trans media I was searching for.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Transphobia and Hate crime
Moderate: Emotional abuse
melye's review against another edition
hopeful
inspiring
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
2.75
Would have loved this as a teen
sandrineb's review against another edition
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
2.0
Listen, I thought it would be a heartwarming story, but it was not. This was not a cute romance. It was full of micro, aggressions and hate crimes, and I don’t think it had this place in this book because this is not what the book was about. I think the character of Georgia Was not fleshed out properly and ultimately, I could not love her end because of the actions she did . I liked Pony’s love for movies and it seemed like the author wanted to reference them a lot kore at the beginning or writing the book and just gave up at the end. Every character around Pony was just shitty and using slurs. It doesn’t even have an happy ending for me.
anigirl524's review against another edition
i should have read through the reviews on this book a bit better because i thought i was signing up for a cute ya romance. i don't have the mental space for the microaggressions and depictions of violence, and i won't be coming back to this book 🙃🙃🙃.
michaelion's review against another edition
dark
emotional
funny
hopeful
informative
inspiring
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
My ex bought me this for our one month anniversary and I finally read it two years later hoping the book would be bad so I could give it away but it was so good! So cue so sweet. I shall be keeping it.
I was so sure that The Outsiders wasn't canon in this world and then she mentioned it! It's nitpicky but naming yourself after Ponyboy is much cooler than just naming yourself after an animal randomly. That boy got to senior year and didn't read The Outsiders?! It's so gay he would've loved it.
A great book for explaining what a trans person is to kids / teens. It has a perfect mixture of people familiar with the world and explaining to someone who knows nothing. Great writing. I laughed a plenty.
I was so sure that The Outsiders wasn't canon in this world and then she mentioned it! It's nitpicky but naming yourself after Ponyboy is much cooler than just naming yourself after an animal randomly. That boy got to senior year and didn't read The Outsiders?! It's so gay he would've loved it.
A great book for explaining what a trans person is to kids / teens. It has a perfect mixture of people familiar with the world and explaining to someone who knows nothing. Great writing. I laughed a plenty.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Blood, Homophobia, Injury/Injury detail, Lesbophobia, Physical abuse, Transphobia, Violence, and Outing
Moderate: Sexual violence, Vomit, Deadnaming, Sexual harassment, Bullying, Panic attacks/disorders, Toxic friendship, and Suicidal thoughts
Minor: Infidelity and Abandonment
hntodd's review against another edition
3.0
This book is pretty good. Did I read it all in one sitting? Yep. But did I have some problems with it? Yep. It was overall enjoyable, but not the best.
I feel like Georgia's character was not fully developed. She was horrible to Pony when he first came out to her. Yeah she wrote the amazing article and was there for him in the end, while it was nice, it didn't really make sense to me. It might just be because of switching between the two characters. We don't see her thought process as much as you would in a normal book, but to me it felt like she just immediately switched from one side to the other and doing so sort of validated how she acted to the readers. This might just be me as a queer person speaking who likes all genders, but I don't think how she acted was acceptable. The way that outing him even crossed her mind?!? She made his coming out about her. It kinda gave Love, Simon vibes if y'all know what I mean. My opinion is that no one owes anyone a coming out immediately. It's not lying; it's protecting yourself.
That is the second problem I have with this book. I do not agree with the idea that all queer and trans people need to speak out against all discriminatory actions, to be activists, to be visible, to be loud. Some of us just want to live as we are. There is no problem with that, and if you don't live as Max does that doesn't mean you aren't proud. I will make a disclaimer, though, and say that I am cisgender and can never fully understand what trans people go through. So, while I can say these things as a queer person, I acknowledge that I am not the same as Pony or Max.