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redsilva95's review
4.0
"Todo mundo tem um passado. Isso não significa que você não possa ter um futuro."
Esta foi uma leitura importante e necessária e que me abriu os olhos para uma realidade totalmente diferente da que vivo. Uma narrativa own-voices, conhecemos Amanda, uma adolescente trans de 18 anos que está indo morar com o pai em outra cidade depois de ter sido atacada em um banheiro público.
A escrita da autora é incrível, sensível e tocante na medida certa. A trama me fez refletir também sobre clichês do gênero "romance contemporâneo YA" que merecem estar presentes em histórias protagonizadas por minorias que não costumam ter voz.
Senti falta de uma conclusão mais forte em alguns pontos do desfecho, mas ainda assim estou muito impressionado com o talento da autora, que por sinal também assina uma nota muito importante no final do livro. Recomendo demais!
Outras quotes:
"As pessoas tem tanto medo de ir para o inferno ou virar motivo de piada que não são sinceras em relação ao que querem ou a quem são de verdade, a ponto de não conseguirem admitir nem para si mesmas. É triste."
"Às vezes, acontecem coisas ruins que algumas palavras bondosas não podem consertar."
"Se as pessoas levam você a fazer uma coisa, a responsabilidade é delas."
"Talvez eu nunca fosse estar pronta; talvez precisasse pular do deque mesmo que fosse para cair de costas logo em seguida. Talvez eu só precisasse me libertar."
"[...] me dei conta de que os defeitos de uma pessoa às vezes a deixam ainda mais bonita."
"Quando você tinha um ano, eu olhava para suas fotos de bebê e chorava. Quando tinha três, eu olhava para as fotos de quando você tinha um ano e chorava. Quando começou o jardim de infância, chorei pensando no passado. Crianças crescem e mudam o tempo todo. Achamos que elas são nossos bebês, mas num piscar de olhos elas se transformam e viram apenas uma lembrança. — Ela esfregou as bochechas e suspirou. — Daqui a cinco anos, você vai ser uma mulher adulta se formando na faculdade, e eu vou olhar suas fotos de agora e chorar a perda da minha filha adolescente."
laisarjona's review against another edition
4.0
4.0/5.0
É um livro bom, mas não sei se minhas expectativas estavam muito altas e por isso no fim alguma coisa na história acabou me incomodando.
É um livro bom, mas não sei se minhas expectativas estavam muito altas e por isso no fim alguma coisa na história acabou me incomodando.
gmzzn's review
3.0
Well, here’s a book I never thought I’d read. I love LGBTQ+ literature, even more so when it’s #ownvoices, and in my opinion we always need more books about, with and by trans people, but the realness of it all made me stay away for a while. It’s realistic, it’s painful, but it’s also hopeful, and Amanda deserves the whole world and all the love. Please read this book.
If I Was Your Girl, by Meredith Russo, is about a high-schooler named Amanda Hardy, who is moving to another city to live with her father after bad things happened to her in her old school. She experiences violence from many sides and has to start over after a suicide attempt that kept her away from school for a whole year.
In the new city, Amanda makes new friends: Bee, Anna, Chloe and Layla, though none of them know she’s actually a trans girl. With time, she develops a crush and starts dating Grant, who’s a really nice boy. Amanda struggles with hiding the truth about herself while enjoying her new life being accepted as she is, a girl, since in the old town everyone knew her before transitioning and didn’t take well to her being…not who she was supposed to be.
Even though it’s…quite sad since people aren’t as nice as we’d hope (and can be reeeeally transphobic) it made me really happy to see some representation and Amanda becoming who she truly is, making friends, finding love, changing her parents’ view on gender… so overall it’s a really good book. Amanda is so lovely, so kind, so brave, and I love her so much!!!
There are quite a few trigger warnings to keep in mind, though: rape [talked about], suicide attempt/mentions of suicide [explicit], homophobia, transphobia, misgendering, violence, sexual assault/harrassment, bullying, some sexism, drugs [using and talking about], alcohol. I think that covers pretty much everything, so please be careful when checking out the book.
I gave it 4 stars only because the ending really let me down. I won’t give any spoilers, but I do wish it was handled better and had a few more pages, at least… I got to the final author notes and was so confused when it wasn’t an epilogue or something! So yeah, good book, not so good ending. Anyway, it’s worth it.
If I Was Your Girl, by Meredith Russo, is about a high-schooler named Amanda Hardy, who is moving to another city to live with her father after bad things happened to her in her old school. She experiences violence from many sides and has to start over after a suicide attempt that kept her away from school for a whole year.
In the new city, Amanda makes new friends: Bee, Anna, Chloe and Layla, though none of them know she’s actually a trans girl. With time, she develops a crush and starts dating Grant, who’s a really nice boy. Amanda struggles with hiding the truth about herself while enjoying her new life being accepted as she is, a girl, since in the old town everyone knew her before transitioning and didn’t take well to her being…not who she was supposed to be.
Even though it’s…quite sad since people aren’t as nice as we’d hope (and can be reeeeally transphobic) it made me really happy to see some representation and Amanda becoming who she truly is, making friends, finding love, changing her parents’ view on gender… so overall it’s a really good book. Amanda is so lovely, so kind, so brave, and I love her so much!!!
“I’m not brave,” I said, smiling despite myself. “Bravery implies I had a choice. I’m just me, you know?”
There are quite a few trigger warnings to keep in mind, though: rape [talked about], suicide attempt/mentions of suicide [explicit], homophobia, transphobia, misgendering, violence, sexual assault/harrassment, bullying, some sexism, drugs [using and talking about], alcohol. I think that covers pretty much everything, so please be careful when checking out the book.
I gave it 4 stars only because the ending really let me down. I won’t give any spoilers, but I do wish it was handled better and had a few more pages, at least… I got to the final author notes and was so confused when it wasn’t an epilogue or something! So yeah, good book, not so good ending. Anyway, it’s worth it.
estantedaduda's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.5
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