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fabulousdave's review
challenging
dark
reflective
sad
medium-paced
5.0
5 stars isn't enough. Cecilia's story is so powerful and important. It was hard to read some of the experiences she went through but her ability to endure and be a support for others is inspiring. Cecilia needs to be remembered and raised up for generations as the archetype of 2slgtbqia+ community leadership and activism.
ewonssss's review
dark
emotional
funny
reflective
fast-paced
5.0
One of the most powerful, honest, and witty memoirs I’ve ever read. Will be holding this one close to the heart for a long time.
Rest in power Cecilia.
Rest in power Cecilia.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Rape and Sexual assault
jarku's review
adventurous
dark
emotional
reflective
sad
fast-paced
4.5
Faltas is unflinching but may accessibly illuminate, for cis or straight readers, how queerness is entangled with sex work is inextricable from sexism--and how (further amplified by class and colorism!) transmisogyny shapes lives from the first breath.
For trans readers seeking elders, the thread of narrative flows with objective coherence through Gentili's childhood as she stumbles through matter-of-fact formative horrors. Addressing the reader in second person, she offers us the chance to watch through the eyes of her kin and community as she comes into her power, claiming a piece of her world before inevitably outgrowing it. Gentili was a gifted storyteller, possessing a singular emotional affinity with her audience: she withholds and repeats details and motifs to heartbreaking effect. We are poorer that there will be no sequel to this innovatively honest debut memoir.
The prose of these letters is more verbatim than ~literary~, which does not alone detract from its merit. However, somehow this makes the work suffer more than it would otherwise from too many little copyediting errors (sentences without periods, someone appearing as "Jiminez" and reappearing as "Jimenez," etc)--hopefully a second edition will relieve these, and I'll be able to shake that snobby judgment that voice-to-text had a hand in assembling this text.
For trans readers seeking elders, the thread of narrative flows with objective coherence through Gentili's childhood as she stumbles through matter-of-fact formative horrors. Addressing the reader in second person, she offers us the chance to watch through the eyes of her kin and community as she comes into her power, claiming a piece of her world before inevitably outgrowing it. Gentili was a gifted storyteller, possessing a singular emotional affinity with her audience: she withholds and repeats details and motifs to heartbreaking effect. We are poorer that there will be no sequel to this innovatively honest debut memoir.
The prose of these letters is more verbatim than ~literary~, which does not alone detract from its merit. However, somehow this makes the work suffer more than it would otherwise from too many little copyediting errors (sentences without periods, someone appearing as "Jiminez" and reappearing as "Jimenez," etc)--hopefully a second edition will relieve these, and I'll be able to shake that snobby judgment that voice-to-text had a hand in assembling this text.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual content, Homophobia, Pedophilia, Rape, Adult/minor relationship, Sexual violence, Toxic friendship, and Transphobia
Moderate: Murder and Alcoholism
gloconno's review
5.0
RIP. haven't stopped thinking about it since I read it last year, she writes with a clarity and a heart that feels unmatched. unlike anything. so much love for adults and children, esp queer+trans adults and queer+trans children, everywhere.
dizzzybrook's review
challenging
emotional
sad
medium-paced
4.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual assault and Sexual content