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marmaladereads's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
informative
sad
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
A raw and utterly vulnerable look at gender and addiction. Claire is a teenager growing up in a declining industrial town in the 1980s and struggles with their gender identity and rampant homophobia and transphobia of their surroundings. They turn to binge drinking and end up being sent to a rehab facility for teenagers. Most of the book takes place in rehab. There we meet some of the other teenagers struggling with addiction, and learn of the family circumstances that led them there. For some, those family circumstances land them right back into addiction as soon as they leave rehab.
This book is difficult to read because it shows the tools that are available for dealing with addiction but it doesn't shy away from the challenges, and there are honest depictions of abuse, homophobia and transphobia on page. The art style (pencil and watercolor) also lends itself to the vibe, not feeling very polished but full of emotion. Incredibly powerful and oh so heartbreaking.
The art and the feelings did feel a little incomplete sometimes. There are no answers or reflections, only thoughts and feelings, and the characters didn't all have complete story arcs. Some of the characters could also be a bit hard to distinguish from each other due to the art style. I don't think this is a book that will work for everyone. But this is a great book that would be powerful for anyone going through similar struggles.
This book is difficult to read because it shows the tools that are available for dealing with addiction but it doesn't shy away from the challenges, and there are honest depictions of abuse, homophobia and transphobia on page. The art style (pencil and watercolor) also lends itself to the vibe, not feeling very polished but full of emotion. Incredibly powerful and oh so heartbreaking.
The art and the feelings did feel a little incomplete sometimes. There are no answers or reflections, only thoughts and feelings, and the characters didn't all have complete story arcs. Some of the characters could also be a bit hard to distinguish from each other due to the art style. I don't think this is a book that will work for everyone. But this is a great book that would be powerful for anyone going through similar struggles.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Addiction, Homophobia, Transphobia, Religious bigotry, and Alcoholism
Moderate: Sexual assault and Physical abuse
Minor: Incest and Domestic abuse
bookish_brenna's review
dark
emotional
inspiring
reflective
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
4.75
youngfinn's review
1.0
(I received a free digital copy of this book via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. This in no way affects my rating or opinions of the book.)
A graphic novel about a trans teen struggling with addiction with found family tropes and wholesome messages? This book was supposed to be right up my alley. Unfortunately, it just fell flat.
I was SUPER confused for the first, like, 20% of the book as to what is going on with Claire’s gender identity. All it says is that she is a girl who looks like a boy, but doesn’t go into detail beyond that. I was having a hard time understanding if Claire was supposed to be trans or not. Based on the “girl who looks like a boy” description, I actually thought that she was a trans girl at first. If it explained in the beginning that Claire was assigned female at birth but enjoyed dressing more “like a boy”, then the book would have been much easier to understand.
That is more or less a pretty minor issue, and I would have been able to overlook that, but basically every aspect of the book also kind of sucked. The plot was pretty much nonexistent. The majority of the book is just Claire’s therapy sessions, and there are very little character interactions or plot developments outside of that. The whole thing felt very preachy, more like you are reading a self help book than a fictional story. Considering this book promises found family tropes, the lack of character development was extremely disappointing.
Finally, the art style. It is… weird at best. The way that characters are shaded makes them look really off, their expressions are unrealistic and flat out creepy sometimes for no reason, and the added in doodles were often distracting from the storyline. Not to mention the fact that most of the characters all look the same. I was having a hard time distinguishing Claire, the literal main character, from the other male characters.
Overall, I was super disappointed in this and I don’t think I could recommend it to anyone.
A graphic novel about a trans teen struggling with addiction with found family tropes and wholesome messages? This book was supposed to be right up my alley. Unfortunately, it just fell flat.
I was SUPER confused for the first, like, 20% of the book as to what is going on with Claire’s gender identity. All it says is that she is a girl who looks like a boy, but doesn’t go into detail beyond that. I was having a hard time understanding if Claire was supposed to be trans or not. Based on the “girl who looks like a boy” description, I actually thought that she was a trans girl at first. If it explained in the beginning that Claire was assigned female at birth but enjoyed dressing more “like a boy”, then the book would have been much easier to understand.
That is more or less a pretty minor issue, and I would have been able to overlook that, but basically every aspect of the book also kind of sucked. The plot was pretty much nonexistent. The majority of the book is just Claire’s therapy sessions, and there are very little character interactions or plot developments outside of that. The whole thing felt very preachy, more like you are reading a self help book than a fictional story. Considering this book promises found family tropes, the lack of character development was extremely disappointing.
Finally, the art style. It is… weird at best. The way that characters are shaded makes them look really off, their expressions are unrealistic and flat out creepy sometimes for no reason, and the added in doodles were often distracting from the storyline. Not to mention the fact that most of the characters all look the same. I was having a hard time distinguishing Claire, the literal main character, from the other male characters.
Overall, I was super disappointed in this and I don’t think I could recommend it to anyone.
jwinchell's review
3.0
I really liked the idea behind this story— a gender nonconformity teen in the 1980s goes on a bender and gets sentenced to rehab. The drama of rehab felt real because this also echoes the author’s experience. But the art! There were entire pages I didn’t understand. There were facial expressions I didn’t understand. The main character looked like other characters so I couldn’t tell who was who. It was a confusing read. But kudos to the author illustrator putting this important story out there. It needed help with execution.
sokkaspoon's review
challenging
emotional
hopeful
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Alcoholism, Bullying, Alcohol, Child abuse, Emotional abuse, Death, Transphobia, Addiction, Homophobia, and Mental illness
bookstobarbells's review
I feel like I can’t give this a rating because of how personal and intense this book was. I think I expected this to be a little more uplifting or hopeful, and it was in some ways, but it was really heavy as well. I really liked the illustrations and the way the pages really captured emotions.
lanceland's review
challenging
dark
emotional
funny
hopeful
informative
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? Yes
4.25
nsnyder22's review
4.0
Set in the 1980s, Claire cannot even walk down the street without strangers asking if they are a boy or a girl. Bullied and harassed by classmates and family, they have a drink to cope with the questions. Soon it turns into another drink and another and another until they end up in a court-ordered rehab with a cast of characters determined to understand and finally uplift Claire. This graphic novel doesn't pull any punches. The issues are hard and real but the jokes also light and funny. I really appreciated how no matter how fiercely people bullied Claire, they had friends standing up for them with the same ferocity. A great book for insight to a queer teen life and how nonacceptance can lead teens into a drug of choice but also how empathy can give that same teen the agency to be who they are.