I opened this book maybe 50 minutes ago and only put it down because I turned the last page. I absolutely adored the journey that reading this took me through and am incredibly happy that this book exists. Maia Kobabe is such a talented storyteller. E made me tear up in recognition at least 4 times even as I quickly tore through the book.  The art was perfect with the tone of the story and really added to my experience. The way E flowed from topic to topic and anecdote to anecdote was very smooth and natural and made me feel like I was listening to em speak rather than just reading. Overall one of my favourite books I've read this year if not a top book in general!

A really lovely memoir and reflection on gender identity and sexuality. I loved the family relationships.

The ending felt like it needed another beat or two; I actually thought I was missing a few pages.

It ended rather abrupltly, that was jarring. It felt very immersive otherwise. It was a very honest account of eir experiences. Some of the scenes were very disturbing in it's graphic depiction of undergoing a trauma on the body. That was difficult to read.

Informativo e interesante, pero algo all over the place para mi gusto.
Me hizo pensar en cómo me gustaría criar chilpayates

This was such an interesting way to take in a memoir. I loved Maia’s style of writing and art. My only thing was at times the narrative seemed disjointed. I can’t tell if that’s usually how memoirs are or if it’s because it’s in this graphic novel style. But overall eir story is going to be so helpful to many.

I will say, if you have any uncomfortability or traumas around Papsmears I would caution you that there are details about 2 traumatic experiences for the author. 

toujours chouette d'avoir des autobiographies de personnes trans, encore + de personnes non-binaires!!

et j'ai adoré le format BD/roman graphique découpé.e en minies tranches de vie, ça se lit tout seul et les dessins sont chouettes
c'est aussi grave cool que l'auteurice ait eu son enfance/adolescence dans les années 90/2000, ça change des vécus récents
bref je conseille!

juste à prendre en compte : l'auteurice vient d'un milieu très ouvert/de gauche (+ j'ai l'impression assez aisé), ce qui a carrément facilité sa découverte de tout ça

I've seen this book in multiple places advertised as the most banned (or one of the most banned books) since it was published. I decided I wanted to see what it was about. 

 

To start, I did not realize this was a graphic novel. That made it much easier to read and also somewhat understandable as to why some adults felt the need to ban it. Graphic novels are often confused for children's books and this is not for children. There is nudity as well as explicit mentions of sex and periods. However, this would be very helpful for teenagers and young adults also struggling with their gender identity. I think Maia does a great job of explaining how their gender has felt like a balancing act and even illustrating the more complex feelings about it, as well as the additional confusion around sexuality that comes with a fluid gender. I found the ending a bit abrupt, but I understand that, like any identity, it is forever evolving, so that is not really the end. This is simply a chronicle that Maia has published to help others understand what growing up gender queer is like and to create explicit gender queer representation in literature.