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A review by theliteraryteapot
Le bleu ne va pas à tous les garçons by George M. Johnson
hopeful
informative
tense
3.5
I liked it but not as much as I thought I would. It's important to tell these stories and if it helps even just one person then the job is done, as the author said in the epilogue. Also it's young adult and the writing is very accessible. Be aware that there are many trigger warnings as the book tells about the traumas the author went through; trauma after trauma after trauma. So I can't say it's a pleasant read, it's sad and depressing. But this story matters and deserves to be heard.
I'll only add that I read a French translation and the French publishing house really need to do a better job because this translation lacked professionalism: missing words, weird sentences that seemed to be translated from google translate or deepl, lack of proof-reading and corrections from the editor... So annoying and preventing from enjoying reading the book. Also, not sure who the translator is but since there are frequent use of slurs, maybe go for an ownvoice translation? (something that I talked about with a publisher last year and how it was important, so that means /some/ publishers in French-speaking countries can and make the effort).
I'll only add that I read a French translation and the French publishing house really need to do a better job because this translation lacked professionalism: missing words, weird sentences that seemed to be translated from google translate or deepl, lack of proof-reading and corrections from the editor... So annoying and preventing from enjoying reading the book. Also, not sure who the translator is but since there are frequent use of slurs, maybe go for an ownvoice translation? (something that I talked about with a publisher last year and how it was important, so that means /some/ publishers in French-speaking countries can and make the effort).