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enbylievable's reviews
532 reviews
Boy Meets Boy by David Levithan
3.0
The single transgender character in the book felt like a trope and was described as a drag queen at the end. Kyle's possible bisexuality was brushed off as him being "divided", as if it were not even a possibility for him. Would have very much liked to see a legitimate bisexual character fleshed out. Other than that, excellent read!
Gravity by Leanne Lieberman
2.0
Jewish representation: 3.5/10
Queer representation: 5/10
Unintentional autism representstion: 15/10
Even my goyish ass could tell that Wikipedia co-wrote this novel. However, I did enjoy some of the storytelling elements and it had it's moments. However, I had a very difficult time relating as a queer person; a lot of the representation seemed manufactured, not to mention potentially reinforcing the stereotype that queer people, specifically queer women, are inherently hypersexual beings.
I found many parts of this book very uncomfortable to read, specifically the graphic sexualization of minors (although it is by other minors.)
Interestingly enough, it became evident to me almost right away that Ellie is autistic! As an autistic person, I totally identified with her random infodumping and Special Interests (I also have aquariums and fishtanks as an SI). She gives tidbits of knowledge about her SI without prompt, she forms bonds and attachments incredibly quickly, and (one factor that I can unfortunately identify with very strongly) was manipulated and emotionally abused by someone she loved and was very attached to without knowing about it. Whether unintentional or not, Ellie is a great autistic character!
Queer representation: 5/10
Unintentional autism representstion: 15/10
Even my goyish ass could tell that Wikipedia co-wrote this novel. However, I did enjoy some of the storytelling elements and it had it's moments. However, I had a very difficult time relating as a queer person; a lot of the representation seemed manufactured, not to mention potentially reinforcing the stereotype that queer people, specifically queer women, are inherently hypersexual beings.
I found many parts of this book very uncomfortable to read, specifically the graphic sexualization of minors (although it is by other minors.)
Interestingly enough, it became evident to me almost right away that Ellie is autistic! As an autistic person, I totally identified with her random infodumping and Special Interests (I also have aquariums and fishtanks as an SI). She gives tidbits of knowledge about her SI without prompt, she forms bonds and attachments incredibly quickly, and (one factor that I can unfortunately identify with very strongly) was manipulated and emotionally abused by someone she loved and was very attached to without knowing about it. Whether unintentional or not, Ellie is a great autistic character!