enbylievable's reviews
534 reviews

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!

Truly inspirational. Ivan Coyote delivers another hilarious insight into their life as a genderqueer individual and there is so much about this book that I see myself in. An amazing and funny read that I would recommend to anyone who is themselves genderqueer or looking to enjoy a well-written genderqueer narrative from an amazing Canadian author.