Scan barcode
sappho's reviews
148 reviews
Socialism . . . Seriously: A Brief Guide to Human Liberation by Danny Katch
informative
lighthearted
fast-paced
4.5
Simple and educational! Some parts were painfully 2014, but so it goes.
Things Have Gotten Worse Since We Last Spoke by Eric LaRocca
did she eat that fucking tapeworm like the mama rabbit ate her babies. is that what did her in. Jesus Christ.
I guess this book makes me feel good about myself in that… I’ve had unhealthy online relationships and I’ve talked myself into thinking I was the bad guy and I’ve wanted to go running back to apologize like Agnes did. But I’m proud of not having this .. paucity of mental fortitude good god. I’ll suspend my disbelief for a lot of writing styles if I like them enough, but this one was awfully flowery for texts and emails! And the pace at which things escalate (speaking as an dyke) is honestly just unrealistic even for someone as desperate as Agnes. Gross out stuff was not really my thing, and I feel like I can ease my mind about it a little bit if I chalk it all up to shock value instead of a coherent narrative. Why all the dead animals and babies and shit. Fucking hell. Not for me love AND light.
dark
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
I guess this book makes me feel good about myself in that… I’ve had unhealthy online relationships and I’ve talked myself into thinking I was the bad guy and I’ve wanted to go running back to apologize like Agnes did. But I’m proud of not having this .. paucity of mental fortitude good god. I’ll suspend my disbelief for a lot of writing styles if I like them enough, but this one was awfully flowery for texts and emails! And the pace at which things escalate (speaking as an dyke) is honestly just unrealistic even for someone as desperate as Agnes. Gross out stuff was not really my thing, and I feel like I can ease my mind about it a little bit if I chalk it all up to shock value instead of a coherent narrative. Why all the dead animals and babies and shit. Fucking hell. Not for me love AND light.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Child death, and Toxic relationship
Moderate: Pregnancy
Minor: Lesbophobia
The Awesome Autistic Guide for Trans Teens by Yenn Purkis, Sam Rose
3.0
Very basic to me but maybe it's helpful for the younger people to whom it's actually targeted? Felt like the style was geared towards middleschoolers at best.
This is minor but allistic is what you call non-autistic people (whether or not they are also otherwise neurodivergent) and I thought it was funny that they omitted this. Could've used a few more transfemme examples but again idk.
I'm reviewing an ARC from NetGalley (thank you!) so take everything that I say with a grain of salt. I can see this being helpful for younger autistic trans people, so my library is likely to acquire this.
This is minor but allistic is what you call non-autistic people (whether or not they are also otherwise neurodivergent) and I thought it was funny that they omitted this. Could've used a few more transfemme examples but again idk.
I'm reviewing an ARC from NetGalley (thank you!) so take everything that I say with a grain of salt. I can see this being helpful for younger autistic trans people, so my library is likely to acquire this.
Heart Takes the Stage by Steenz
4.25
This is a pretty cute newspaper comic! Personally I prefer to read strips like this in the typical 4x1 format rather than 2x2, but with how much the Big Nate books get checked out at my library, I think most people prefer how convenient this size of book is to hold. The tiny little Gargoyles arc was pretty funny, there's some deep cuts for the nerdy readers around, and I think the protest arc will be really important for kids to see!
I Kissed Shara Wheeler by Casey McQuiston
adventurous
funny
medium-paced
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
THIS WAS SO CUTE AND FUN big moment for dykes of evangelical experience also
congrats on the gender, smith, that was honestly such a nice surprise for it
Lifetime Passes by Terry Blas, Claudia Aguirre
dark
funny
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
This book was INSANE I loved it!!! I wish I had a tenth of the swag that Phyllis does. Some of the older ARC reviews say they got their copies in black and white, which is such a shame because I feel like the colors were such a high point in this novel. They just popped off the page! My jaw hit the floor in the final act, masterful use of that Chekov’s gun. Absolutely recommend to anyone!
The Ex-Girlfriend of My Ex-Girlfriend is My Girlfriend: Advice on Queer Dating, Love, and Friendship by Maddy Court
funny
informative
medium-paced
4.5
So much fun!!! I loved reading all the good advice and hot goss, and I was pleasantly surprised by the advice for nonbinary lesbians. If there hadn’t been any trans advice at all I would have found it weird, definitely found both the transfemme and transmasc input to be thoughtful and helpful!
Something That May Shock and Discredit You by Daniel M. Lavery
funny
reflective
slow-paced
5.0
The definitive book for transmascs of evangelical experience. I’ve highlighted more passages in this book than perhaps all other books I’ve read put together! I think it’s wonderful and while I do think some of the pop culture essays are laborious, this book has had too profound an effect on me to rate it less than five stars.
Manhunt by Gretchen Felker-Martin
challenging
dark
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa
>trans twitter users surviving 2018’s zombie apocalypse inherently comic for such a gross novel. will this book age strangely? love and light.
>everyone has such a perfect name for their characters. Beth. Fran. Robbie. Sophie. Indi. Ramona. It’s perfect it’s not too much and it’s not too little.
>very gross very nasty will be haunting me not just for fried testicles but for questions about community and violence and how to not be a coward.
>strengthened a lot of my core beliefs, this is going to be a book i think about for a long time. also "what if the manhunt apocalypse happens tomorrow" will be a recurring stress fantasy for me i can tell.
by the time i got to the fran/ramona sex scene i started feeling like "this is an unrealistic amount of sex scenes to include in a book do we really have to do this again" but the more i thought about it, the more i realized how necessary each sex scene was to the characters and to the plot of the book. that one especially for totally hammering home exactly why beth is right to not trust ramona even after she got a bullet through her brain for the girls.
ALSO WHEN FRAN DIED AND IT TURNED OUT TEACH AND BETH WERE SISTERS I LOST MY FUCKING MIND maybe im reading into that conversation about them being sisters but how else would she know her deadname.
>trans twitter users surviving 2018’s zombie apocalypse inherently comic for such a gross novel. will this book age strangely? love and light.
>everyone has such a perfect name for their characters. Beth. Fran. Robbie. Sophie. Indi. Ramona. It’s perfect it’s not too much and it’s not too little.
>very gross very nasty will be haunting me not just for fried testicles but for questions about community and violence and how to not be a coward.
>strengthened a lot of my core beliefs, this is going to be a book i think about for a long time. also "what if the manhunt apocalypse happens tomorrow" will be a recurring stress fantasy for me i can tell.
by the time i got to the fran/ramona sex scene i started feeling like "this is an unrealistic amount of sex scenes to include in a book do we really have to do this again" but the more i thought about it, the more i realized how necessary each sex scene was to the characters and to the plot of the book. that one especially for totally hammering home exactly why beth is right to not trust ramona even after she got a bullet through her brain for the girls.
ALSO WHEN FRAN DIED AND IT TURNED OUT TEACH AND BETH WERE SISTERS I LOST MY FUCKING MIND maybe im reading into that conversation about them being sisters but how else would she know her deadname.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Rape, Transphobia, Violence, Trafficking, and War
Moderate: Fatphobia, Vomit, and Pregnancy
Crowded, Vol. 3 by Ted Brandt, Christopher Sebela
adventurous
tense
fast-paced
4.5
WONDERFUL comic sexy women that ambiguous ending frustrated me but overall would recommend.