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psistillreadyou's review against another edition
4.5
Graphic: Homophobia, Incest, Racial slurs, Racism, Sexual assault, and Sexual content
Moderate: Cancer
Minor: Alcoholism, Deadnaming, Drug abuse, Mental illness, Transphobia, Police brutality, and Outing
lacey_wi's review against another edition
4.5
Graphic: Sexual assault, Sexual content, and Sexual harassment
Moderate: Bullying, Cancer, Cursing, Death, Hate crime, Homophobia, Incest, Racial slurs, Racism, Rape, Sexual content, Slavery, Police brutality, Grief, Outing, Cultural appropriation, Alcohol, and Dysphoria
Minor: Deadnaming, Transphobia, and Colonisation
deadeye's review against another edition
4.25
Graphic: Cursing, Deadnaming, Death, Hate crime, Homophobia, Incest, Racial slurs, Racism, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Transphobia, Violence, and Grief
Moderate: Dysphoria
Minor: Drug use, Misogyny, Police brutality, Medical content, Medical trauma, Outing, and Alcohol
katsbooks's review against another edition
4.5
"Navigating in a space that questions your humanity isn't really living at all. It's existing. We all deserve more than just the ability to exist."
"American history is truly the greatest fable ever written."
"Knowledge is your sharpest weapon in a world that is hell-bent on telling you stories that are simply not true."
I always feel weird rating memoirs so take my star rating with a grain of salt. The strangeness lies in giving a star rating to someone's life. Like, how can I do that? So my rating is mostly based on social content and writing style.
I loved a lot of things about this book. I really like that it is written in a way that is accessible to teenagers. It is clear and concise in it's messaging while also being personal and impactful. It also doesn't shy away from tough topics. The author often addresses the sentiment that he wants this book to serve as an example of queer, Black human existing and thriving as a full human with a lifetime of positive and negative experiences. I especially appreciated the chapters on his school experiences. As an educator, it's always good to hear students have experienced the school system.
My only major critique is that tone of the writing felt... immature? I'm not sure if that's the verbiage I want to use but I got the feeling sometimes that I was reading an essay from one of my high school students. That being said, though, it's meant for high school students so I can definitely understand if that was done on purpose.
Graphic: Misogyny, Racism, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Violence, Police brutality, and Dysphoria
Moderate: Bullying, Deadnaming, Racial slurs, and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Addiction, Cursing, Death, Drug use, Terminal illness, Transphobia, Outing, and Alcohol
anna_l's review against another edition
4.25
Graphic: Cancer, Child abuse, Deadnaming, Death, Hate crime, Homophobia, Incest, Mental illness, Racial slurs, Racism, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Transphobia, Medical content, Grief, Medical trauma, Murder, and Outing
Moderate: Drug use, Police brutality, and Alcohol
skudiklier's review against another edition
3.75
Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Bullying, Cancer, Cursing, Deadnaming, Death, Hate crime, Homophobia, Incest, Pedophilia, Racial slurs, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Terminal illness, Grief, Murder, and Outing
Moderate: Racism, Violence, and Police brutality
Minor: Fatphobia
sweetmusic22's review against another edition
5.0
Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Bullying, Death, Incest, Racial slurs, Rape, Police brutality, and Grief
Moderate: Homophobia and Racism
I've heard a lot of great things about this book. There are very few memoirs that I like to read. This was one of them. I loved how George talked about his own lived experience of what it's like to be a black gay man. He explores gender identity, family bonding, brotherhood, toxic masculinity, intersectionality, consent, black-joy, and marginalization, all in a series of essays. I think this is a great book (not just for teens) but for anybody who wants to learn how to be better allies, not just for the black community, but the LGHBTQ+ community too.