I opened this book not really know what to expect, and trying to be open minded. The story I encountered was so rich, beautiful, transformative, and interesting I didn't knew what hit me. I instantly connected with the wry and insightful voice of the main character and was deeply invested in her story from the second or third page. The ways the characters support and undermine each other felt so authentic and genuine. There are incredibly funny moments, and painful moments. The amazing thing is that both the hilarity and the pain feel completely like an authentic window into real life. Nothing feels contrived here. Plett brings a rare clarity and vision in the character and plot development that swept me away. I lived in this world in my heart and mind, long after the last page was finished. I think about the characters often and hope they are doing okay. I believe they are. I believe in them.

Thanks to #netgalley for the free digital ARC so I could review this, and many thanks to Casey Plett for writing such a tender, beautiful, incisive commentary on modern life.

I received this audiobook from Netgalley in exchange of an honest review. HUGE THANKS to Netgalley & the publisher, I listened to a big chunk of it and honestly I was confused. I’m used to audiobooks but something about this one had me so confused. I had to stop listening because I couldn’t tell the characters apart or what was happening. I will pick up the book because the story really intrigued me but I was just too confused to continue it on this format.

Wendy is a trans woman living in Winnipeg, Canada. She has her circle of LGBTQ+ friends many of whom are dealing with the messiness with life as trans people. Amongst their group, they experience substance abuse, suicide and sex-work. Wendy discovers evidence that her grandfather may also have been transgender. Wendy pokes into her family's past to see if she can find out the truth about her grandfather, all while dealing with the realities of her own life as a trans woman.

This was a powerful read. It really opened a window allowing the reader to peer into the life of a trans woman. The book was dark at times but at others very endearing. Wendy as a character is a complex human with her fair share of problems but the desire to make the best of her life and discover who she really is. The book is filled with conversations between Wendy and her circle. The dialogue is richly developed and really helps drive the novel.

Beautiful, honest, and written with a memorable voice. The protagonist is very endearing. Plett is one of Canada’s must-read authors IMO.

I got an ARC of this audiobook.

I don’t even really know where to start with this book. There were times I was laughing so hard I had to pause it. There were times that I was lost and couldn’t follow. There were times where I was concerned. I had a lot of feelings about this one.

I loved this and hated it. When I was loving it, I was LOVING it. I was so into the characters, I wanted to know every detail. I wanted to be their friend. I wanted them to find love and peace. I loved that there was not an easy story. It felt more real that things just sort of happened and that the characters didn’t always have the choice of making choices. At one point one of the girls even said that she didn’t feel like she had choices any more. When you are trans, about to be homeless, and fired, you really don’t have many choices. You survive. This really was a book about survival and found family.

What I didn’t like was just how much transphobia there was and just how many sex scenes there were. The tranphobia was often triggering and intense. At times it felt like it fit and was needed, but there was just so much that I often found myself annoyed. Trans people have lives outside of being bashed. I wanted to see more depth than just being trans is hard. The sex scenes were a lot. This mostly was an issue, because I was listening at work and the characters were not exactly demure. There were lots of slang and intense scenes. It was not something my coworkers were expecting to come out of my office. So maybe don’t listen to this when you are at work.

The narrator didn’t really do a good job differentiating between voices and narration. Everyone has the same voice, the dialogue was often stilted too. I am not sure if the writing made it like this or if it was the narrator (or a combination of the two). The narration also did not help to differentiate between flashbacks and current time. It was a bit jarring at first. Most of the times I was lost was because I didn’t know it was a flashback.

If you want a slice of life missed with a dark drama, then this is for you. The main plot in the description is so minor of a plot that it doesn’t do this book justice. I am really torn between loving this and just never wanting to talk about it again. It is both a great book and focuses so much on the only acceptable trans plots that I am just sitting here confused at how I feel. Considering me interested in Plett’s next book.

Ugh. I need to check myself into detox just from reading about all the alcohol consumption in this book. Every f..d up thing that can happen to a trans woman, and every f...d up life choice a twenty something person can make happens to Wendy in a four week span. Was this written as a warning against pursuing gender transition? Seemed that way by the end. Tedious.

One of the few #netgalley ARCs that hasn’t worked for me.

This story was touching, painful, and gorgeous. I loved learning about Wendy's life and experiences, and I was so comforted by the close-knit treasure of her all trans woman friend group. We got to see them experience hardship together while always having each other as support, and I think that took this book to another level, bringing joy even in dark moments. But this is still a harrowing book that emphasizes a daily and very real struggle amongst alcoholism, sex work, strained familial ties, sexuality, and religion. at times the story dragged a bit under the constant mentions of drinking, but I think the overarching message made up for those slow moments by the end. I loved this book, and I can't recommend it enough!

Wow. This was a thought-provoking, hard-hitting book. It features a transwoman named Wendy and her close-knit group of friends who are also transwomen. The novel is very much a slice of life over a few tumultuous months. The thing about her Grandpa maybe also being trans that the book blurb talked about was much less of a plot point than I expected it to be, but there was still so much daily-life going on that I didn’t feel like this novel needed anything else.

I listened to the audiobook version and the narrator, A. Almeida, was very good. Occasionally it was hard to discern which character was talking but overall I thought their pacing, pronunciation, and intonation was very easy to understand and pleasant to listen to.

I enjoyed this book! I had been wanting to read it for over a year, so it was great to be able to listen to it as an audiobook. The narrator was new to me and I liked them, though it felt a bit odd that they didn’t do accents for the few characters with accents. That was a pretty minor thing, though. Overall a good read (listen) and I look forward to more novels by Casey Plett.