Rating: 5 Stars Themes: Memoir Thoughts: I’ve never read a memoir formatted quite like this before with each paragraph being titled with and in response to some form of quote said to or about Alabanza. I found it extremely enlightening as Alabanza discusses not only his gender identity but also his sexuality and race and the way in which they intersect which I hadn’t seen in the last gender identity memoir I’d read. It was interesting to see him acknowledge both the prejudice and discrimination his race caused while still acknowledging the privilege he has being lighter skinned compared to those gender non-conforming darker skinned peers he has. I liked that the book addresses both the joys of his identity and community as well as the negatives and traumas that can come alongside it which shows the recurring theme with the burger attack mentioned in the prologue. Overall, this is a seriously enlightening book that everyone should read to learn about gender non-conforming people, especi...
Rating: 5 Stars Themes: Non-Fiction, LGBTQ+, Own Voices Thoughts: This is a really interesting collection of stories that shows the diversity in being trans, there are stories of happiness and hope alongside the harsh reality that can be faced socially or medically transitioning. I really enjoyed the insight into another part of the LGBTQ+ community from a broad lens as I don’t have these experiences but love learning more so I can better understand (although it is NOT the job of minorities to educate us, own voices resources like this are so important). I would have liked to have seen a little more on intersectionality as race and disability also impact the way different trans people are treated differently but I get that it’s competition winners so JKP couldn’t control who entered/won and published what they had to hand. This one is really worth a read, it's quick but really enlightening. Favourite Quote: “We are everywhere and yes, we are changing the fabric of society, b...