If I Was Your Girl in Book Riot's Read Harder Challenge

Mar 17, 2021 Shannon rated it liked it

Shelves: 2021_read_harder

Read harder 2021: romance by trans or non-binary author

I listened to the first dozen or so chapters of this book and then finished it via ebook. I liked the way it let us into the mind of Amanda and the way flashbacks told us about her life before her move to live with her dad. I liked seeing Amanda’s joy at finding friends and even love in a new town, but I thought the ending was a bit optimistic. I also didn’t like the unrelentingly negative take on the South. It felt especially harsh and bia ...more

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Dec 16, 2017 Kristen rated it it was amazing

Everyone needs to read this book. Everyone. I know the author said she wrote it with a mind to help cisgender readers understand more easily what Amanda and other trans people go through, and that her story is not gospel truth. It's still a book everyone needs to read. And then I hope it will inspire other trans authors write books as well, either their memoirs or novels that show a more realistic experience. These are things we need to understand. This is a start.

Also, if you are a trans person ...more

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Jun 06, 2016 Molly rated it really liked it

Shelves: borrowed, recommended, 4-stars, realistic-fiction, fya-finds, book-riot-finds, read-in-2016, read-harder-2016, summer-2016, irc-2016

This reminds me a bit of Exit, Pursued by a Bear -- it's one girl's story, one girl's experience, not a how-to guide or dogmatic statement. And the author's note allows that she did place Amanda in a bit of an idealized situation in order to tell the story she wanted to tell. Amanda starts hormones pretty early, is able to get complete transition surgery, and passes as a girl pretty effortlessly. That's certainly not every trans person's experience, which Russo acknowledges. I have to wonder if This reminds me a bit of Exit, Pursued by a Bear -- it's one girl's story, one girl's experience, not a how-to guide or dogmatic statement. And the author's note allows that she did place Amanda in a bit of an idealized situation in order to tell the story she wanted to tell. Amanda starts hormones pretty early, is able to get complete transition surgery, and passes as a girl pretty effortlessly. That's certainly not every trans person's experience, which Russo acknowledges. I have to wonder if it's wish fulfillment, or presenting the notion that it does get better, or trying to prove that even if someone has all of those advantages, she still has doubts. Or maybe some combination.

Russo does include flashbacks to Amanda's past, before and during her transition, though the main story takes place during the fall of her senior year at a new high school. And it feels a teensy bit idealized (the flashbacks keep it from being completely sunshine and rainbows). Amanda lives in a small town in the south, but manages to find a group of friends almost instantly, begins dating a cute guy...it's almost *too* perfect. That's not to say Amanda isn't faced with obstacles, but I wish that either the reveal of her status as trans had come earlier, or that the book itself had simply been longer. There's not much time for denouement, and that part rang false. (view spoiler) But I wish Russo had explored the "after" a bit more.

Amanda herself also feels...if not flat, then sort of generic? It's not that you can't relate to her, because anyone can, but that's almost part of the problem? And again, that could be Russo's aim -- appealing to trans and cis readers? (Can you tell I'm having trouble articulating it?) Another reviewer I follow did an excellent job of explaining it -- just read Emily May's review!

In the end, this is absolutely an important book, even if the actual narrative itself is sort of unremarkable. The writing is great, and readable, and the teenagers sound like real teenagers, not clever quip-machines. And above all, it allows girls like Amanda to see themselves in fiction...possibly for the first time. I literally cannot imagine what that must feel like, to never see or read about a character who's just like you. So if nothing else, hopefully this book paves the way for other stories like it.

Read Harder Challenge #13: read a book by or about someone who identifies as transgender ...more

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