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Elizabeth's Reviews > If I Was Your Girl
If I Was Your Girl
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I will start off by saying that I am a cis woman, and therefore my review is limited to my own experiences.
I love being a woman. It is a huge part of who I am, and I would be devastated if tomorrow someone told me I had to be a man because that's who I really was. My heart breaks for trans people when I think about the incredible amount of difficulties they face, simply for being themselves. And the amount of people who can't be themselves due to fear for their own safety.
As many more before me have said, this is a really important book. It's a debut, the writing is rather sweet, the story moves a bit too quickly, and many of the characters are one dimensional (I was nearly halfway through the book before I was finally able to differentiate between Layla, Anna, and Chloe). There is also a heavy dose of 'Murica (the promposal scene, the twangy, Southern dialect, and the religious undertones - Anna's parents having an "I can't help if I'm a homophobe, I was born that way! bumper sticker triggered me way too hard in regards to how freaked out I am by the vast amount of people who think this way in the states). Despite all that, the story itself is good and it is IMPORTANT and its sheer existence is necessary. I think this would be a particularly valuable novel for younger teens between the ages of 13-16.
Stand out moments for me were the relationship between Amanda and her parents, trying to be supportive while desperately fearing for their child's safety and ability to lead a "normal" life; as well as the confession scene between Amanda and Bee wherein Bee wonders what is okay for her to inquire about and Amanda tells her exactly what she doesn't want to be asked. This was super informative and really good to know! Parts of the novel are heart-wrenching, and I think so many people, regardless of gender or identity, would be able to take something away from this story.
I love being a woman. It is a huge part of who I am, and I would be devastated if tomorrow someone told me I had to be a man because that's who I really was. My heart breaks for trans people when I think about the incredible amount of difficulties they face, simply for being themselves. And the amount of people who can't be themselves due to fear for their own safety.
As many more before me have said, this is a really important book. It's a debut, the writing is rather sweet, the story moves a bit too quickly, and many of the characters are one dimensional (I was nearly halfway through the book before I was finally able to differentiate between Layla, Anna, and Chloe). There is also a heavy dose of 'Murica (the promposal scene, the twangy, Southern dialect, and the religious undertones - Anna's parents having an "I can't help if I'm a homophobe, I was born that way! bumper sticker triggered me way too hard in regards to how freaked out I am by the vast amount of people who think this way in the states). Despite all that, the story itself is good and it is IMPORTANT and its sheer existence is necessary. I think this would be a particularly valuable novel for younger teens between the ages of 13-16.
Stand out moments for me were the relationship between Amanda and her parents, trying to be supportive while desperately fearing for their child's safety and ability to lead a "normal" life; as well as the confession scene between Amanda and Bee wherein Bee wonders what is okay for her to inquire about and Amanda tells her exactly what she doesn't want to be asked. This was super informative and really good to know! Parts of the novel are heart-wrenching, and I think so many people, regardless of gender or identity, would be able to take something away from this story.
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Reading Progress
February 8, 2018
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Started Reading
February 8, 2018
– Shelved
February 8, 2018
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""Homophobes are super gay.”
“I guess that makes sense,” I said. “But wouldn’t that make the South—”
“The gayest place in the Western hemisphere?” Bee said. “Absolutely.”
Ho, ho, I bet this would make some 'Muricans mighty angry. ;)"
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“I guess that makes sense,” I said. “But wouldn’t that make the South—”
“The gayest place in the Western hemisphere?” Bee said. “Absolutely.”
Ho, ho, I bet this would make some 'Muricans mighty angry. ;)"
February 9, 2018
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Finished Reading
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Nina ✿ Looseleaf Reviews ✿
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Feb 09, 2018 12:33PM
Great review! I knew nothing about this book, but I’m really excited to read it now.
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Nina ✿ Looseleaf Reviews ✿ wrote: "Great review! I knew nothing about this book, but I’m really excited to read it now."Yay! Absolutely read it when you get a chance. :)
That bumper sticker. No one is born being prejudice or hateful. THAT is taught. Ugh.Anyway, great review! I've been curious about this book. I may give the audiobook a try.
I had to read this for my college children's literature class. it was amazing. I agree with you about the one dimensional characters, layla was only mentioned once and for my paper I had to listen characters, it was hard due to the fact that some characters had no backstory or dimension. played no role in the plot other than to "take up space", for lack of better words. glad you enjoyed it though!
Amber ☾♥ wrote: "That bumper sticker. No one is born being prejudice or hateful. THAT is taught. Ugh.Anyway, great review! I've been curious about this book. I may give the audiobook a try."
EXACTLY. Well said.
Jena wrote: "I had to read this for my college children's literature class. it was amazing. I agree with you about the one dimensional characters, layla was only mentioned once and for my paper I had to listen ..."Yeah, it's a debut novel, what can ya do. I think she has serious potential as an author though - I'll definitely keep an eye out for her next book!
