Reviews tagging 'Drug use'

Nevada by Imogen Binnie

71 reviews

siebensommer's review against another edition

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4.25

there is this whole thing where rich young white people like maria colonise brooklyn history because in these messed up postmodern times, everyone is desperate for something real. and what’s realer than the dodgers and new york judaism and rap music? the problem is that when they say real people, what they mean is people who aren’t burdened with ironic senses of humour, college educations that help them put up an analytical barrier between themselves and the actual world and the pressure of living with the reality that they all grew up middle class, chose a broke ass bohemian life, and now have to deal with the factual they can’t afford the comforts they grew up with. 

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cronasbookshelf's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional funny reflective medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

i think the book is okay, i don't think it's awesome but i also don't think its a bad book. personally, the way the author writes makes it difficult for me to understand what the characters are saying out loud and what the characters are thinking in their minds. i didn't really get to love the main character, but i ended up liking james & steph more. i did like the way the author made maria speak about trans exclusion inside the trans community and the fact that the queer community as a whole isn't this wonderful place all the time, there's also still lots of hatred inside of it, and we have to continue to change that

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courtneyfalling's review against another edition

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emotional reflective tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

This isn't a perfect book but I absolutely love it in all its imperfections. Such a vivid character study of Maria across her life in NYC and toward James. The book spends much longer in NYC just in Maria's life for what I expected with the blurb, but I deeply enjoyed all of it and think about certain sections all the time.

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vi_frt's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional inspiring reflective fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

This book is as intense as its main (anti)heroine and narration. Almost more of an internal monologue than a narration per se, Nevada breaks expectations with its gripping and unrelenting account of what it is to be a trans woman in America. 

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o3tri's review against another edition

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adventurous informative reflective medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.0

A charming novel. The book really shines when the MC is talking about the neuances and complexities of being a trans woman and the trans feminine experience, but it also all falls flat when Maria talks about trans men and transmasculine experiences, sometimes just plain shitting on them, sometimes just stating things that are simply factually incorrect. Now I read books where main characters have questionable views all the time, that's not my issue, but here at least to me it seems like these aren't just presented as the character's biased opinions, but as objective truth and Maria and some other characters are used as vessels for the author to lay down her own views on the page. I felt the need to point this out and critisize it especially because I've seen this book recommended a few times over the years, none of those times was this even mentioned or acknowledged in any way. I went into this book thinking I was going to read a literary novel about a trans woman and a commentary on the neuances and complexities of gender and transitioning in American society and I did get that out of it but I also got to read a book that too often shits on transmasculine people and gives matter of fact statements that are objectively and factually wrong. Only in some reviews here and on goodreads I saw these problems with the book acknowledged.

Some stuff that irked me but not too much:
 -the overuse of the word bohemian or rather describing random stuff as bohemian even if it was ironic, it was done kinda sloppily
 -with this type of character and novel there needs to be a certain degree of irony and self awareness that I felt weren't present enough

other than that the book was a mostly pleasant experience to go through

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serenspace's review against another edition

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adventurous reflective fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0


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atomicbritt's review against another edition

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challenging reflective medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.5


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sofipitch's review against another edition

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funny reflective medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.5

Normally I'm not a huge fan of stream of consciousness writing style, and idk if this fits that definition exactly but I really enjoyed this book. The voice of the book is distinct, my only complaint would be the voice seems distinct for Maria at the beginning, as we get other POVs they all talk the same, but whatever. I looked at other reviews and some ppl hate the ending, but I think ending with no big epiphany is interesting, sometimes there is no clear "lesson" or the first thing you do isn't going to fix everything in your life 

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libbyluvr's review against another edition

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funny hopeful informative reflective medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.25

these are maybe some of the most real characters I’ve ever read. definitely up in the top 10— all of them were so different, even when they were similar; that made it such a fun journey. not to mention, imogen binnie  is great at making every bit of word salad into a beautifully plated meal. her stream-of-consciousness writing is one she dips in and out of so effortlessly, and I ate it up big time! when it’s done well, I love it, and this was done more than just well 

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adragoninspace's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging funny inspiring reflective sad slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75


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