Sunset Springs by Kacen Callender
A big deal breaker for this book for me was the constant homophobia, transphobia and racism. I’m so tired of queer books being depressing. Yes, there’s a time and place for these types of stories, but it doesn’t feel right for a book with a cartoon cover – you know?
I summed up my feelings about this book perfectly in my review: “My biggest issue with this book was the main character Charlie. He is a black trans man, which is great representation, but my god was he irritating. He claims to not judge people yet he decides that every single white person he sees is a raging racist, homophobic, transphobe despite them being strangers. I get why this would be part of this story but it seemed to be the main plot. It was pretty much mentioned in every single chapter and it got old very quickly. I’m not trying to diminish these problems at all, they’re important to discuss but assuming these things about everyone makes you just as bad as them if they were prejudiced people. It’s just a different kind of prejudice.”
I enjoyed a different read by Kacen Callender, so I was quite disappointed to dislike this one so much.
Synopsis: No job, no money, no love – and to make things worse, 27-year-old Charlie has no choice but to leave New York City and move in with his mom in his isolated and conservative hometown of Sunset Springs.
Home isn’t a comfortable place for Charlie. One of very few Black residents and the only trans person around town that he knows of, this will be Charlie’s first time back in Sunset Springs since he transitioned. He expects confusion and maybe even hostility. He definitely does not expect Jackson Ford.
Jack was the brooding yet beloved football star at their high school, but now, he’s an outsider after coming out as gay. When Charlie and Jackson fall for each other in a swift and surprising romance, Charlie has to decide if he’s willing to exchange his old dreams for a new one.
The Frontier by Alessio Fioriniello & Jacopo Paliaga
Fun fact about my review of this graphic novel: an anonymous commenter (which I no longer allow) called me a bigot because I said racism is bad. Yes, that actually happened. There’s only one person of colour in the entire graphic novel and everyone is racist to her constantly – she’s only ever referred to by her ethnicity. Also, apparently I don’t understand the nuances of manga because I actually expected something to happen in the 224 pages of this graphic novel.
Anyway, I hated this graphic novel. It was boring, women were nothing but sexual objects or something to disregard.
This had very high reviews when it was published but I’ve seen the other instalments haven’t been translated from French so this possibly didn’t do as well as I originally thought. Which I can’t say I’m sad about. I’m actually not surprised.
Synopsis: When the storm struck, it sowed death across the land. It soon spread to the four corners of the Earth, racking up victims and changing the face of the world forever. For the worse, in the eyes of most. For the better, in the eyes of some. All that stood between mankind and total destruction was a small band of outlaws. They were called… The Frontier.
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Like this post? Why not read this one too: The Best Of: Books I’ve Rated Five Stars #11