Get Both Sides Now Conceived By Peyton Thomas Readable In Paperback

did not read this book but i think it's really very funny that a notorious tumblr weirdo wrote and published thinlyveiled south park fanfiction.
I believe the influx of "queer" YA romance novels intended for women in theirss who refer to raphael's madonna del prato as "bible fan art" is the seventh seal being opened.


EDIT: I actually read this Augustas a capstone to my Peyton Thomas/beachdeath research and I was going to write a review of it, but I realized that I wouldn't be saying anything intelligent that other people haven't already

said.
It's truly one of the worst, most insufferable books I've ever read, There's one part where he randomly, completely out of nowhere name drops Rachel Corrie and talks about the IsraelPalestine crisis for literally no reason besides letting the reader know that Finch cares about social justice topics.
I'm not joking. It's literally like "I saw the photos of her bulldozed body and decided that, actually, I do have an opinion on the IsraelPalestine crisis," and then immediately cuts back to him talking to the BeBe standin about fucking High School Debate Club or something.
Like/of the book is just social justice posturing and yet it's still one of the most offensive books i've EVER read.
It was entertaining as a hateread with friends though,

Anyway, here's the drinking game i made halfway through reading it:

Both Sides Now drinking game
Take a sip every time:
georgetown/DC is mentioned
Finch says something to the effect of "bbbut im not.
. . gay kyaaa gt/lt boys can't like other boys!"
a south park/IASIP connection is discovered
Finch mentions that he's Irish
Peyton mentions a characters skin tone/color
Peyton makes a Reference
Takesips:
Whenever a character goes out of their way to explain to Finch how hard it is to be XYZ minority
Whenever Bailey Lundquist starts giving Woman, serving bitchy blonde romantic rival in teen movie,
Every time Nasir has dialogue of the "How do you do, fellow kids" variety
Take a looooooong sip/chug:
Every time Peyton uses the names of people involved in a horrific, reallife tragedy for no reason at all other than to make one of his characters seem politically conscious
CANADIAN SPOTTED
"Both Sides Now" by Peyton Thomas is a YA novel about Finch who desperately wants to win the National Speech amp Debate Tournament to receive a spot at his dream college in Washington, D.
C. , resulting in a historymaking career as the first trans congressman, Unfortunately, this year's debate topic hits quite close to home: transgender rights,

I have mixed feelings about this novel, I liked that it shows the struggles that Finch has to go through as a trans person whose parents do not have a lot of money, who have a lot of struggles themselves.
I think that's quite realistic for a lot of people,

But. . and believe me, I'm here for all trans books getting published, we needs tons and tons more of that, . .

I feel like a lot of books with trans characters portray them in a very similar way and it makes it seem like there's just "one way to be trans".
Not every trans person is able to afford or even wants to take hormones, wear a binder or go through some kind of surgery.
I wish that would have been reflected upon,

There's so much transphobia in this book, it's full of trans pain and that's an important part to show, but I just want to warn my fellow trans readers that this might be too much pain to handle.


There's also a lot of racism, some of it addressed, some left unaddressed, in this novel, The ignorant behaviour of the white main character and the stereotypical behaviour of characters of colour is something that cannot be ignored.


That's why I cannot recommend this book,

content warnings: queerphobia, transphobia, racism, toxic relationship, anxiety

bookish links: sitelinkinstagram / sitelinktiktok / sitelinktwitter "Even his sneakers are the color of a bruise.
"

The amount of times Peyton uses "crowed" and "swallowed" etc instead of just saying said, The fixation on eating/not eating and feeling sick and throwing up hello, The unbearable main character. And of course, the racism, It all comes together into something that really should have stayed on AO,

Some favorite moments:
Having a panic attack because you're so horny after the guy who just got dumped touches your foot.

Ripping the "romantic" head in lap moment straight from Mauriceas if no one would notice,
Again all of the racism which most people have commented on in their reviews
Ending the book with a comrade joke.

Wait you guys, Obama is BAD
The obsession with proving again and again to your teenage audience that you've read Capital in the Twenty First Century and Infinite Jest.

The way every little thing mentioned felt like Peyton forcing things in to cross them off of his list of "Things I have to mention to seem woke.
"
The embarrassing jokesiguess that are just references to other things that will not be relevant inyears and mostly weren't relevant now even.

The seven page long acknowledgement with mentions that makes you the easiest target for mockery in the world,
Rose pedals in coffee hello help can anyone hear me it's so dark in here h/stars, I am in love with this story and some of the things it represents

Thank you Penguin Teen for the arc through Netgalley in exchange for an honest review!

This was an amazing story, I loved every second of it and the debate aspect was really unique.
The story follows trans high schooler Finch, as he hopes to win the debate championship so he can get into Georgetown.
But he finds out that the subject for debate finals is trans students and bathrooms, which hits really close to home for him.
As he struggles with this, he also has to deal with family problems and potentially falling in love with his gay debate partner Jonah.
The story was constantly talking about / showing important topics, and handled it all very nicely in my opinion, It was hard to read at times and I think that's what makes it all the more special to me, it was impactful.


This book handles a lot of topics very effectively, especially because they use debate as a way to show all these problems within the world.
There is so much going on, and a lot of it is actually nuanced, Some are left up for interpretation for the reader but looking back I believe most of it was given good thought and explanation for how it is harmful.
The book characters deal with homophobia, racism in media, transphobia, struggling with selfidentity, transrights issues especially in bathrooms, family issues such as class amp money, struggling for your future, and bad relationships.


One of my favorite parts was how Finch and all the other high schoolers felt like real teens, too often I think stories try too hard.
Finch and his friends didn't go around talking about pop culture/, although they did talk about some lesserknown niche sort of things, they had real conversations and it was really nice.
They truly honestly felt like people I would hang out with or people that I would know, The best part about how they all felt like true teens, was that it turned out to be an outstanding character piece.
The backdrop of the things this book handles with the teens, really showed them confronting all of their flaws, In my opinion, it is super important to show teens stumbling and messing up because too often such high standards are placed on their shoulders.
They are still learning just like the rest of us, and making mistakes is part of their journey,

Finch and Jonah were both amazing and standout characters, I loved being able to hear their story, They kicked butt at debate every time they were up on the stage, and that was honestly so wonderful to see.
The romance slowly grew from friends to lovers, and it was great to see such a solid base of friendship between the two.
It made the payoff all the more emotional and satisfying, They always had each other's backs, and each time they interacted my heart beat a little faster, They're so amazing as friends and lovers and I was so happy to read their story,

Personally, this was such an impactful read for me and I was so in love with it through its entirety.
I didn't expect to enjoy the debate backdrop as much as I did, but it really allowed for certain ideas to shine through.
All of the characters felt very real and being able to see the progression of the romance made me so happy.
A mustread for anyone who loves contemporary and young adults, A stunning, brave portrayal of the ways in which surrounding yourself with people who refuse to criticise you will stunt not only your writing skills, but also your entire personality.
Book sucks though, I'm desperate for a good trans story but not THIS desperate didn't finish, .