#QueerLitLoft

It’s not often I’m still on the fence by the time I’ve reached the end of a book; I either love it, like it or neither of those. Transitioning Home however has left me rather flummoxed as to how I feel about the story overall.

On the one hand I love that this is a piece of own voices writing, and I can understand/see where the author was aiming to go with the overall story. An aspiration which was the main driver for my choosing to read this particular book in the first place.

The plot is intensely focused on Thomas’ gender dysphoria journey and his journey to become Emily having been injured in the line of duty. It’s a comprehensive depiction of the strife and triumphs that I imagine many transgender individuals go through in order to become their true selves.

And whilst I can commend the book overall for sharing such a detailed insight with the wider world, the other aspects of what makes up a great story appear to have been an afterthought and are therefore quite clunky in their execution. At times the author appears to show the struggle Thomas has with exploring/accepting his gender by utilizing a mix of male and female pronouns within the same sentence. However on the page this is really difficult to read, and often left me having to re-read sections more than once to decipher what was happening.

At times the book felt quite auto-biographical, in so much as there was very little in the way of a ‘story’. Some of the labels/terms/perspectives referred to may also be construed as outdated by some readers; they aren’t necessarily words that I myself have seen commonly within the trans community. I also found Thomas’ transition to becoming Emily happened rather easily with very few common barriers such as time or cost being portrayed as an issue. Thomas is also characterized as being able ‘to pass’ straight away, which again I imagine may not ring true for the majority of people who share similar a experience.

Overall whilst I can respect the concept/intention behind Transitioning Home, the story just didn’t really hit the spot I was expecting it to. And whilst I don’t feel it was a complete waste of time, it’s also not something I could see myself choosing to re-read. I do wish the author had properly embedded Thomas’ transition into a wider, more complete story arc as I feel sure this would have benefitted a readers experience.

I received an ARC of this book for review from Bold Strokes Books via NetGalley, in exchange for an honest review.

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