A Rotten Girl

Satire about marginalized books isn't exactly new, and in many ways A Rotten Girl almost feels inevitable. But Topaz does an excellent job setting this story apart. Pearl is a trans woman who, in an attempt to achieve mainstream success, poses as a cisgender gay man to write a trashy M/M romance targeted at straight women. She's a fairly unlikeable protagonist, willing to go to extreme lengths at the expense of her gay trans roommate Pippin and her girlfriend Barbs, but her motivations are ultimately fairly relatable.

It helps that the writing is consistently a blast: relentlessly quotable, with nearly every single paragraph having at least one standout line. From exerpts from Pearl's novel, to pointed (and fairly) accurate depictions of the horrors of being an online trans woman, Topaz's writing is incredibly sharp, balancing both humor and commentary excellently.

My only major complaint is that some character development, particularly in regards to Pearl's relationship with Barbs, felt a little rushed and contrived. I would have loved to see more justification for Pearl's decision not to be upfront with both Barbs and Pippin, and neither characters' relationship with Pearl felt like it ended on a satisfying note.

A Rotten Girl is an absolute blast to read. But more than that, it's an excellently written piece of satire, that manages to cram quite a bit of layered commentary into a short (but sweet) package. Definitely worth a read, I loved this one quite a bit.