Lakelore
Ratings9
Average rating4.3
I picked this up for the Trans Rights Readathon (running on all bookish social media near you from March 20-27, 2023) and I absolutely loved it. A beautifully crafted story of 2 non binary teens who find each other despite feeling like they don't belong anywhere. It's also about the terror and thrill of showing all of yourself to another person.
3.5 ⭐️ rounded up - very sweet & i loved the ending, i listened to the audiobook & enjoyed the reading but also think it made it feel more YA than it would've had i read it. not a bad thing that it's more YA than i thought but isn't my personal cup of tea
overall, a lovely book & good fiction intro to topics of gender, neurodivergence & ethnicity
I did not like either of the main characters, by the 17% mark, I should have at least started connecting to them, but I felt nothing for Lore and was frequently annoyed by Bastian. Perhaps I am the problem, but I felt like I was being talked down to in this book with the frequent pauses to describe what being trans/nonbinary, or having adhd/dyslexia are like. I also just wasn't enjoying the execution of the lake plotline despite thinking it was a cool concept when picking up the book.
I feel seen.
I feel seen through my nonbinary-ness, I feel seen through my queerness, and I feel seen in my neurodivergence.
I absolutely adored this book, I think it might just be my favorite. The characters felt so realistic and relatable and the magical realism explored through a beautiful use of imagery was enticing. It was like a breath of fresh air to read something so respectful to transgender identities and I love that while trauma was addressed, nothing severely tragic to the main characters which I feel is rare in queer romance books. Their love is so healthy, they love everything about each other even the "flaws".
Can't recommend enough especially to trans/nonbinary and neurodiverse folks. 10/10
Content warnings: Bullying, homophobia/transphobia