Name: Moxie Minion's review of Man o' War by Cory McCarthy
Item: Man o' War
Rating: 5
Author: Moxie Minion

Cory McCarthy

An achingly honest and frequently hilarious LGBTQ+ coming-of-age novel about a trans teen fighting to keep their head above water in a small and thoroughly landlocked midwestern town. The jellyfish commonly known as a Portuguese man o' war is neither Portuguese, nor a jellyfish, nor a man, nor even a singular organism. If you can cope with those facts, you can begin to understand River McIntyre, an elite high school swimmer who's bad at counting laps. River McIntyre has lived all their life in the shadow of Sea Planet, a now infamous ocean theme park slowly going out of business in the middle of Ohio. As Sea Planet drifts toward its final end, so does River's high school career and, worse, their time as a competitive swimmer. Or maybe not. When River makes an impulsive dive into Ocean Planet's shark tank, they unintentionally set off on a wrenching journey of self-discovery, from internalized homophobia and self-loathing through layers of coming out, gender confirmation surgery, and true love. And at the end of this race? Who knows. After all, counting laps has never been River's strong suit.

Man o' War

Genesis (@whisperingchapters)

An achingly honest and frequently hilarious coming-of-age novel about an Arab American trans swimmer fighting to keep their head above water in a landlocked midwestern town. River McIntyre has grown up down the street from Sea Planet, an infamous marine life theme park slowly going out of business in small-town Ohio. When a chance encounter with a happy, healthy queer person on the annual field trip lands River literally in the shark tank, they must admit the truth: they don't know who they are--only what they've been told to be. This sets off a wrenching journey of self-discovery, from internalized homophobia and gender dysphoria, through layers of coming out, affirmation surgery, and true freakin' love. "River is the most emotionally engaging character I've read in a long time, and this novel is a deep and comprehensive exploration of the journey transgender people trek through the confining world they're born into. Eye-opening, heartfelt, and real--with a massive payoff of true love." --A.S. King, author of Dig, winner of the Michael L. Printz Award

Man O' War

Moxie Minion

I didn't want to read this when I started it. I let my partner pick a number at random, and matched it up on my TBR. I seriously sighed and thought another YA book? But I am not mad at all. And yes I totally cried. The journey to watch our MC truly become themselves was refreshing, and amazing to read. The resources in the back of the book are great not only for the intended YA audience, but for the Dinosaurs too. 

Remember friends it isn't hard to ask people for their pronouns, and if you forget to... "When in doubt They it out."

Genesis (@whisperingchapters) &
Man o' War by Cory McCarthy

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Genesis (@whisperingchapters) &Man o' War by Cory McCarthy

Reviews

Join the club

Genesis (@whisperingchapters) &
Man o' War by Cory McCarthy