This is Michael Maxwell with the Sioux City Public Library and you’re listening to Check It Out.
Today, I am recommending Detransition, Baby by Torrey Peters- a fresh new voice who also happens to be a University of Iowa graduate!
Detransition, Baby is a modern-day relationship drama that unfolds in New York City with a brilliant cast of memorable characters. This story follows Ames, a successful employee at a trendy ad agency who thought that de-transitioning and returning to life as a man would make things easier- until his partner- who also happens to be his boss- gives him some shocking news. Now Ames must reach out to his ex-lover, Reese, for help, but Reese last knew Ames as “Amy”, and there’s a lot of explaining to do. Peters fills the pages of Detransition, Baby with biting social commentary, charming wit, and a healthy spoon-full of steamy situations that fans of Sex and the City and readers of 50 Shades of Grey will love.
The characters in Detransition, Baby pull no punches as they psychoanalyze and spar with one another over gender drama and what it means to be a family. Readers will find themselves at the center of this New York City social hurricane, and you will quickly feel as though you’re a member of this social circle because of how raw and open Peters’ writing is. I have not read characters this brazen and honest in a long time, and I found myself reacting to them as if they were actually in the room confiding in me. Immerse yourself in the minds of these realistic and relatable characters, and you just might walk away from Detransition, Baby with a fresh perspective on your own life.
Check out Detransition, Baby by Torrey Peters and more staff favorites from 2021 at the Sioux City Public Library.
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