Book Review THE RISK IT TAKES TO BLOOM Raquel Willis

Thank you to the author Raquel Willis, publishers St. Martin's Press, and SMPInfluencers, for an advance digital copy of THE RISK IT TAKES TO BLOOM. All views are mine.


Three (or more) things I loved:

1. I love that the author talks about the term "queer" and the queer community's efforts to reclaim the word.

2. I think one of the most important things she discusses is straight spaces and how queer people don't belong in them, are actually made to feel unsafe in them.

3. Raquel Willis Offers such grace and love to to the people who hurt and reject her. She is completely grateful for every drop of grace she receives in return at all stages of her journey. It is wonderful to read about such a courageous person!

4. The story of Raquel, having transitioned fully, seeing her grandmother, who had dementia, and whom she hadn't seen in a long time, is so heartwarming and fulfilling! Loc. 1731

Three (or less) things I didn't love:

This section isn't only for criticisms. It's merely for items that I felt something for other than "love" or some interpretation thereof.

1. I did not like the abrupt switch to second person epistolary style in Chapter 6. This style doesn't achieve the intended intimacy, but rather, sentimentality. These critiques are true for the other sections that follow the same style. All would have been better in first person.

Rating: 🪷🪷🪷🪷 slowly blooming flowers
Recommend? Yes!
Finished: Nov 14 23
Format: Digital arc, Kindle, NetGalley 
Read this book if you like:
🗣 memoirs
🪞 stories about identity 
👨‍👩‍👧‍👦 family stories, family drama
👩🏿‍🤝‍👨🏾 women's coming of age 
🌈 queer literature 

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