ughhhh this is now one of my favorite books of all time.

this is a memoir, told via lyrical prose, comprised of vignettes of the author's life as she figures out her lesbian identity and surrounds herself with queerness and what it means to explore gender and identity.

from erotic stories displaying nuances of butch femme dynamics to the complete deconstruction of what it means to be a lesbian who doesn't feel a personal proximity to cis women, to raw and vulnerable depictions of dealing with casual and violent lesbophobia, to first-person accounts of important moments in lesbian & trans history, there is so much richness to be found in these pages.

this has been one of the very few pieces of media that has made me feel truly, deeply seen as a they/them femme lesbian. i felt so held by the words pratt shares throughout the book about navigating the balance of her gender expression as a femme lesbian - never feeling "lesbian enough" but then feeling too feminine (soooo real lol).

this is sooo so good, please read it if you haven't already! this is some of the most beautiful writing i have ever had the pleasure of experiencing.

soooo sooo so good (i knew it would be) but ahhhh !!! better than i imagined !!!! wowww

this is my second book by waters and after having loved the paying guests, i was even more excited to finally get to this one!

this is such a highly-praised, lezzie novel and rightfully so!

waters' novels are long but with great reason: these stories are full of fully-fleshed characters and incredibly unique and captivating plots - you really are in for a treat when you pick up one of waters' books!

this story made laugh, made me angry, upset me, thrilled me, shocked me - a full spectrum of emotions was felt & this rollercoaster of a novel was a ride i didn't want to end!

definitely consider checking this out or bumping it up your tbr!! it's Goooood!! (but only if you're looking to commit to a chunky book :p)