250
people found this helpful, as of 2023
ranked #114,005 most helpful
out of 571,544,897 reviews
★★☆☆☆
Interesting premise but writing is difficult
I struggled to read the first 50 pages. I found the premise to be interesting and different, but I simply could not, without significant struggle, constantly read xe, xi, and other variations meant to engage gender fluidity. I understand that some people want to be referred to by something other than he/she, and perhaps a day will come when society will settle on how to address that desire, but for now that is in flux and the use of arbitrarily chosen substitutes, especially when the reader is left to decipher the substitutions being used, makes for a distracting and difficult read. I gave 2 stars only because I think the story is different and potentially interesting; the book is really more of a 1 star because of the writing. If you can easily deal with the genderless terminology while reading -- or can identify with it -- you are likely to find the book a 3- or 4-star read; otherwise you will find it frustrating.
