Detransition, Baby (ARC Book Review)

That’s because Detransition, Baby has almost no plot. Following a man who recently detransitioned and rejoined the boring business world, his accidentally impregnated girlfriend, and his trans ex-girlfriend, Detransition is an exploration of trans life in a way you’ve probably never seen it before. 

“And maybe, if you don’t know what you want, you just do something anyway, and everything will change, and then maybe that will reveal what you really want. So do something.”

The definition of a character-driven story, Detransition, Baby is honest, poignant, and unafraid as it meanders through the three characters’ decision-making process of figured out whether to become a family unit buffeted with explorations of all the baggage that comes with their backstories. Each has plenty of flaws and partake in their fair share of disagreeable discussions, making them hard to love at times while being completely sympathetic, interesting, and understandable. 

However, even without much of a storyline, the different perspectives and many flashbacks are anything but boring, especially thanks to Peters’s prose—a picture-perfect type of writing that only comes from many years of studying, careful selection, and cultivation of the craft. Even the deep-dive asides into minor characters are engaging and beautiful, albeit completely unnecessary when—in many cases—we never see them again.  

“She’s the type to turn hardship into hardness, like a shield for people she loves.”

That being said, Detransition, Baby doesn’t feel wordy so much as it sometimes feels overexplained in a way that I couldn’t help thinking was often a burden of being a trailblazer in a world where adult trans literature is only just beginning to emerge in mainstream media. At times, concepts and characters’ decisions seemed drawn out and described in ways that felt overly careful, edged with a fear of being misconstrued or misunderstood and the dire desire for readers to understand all the lingo and language. This widens the audience by welcoming in those willing to learn who don’t yet understand all the ins and outs of all the complex issues expressed in Detransition, Baby but also unintentionally draws attention to the greater issue of the lack of literature we have on the subject in a way that I hope readers will recognize and feel as sad about I was, leaving us with a feeling of hope for the days when writers like Peters can just, well, write without worrying so much about context. 

This impression will last far longer than any given by the ending of the novel itself, which by no surprise gives very little closure, something that will be thoroughly aggravating to many. The story doesn’t need much in the way of a conclusion, since the focus is on meeting and getting to know the three main characters and stepping into their world for a time, but I still would have liked at least a crumb. As it was, there wasn’t much to show for all of our time together, and any growth or change that might have emerged felt incomplete or scrubbed away by us ending up in a place that was, in many ways, not so different than where we started. 

“We are much stronger and more powerful than we understand. We are fifteen thousand pounds of muscle and bone forged from rage and trauma.”

A must-read for the character-driven story lover like myself, I encourage even those who feel this may be a bit out of their comfort zone to try it out. I rated Detransition, Baby 4 out of 5. 

Thank you to Netgalley and Random House for an early copy in exchange for an honest review!

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