CRWR 106

Belle Boggs has succeeded again in creating a story that you can jump into. Like Imperial Chrysanthemum, she did not conclude the story in the typical sense. What I appreciated most about this story was that it left you wondering and thinking about the different outcomes. There’s no happy ending with a tidy bow. It makes the story that more real because it allows you to dive into the depth of the situation the characters are in and think about what they would do in that situation. Jonas, or rather Joan is still feeling uncomfortable being herself. Their daughter, Jessica, is still upset with her father for choosing to transition. And Melinda still doesn’t really know what to do other than try to support her partner’s happiness. Stories about transitioning are not often told from the partner’s point of view, so it was interesting to feel some of the emotions that she was going through. I’m curious as to how she got into the mindset to write this very complicated story. The transition process isn’t something I’m intimately familiar with and I’m also curious as to what research—if any—was done and how it was done. I also think writing it as a fiction piece makes the subject easier to deal with for some people. It’s a buffer, of sorts, while still dealing with and broaching an important topic.