Vulnerable, and all the more powerful for its vulnerability. There were parts of the book that I found a little repetitive, which I think speaks to the fact that I believe this book is comprised of Gay's tumblr entries edited together. I don't say that to be dismissive, but I think it could have been more powerful if I didn't feel the author circling the same facts or topics repeatedly before she is able to move forward. Gay acknowledges upfront that she writes circuitously, never tackling the topic head on, but I've read Bad Feminist, and I'm not convinced that's true. I think Gay finds herself walking in circles here because the topics broached are so much more painful than Sweet Valley High, and that makes a lot of sense. Yet, because she writes circuitously, she has to realize that as readers, we're picking up and piecing together the information we do have, and our knowledge builds. By the third time Jon from Minnesota is mentioned, I remember him and don't need another introduction. 
 Nonetheless, I found myself crying stupidly in a coffee shop when I finally reached the point when (view spoiler)[ her parents confront her with their knowledge of her big secret. (hide spoiler)] It was a real representation of how trauma unearths itself, especially in immigrant families where the parents feel the generational and cultural gulf magnified by their inability to speak, to understand and be understood. I could feel the quiet, seething anger that has undergirded Gay's relationships, a directionless, misplaced anger in the face of all that love. I could understand entirely what she meant about being so broken that you had to flee the entire universe of those who know and love you to find out if you could be loved unmoored, without context or obligation. I read the book half understanding how it felt to be that broken, and half understanding how it feels to be on the other side of that, trying to close the distance someone else has put between you. 
 I am grateful for the understanding and empathy I have gained though reading this. I can quibble on craft, but not on sheer, emotional revelation.