Challenge Corner discussion

An electrifying story of love, betrayal, and the complicated allure of bougie domesticity.

“Dinan writes like some kind of demigod. Her fictions make thinkable new realities for how we live and what we might expect from each other.”– Torrey Peters, author of Detransition Baby

“I don’t know why I feel like I’ve been caught doing something dirty. Cheating on queerness. Fell down the stairs and woke up a trad wife.”
Thirty years old with a lifetime of dysphoria and fuccbois rattling around in her head, Max is plagued by a deep dissatisfaction. Shouldn’t these be the best years of her life? Why doesn’t it feel that way? After taking a spill down the stairs at a New Year’s Eve party, she decides to make some changes. First: a stab at good old-fashioned heteronormativity.

Max thinks she’s found the answer in Vincent. While his corporate colleagues, trad friends, and Chinese parents never pictured their son dating a trans woman, he cares for Max in a way she’d always dismissed as a foolish fantasy. But he is also carrying baggage of his own. When the fall-out of a decades-old entanglement resurfaces, Max must decide what forgiveness really means. Can we be more than our worst mistakes? Is it possible to make peace with the past?

Funny, sharp, and poignant, Disappoint Me is a sweeping exploration of love, loss, trans panic, race, millennial angst, and the relationships—familial and romantic—that make us who we are.

I've fallen a bit behind. I'll be starting this one a few days late

Okay, diving into this sometime this week!

reading this one today!

5 chapters

(view spoiler)[ hmmm.. . this one was slow to start. I'm glad we're through that party.

Arthur was insufferable. I'm glad she's not with that guy anymore. .his poem was terrible! lol

I like Vincent but I hate that his friends made her feel weird.
I like Simone.

interested to see where it goes from here (hide spoiler)]

9 chapters / 50%

(view spoiler)[ wow, Fred was really gross previously. I wonder how he feels about it now. If he's learned some things and is more accepting now because he's treating Alex horribly

also, I wonder how this relates to now. Why are we learning about Vincent's previous experiences

I'm liking Max more. (hide spoiler)]

14 chapters / 75%

(view spoiler)[ wow, this one got very heavy
I'm shocked at what Fred did. Just absolutely beat another person because he was scared. what a horrible thing to do

but it's an interesting question. Did Alex owe it to Fred to tell him? That's tough - seems like it would be a personal decision for the person faced with it. What do we owe partners like that, what kind of pre-disclosure? I don't feel like I have the right to chime in on what is right or wrong. It just breaks my heart that Alex was abused for it.

and wow, it is a lot for Vincent for someone he just met. how tough, though. how could he leave Alex though?

and holy moly! Max having a brain tumor was a complete surprise.
and I'm surprised by Jamie's response to the pregnancy. I was surprised he was so "all in" when, I agree with his ex and Max. It's like he liked the idea but wasn't actually ready to make the changes to do it. (hide spoiler)]

and done

(view spoiler)[ wow, I was so glad Max found out about Alex
and I thought it was interesting how Max reacted. Again, I don't think I get a say in whether it was wrong or right - just interesting to try to untangle the emotions and how tough that would be to experience.

I was glad when we got that last chapter from Vincent and he could show how he was trying to be different (hide spoiler)]

I have another ARC before this one but I will be diving into it next week!

Starting this now!

ooh I can't wait to see what you think!!

I’m excited to see your comments too!

Ch 1-5: (view spoiler)[I'm not sure how I feel about this right now. I like Vincent enough. I like Simone a lot more. Everyone else just feels like background noise. (hide spoiler)]

Trisha wrote: "5 chapters ..."

LOL his poem was the best part. I laughed so much.

Ch 6-10: (view spoiler)[Wow, for some odd reason this took me forever to get through. Fred was awful in the past, which makes me think this whole trip and meeting Aisha helped in a way. Maybe? I mean, there has to be a reason Vincent's POV is in the past. And maybe the whole thing with Alex makes him a better person, Fred, that is. Vincent is still trying to figure out who he is—past and present.

Max is still likable... but my god, those emails with Simone. Wow. (hide spoiler)]

Trisha wrote: "9 chapters / 50%..."

Yes, his POV being in the past is leaving me with so many questions.

Alaina wrote: "Trisha wrote: "5 chapters ..."

LOL his poem was the best part. I laughed so much."

Right?! it was terrible! hahahah!!

Ch 11-15: (view spoiler)[Wow. Okay, everything is out in the open. It's so fucked up what Fred did to Alex but also what Vincent did to Fred and Alex. I'm also sad about the baby and Jamie. Even though I knew it was going to work out the whole co-parenting. Yes, people do change, but I still feel like he would be that type of parent to say he's babysitting his own kid or whatever.

I think he needs to see a therapist for sure. Maybe they all do. (hide spoiler)]

Trisha wrote: "14 chapters / 75%.."

I mean, we knew it (view spoiler)[(the tumor) (hide spoiler)] could potentially happen, like a low risk, right? I feel like that was mentioned maybe in the beginning. But yes, a LOT happened, and it took me a while to digest it all. I feel so bad for Alex.

Ch 16-Finish: (view spoiler)[Happy that everything that happened in the past is out. I'm also happy that she had that talk with her dad. I guess then the open-ended ending gives us some hope that they are still together. (hide spoiler)]

Trisha wrote: "and done..."

Yeah, that was a lot.