The pervert

Fictionalizing her own experiences and those of people she's known, writer Perez recounts episodes (some selections previously published in Island anthology) documenting the life of transgender sex worker Felina Love. This isn't champagne-glamorous, high-class stuff but a sometimes bloody obstacle course undertaken at great risk to stay alive, solvent, and sane. For while Seattle offers Felina more permissive ambiance than did her childhood home in Michigan, threats and bullying plus physical and psychological danger lurk everywhere for a person perceived as neither fully male nor female. Her sometimes tormented customers don't have an easy time of it either. Boydell's (Emergency!; Recovery Blogger) anthropomorphic watercolor art provides a manageable distance between readers and characters while lending ironic poignancy. Felina's sexual life, both professional and personal, is depicted candidly, yet in Boydell's hands the effect is dispassionate, not titillating. Verdict A challenging, intense, and empathic account of finding oneself despite heavy odds.-Martha Cornog, Philadelphia © Copyright 2018. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.