"There are many things we are uncertain of on this planet, like what happens after death, the possibility of life outside our solar system, and the existence of lesbian sheep."
—Bianca Torre Is Afraid Of Everything, by Justine Pucella Winans
^Literally the first sentence in this book. And somehow nowhere near the funniest part, even of that monologue.
This is my very first book talk here on Cohost! This is something I've been wanting to do for a while but didn't have the time or energy to start. I'm tagging it #Paige By Page because I I can't resist a good pun :3
I chose this book first partially because it's one of my absolute favorites I read last year, but also because I think the general userbase of Cohost would enjoy the Non-Binary-Lesbian-Anxiety-Spiral and also Bird-Themed-Murder-Mystery that is Bianca Torre is Afraid of Everything. I apologize if my abuse of the dash-between-words has hurt you in anyway. I will not be giving financial compensation for it.
I want to be clear that this is not a professional or objective review, but just my personal feelings, thoughts, and ideas on the book and whether I would recommend this book to most others. Hence why I called it a talk instead of a review. I mostly just want somewhere to subject my ADHD ramblings about books I love to anyone willing to listen, if you'd let this girl sing for you.
So without further ado, the talk itself;
Bianca Torre Is Afraid of Everything is a novel about a questioning non-binary lesbian and avid birder with severe anxiety caught in one of the worst places they could have found themself; a murder mystery novel.
Anxiety spirals, anime kids, theater kids, useless lesbians, birds, and more. I cannot stress enough just how entertaining and unique the writing in this book is. The closest thing I can relate it to is Bocchi the Rock in a non-visual format, and if you replaced music with birds. Oh, and murder.
It's honestly surprising how the mystery- the plot itself- almost takes the background in this story. Not because it isn't interesting, but because the characters are so, so lovable that I just wanted more of them, independent of what happened.
It's funny that I started with a first-person, non-fantasy novel, because it's very much not indicative of what I usually read, but that should just go to show how much I loved this book. First person perspectives can be very restrictive to prose and make writing sound cheesy, but done well it can give a strong understanding of your POV character's mind and give a unique writing style. This perspective lets us see just how anxious poor Bianca gets about the littlest things, and the beauty of the prose is seeing Bianca spiral into a panic about nothing at all while things continue to happen around them. This book wouldn't be half as entertaining from any other protagonist's POV, which is part of what makes it so special.
Oh, and if you're worried, the book does a good job of not making Bianca's anxiety infectious, and makes it comedic and entertaining without coming off as belittling or degrading to their problems. It strikes a fine line between vulnerable and relatable and downright absurd.
The writing here is so entertaining, the characters are lovable and goofy, there are several touching, vulnerable, meaningful moments in this story both about overcoming anxiety and realizing/coming out as trans, and the plot is very fun. The mystery aspect is rather light- it's not a masterpiece of the mystery genre- but let’s be honest, master detective work is not what you're here for. This is not a who-dunnit story. We’re here for non-binary-disaster-lesbian Bianca Torre and their wild social anxiety. This book is like if Bocchi The Rock was even gayer and more trans (hard to believe, I know, but trust me) and had a bird-themed murder mystery hiding behind it. And all of that isn't to say that the book doesn't have moments of tension and dread, or fear and exhilarating action (Okay, "action" should maybe be in air quotes, but still,) I HIGHLY recommend this book to anyone who watched Bocchi, or likes queer-coming-out stories or knows what it's like to feel paralyzed in all aspects of their life by social anxiety.
I seriously cannot recommend this book enough. Especially if you relate to the concept at all, you lesbian sheep you.
So, the obvious rating;
✭✭✭✭✭ (5 stars- I'd recommend this book to almost anyone.)