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Little Fish
Little Fish | Casey Plett
In this extraordinary debut novel by the author of the Lambda Literary Award-winning story collection A Safe Girl to Love, Wendy Reimer is a thirty-year-old trans woman who comes across evidence that her late grandfather--a devout Mennonite farmer--might have been transgender himself. At first she dismisses this revelation, having other problems at hand, but as she and her friends struggle to cope with the challenges of their increasingly volatile lives--from alcoholism, to sex work, to suicide--Wendy is drawn to the lost pieces of her grandfather's life, becoming determined to unravel the mystery of his truth. Alternately warm-hearted and dark-spirited, desperate and mirthful, Little Fish explores the winter of discontent in the life of one transgender woman as her past and future become irrevocably entwined.
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Cortg
Little Fish | Casey Plett
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Pickpick

I liked the overall story of Wendy, a 30 year old trans woman and the insight into her life in Winnipeg. Her trans friends, work (both sex work and at a store,) her dad and the mystery of her grandfather. It was sad but also hopeful. However reading about the amount of alcohol consumption almost made me nauseous and the sex was a bit much for my taste. All the triggers! #ReadHarder23 ~read a book about a trans character written by a trans author.

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PuSsNbOoKs
Little Fish | Casey Plett
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Pickpick

This book was a wonderful read, albeit it difficult and heartbreaking in so many ways. I loved the ending; perseverance is strength. Reading it as part of my Read Harder 2023 Challenge, it helped to “hear” the voice of a community so often belittled and targeted for simply being true to themselves.

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shawnmooney
Little Fish | Casey Plett
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xicanti
Little Fish | Casey Plett
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Pickpick

This book is a gut punch with a strong sense of both physical place and the spaces where queer community happens. It‘s excellent, but trigger warming for everything. Seriously. Brace yourself if necessary.

Also important: the audio narrator mispronounces at least 75% of the place names. I wish the director‘d done more to check that.

Lindy I‘ve encountered the same aggravating thing in other Canadian novels narrated by nonCanadians. 3y
xicanti @Lindy at first I assumed the narrator was American, but they pronounced “shone” the Canadian way so I‘m not sure what was going on there. 🤷‍♀️ The credits said the book was recorded in Vancouver. Maybe this particular West Coaster just doesn‘t know about prairie words. 3y
Lindy @xicanti Place name pronunciation should be easy for an audiobook narrator to check. I listened to one set in Ra-ghee-na (hard g) Saskatchewan. Another was a memoir by Amanda Leduc and the narrator pronounced her name Lee-duck. 3y
xicanti @Lindy eep. 3y
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TiminCalifornia
Little Fish | Casey Plett
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Panpan

Ugh. I need to check myself into detox just from reading about all the alcohol consumption in this book. Every f..d up thing that can happen to a trans woman, and every f...d up life choice a twenty something person can make happens to Wendy in a four week span. Was this written as a warning against pursuing gender transition? Seemed that way by the end. Tedious.

#queer
#audiobook

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TiminCalifornia
Little Fish | Casey Plett
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“Praying was much like doing housework.”

#firstlinefridays

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Bibliophibifemme
Little Fish | Casey Plett
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It's been a while since I found a book I couldn't put down

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Cinfhen
Little Fish | Casey Plett
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This was gifted to me by my lovely friend @Hooked_on_books and it works for the #Pop20 #TransOrNonBinaryAuthor Thanks so much Holly 🌺❣️

Hooked_on_books You‘re welcome! I thought it was great but it kinda ripped my heart out, so be warned! I hope you enjoy it. 4y
StaceyKondla I saw Casey Plett at Wordfest in Calgary a couple years back. She was super lovely and I have this book on my TBR 😊 Love seeing Canadian authors on Litsy 💕 (edited) 4y
Cinfhen This book has lots of #LitsyLove but after 50 pages im not feeling it @StaceyKondla so I‘m taking a little break and will try again at a later time 4y
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readordierachel
Little Fish | Casey Plett
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Pickpick

Excellent. Wendy, a 30 yo trans woman in Winnipeg, discovers that her late Mennonite grandfather may have been transgender like her. Wendy seeks answers, while just trying to get by with everyday life.

The story is quite sad at times. And there is some repetition: Wendy drinks, Wendy has sexual encounters, Wendy has conversations with family, both chosen and blood. Rinse, repeat. 👇🏼

readordierachel But rather than finding this repetition fatiguing, I found it realistic. Wendy is a fully fleshed character, complex and sympathetic. A very moving read. Highly recommend. 5y
Reggie I think maybe there is a part missing. Stacked, nonetheless! 5y
readordierachel @Reggie Can you see my comment above your comment? That's all there is other than the review. Anyway, it's good and def worth stacking! 5y
Reggie How weird, the review isn‘t showing for me, all I see is the comment. 5y
readordierachel @Reggie So weird! I basically just said it's really good but there's some repetition of drinking, sex, and conversations. Rinse, repeat. 5y
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dragonaut
Little Fish | Casey Plett
Pickpick

I picked it up and didn't put it down until I was done with it. Expertly crafted, powerfully gripping, and of the utmost importance. Give it a read.

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Hooked_on_books
Little Fish | Casey Plett
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Pickpick

Plett, a trans author, paints a portrait of a trans woman in Manitoba and her group of trans friends. The difficulty of life as a trans person bleeds through the pages as we see main character Wendy‘s self-destructive behavior. This is so well done but definitely an emotionally tough read.

#dogsofLitsy #Bindi

WanderingBookaneer Are you on LGBooksTQ? (Instagram) That is the first (and current) book the book club is reading? 5y
Hooked_on_books @WanderingBookaneer No, I‘m not on Instagram at all. But I think this is a great book club choice. There‘s a lot to chew on here. 5y
GatheringBooks is this a graphic novel? i have this on my radar but can‘t tell whether it‘s illustrated or not 5y
Hooked_on_books @GatheringBooks Nope, it‘s a regular novel. Well worth the read. 5y
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Cydster61
Little Fish | Casey Plett
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Pickpick

Great book about a trans woman in Winnipeg

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Lindy
Little Fish | Casey Plett
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Casey Plett‘s warm-hearted novel about a bisexual trans woman has won the Lammy for transgender fiction. 🎉🎉🎉 #LGBTQ #CanadianAuthor
(Photo from Twitter)

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Cydster61
Little Fish | Casey Plett
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Having consumed Jonny Appleseed by Joshua Whitehead and Scarborough by Catherine Hernandez whole I'm now gorging myself on other offerings from Arsenal Pulp Press.

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AshHisson
Little Fish | Casey Plett
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Library haul.

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quietlycuriouskate
Little Fish | Casey Plett
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Mehso-so

Well that was an education (I'm not the most trans-savvy person in the world: should pay more attention). Wendy is a trans woman who learns that her beloved grandfather may have been trans, too. I'd have liked more about her Opa, and the family friend who tells her. As it was, I almost bailed: soooo much sex and drunkenness. Plett has a great ear for dialogue, though. I didn't enjoy it - I feel bruised - but I'll be thinking about it for a while.

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ReadingEnvy
Little Fish | Casey Plett
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Pickpick

Wendy is a trans woman living in Winnipeg, in a circle of friends composed of other trans women. Even the author admitted this would be an incredible rarity but wanted a world where it would be possible, and that is the world of this novel.

The novel starts with the death of Wendy's grandmother, which comes with a lot of judgment memories from her Mennonite relatives, and surprising rumors about her Opa (grandpa) that surface not long after.
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ReadingEnvy I liked her relationship to her father, which felt unique. I loved the natural dialogue of the novel, which makes up a good portion of the narrative. It was interesting to see how easily characters moved back into sex work, which felt very Canadian in its matter-of-factness.
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6y
ReadingEnvy I feel like 50 pages could have been cut if I didn't have to read about every damn time Wendy took a sip of alcohol. I get that she has an alcohol problem but I as a reader grew weary. I'm sure Wendy is even more weary, but that was the one element keeping it from five stars for me. 6y
Kboltz It‘s always hard to watch the drinker drink! 6y
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cathysaid ❤️ that cover! 6y
ReadingEnvy @Kboltz so true. 6y
ReadingEnvy @cathysaid I know it kinda made me wish for a graphic novel inside. 6y
Lindy @cathysaid I believe the cover art is by trans artist Sybil Lamb - http://sybillamb.com/LAMB2017/ 6y
cathysaid @Lindy I just love those pics!!! Thanks for the link. 6y
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Zagora
Little Fish | Casey Plett
Pickpick

I liked it

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StaceyKondla
Little Fish | Casey Plett
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I worked a shift at Wordfest at Memorial Park Library for Owls Nest yesterday. One of the panels I got to take in was with Rachel Giese, Heidi Sopinka, Maureen Medved and Casey Plett. It was an absolute delight to listen to as the four of them were well spoken, intelligent, and funny. I ended up buying Casey Plett‘s novel, Little Fish and was able to get it signed #Wordfest2018

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Bibliogeekery
Little Fish | Casey Plett
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Pickpick

This book feels so close to the lives of so many of my clients that it was hard to read sometimes. It centres around Wendy a trans-woman who struggles with transphobia, alcoholism and the violence that her community is so familiar with. She has a strong, beautiful network of friends who are all trans-women and who support each other in such tender, fierce, powerful ways. Wendy's Mennonite family figure into the narrative in interesting ways!

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Bibliogeekery
Little Fish | Casey Plett
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I'm currently reading this gritty tale of Wendy, a transwoman living in Winnipeg. #transbooks #queerbooks

RealLifeReading Wow that cover 6y
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Alicia
Little Fish | Casey Plett
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Small library haul today! I saw Hey Ladies in a bookstore and immediately put a hold on it! It‘s quasi epistolary which I am excited for. I heard some buzz on Little Fish and I‘m pretty excited to read it! #litsyloveslibraries

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Lindy
Little Fish | Casey Plett
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Pickpick

“She was so, so tired of loving her people and them not loving her back.” The question of belonging is at the core of this frank, warm-hearted novel set in contemporary Winnipeg. Wendy is a bisexual trans woman with a Mennonite background. She and her trans friends struggle financially, & with alcoholism, suicide & transphobia, but they provide each other with strong emotional support. Memorable characters, raw and really real. #LGBTQ 🇨🇦

Lindy I found many similarities between Little Fish and 6y
lahousewyfe Have you watched Nanette by Hannah Gadsby yet? Sounds like it might be a good match for you. 6y
Lindy @lahousewyfe I was already a fan of Hannah Gadsby, …and then I watched Nanette. Wow! She breaks new and important ground. 👍 6y
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Lindy
Little Fish | Casey Plett
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Wendy Reimer, the trans woman at the centre of the novel Little Fish, compares two people she meets to characters from novels by Heather O‘Neill and Miriam Toews. Go #CanLit! 🇨🇦

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Lindy
Little Fish | Casey Plett
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Wendy‘s brain was a hunk of flesh lurching two seconds in front of her body.

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Lindy
Little Fish | Casey Plett
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Winnipeg winter is practically a character in this novel: “Brilliant light came through the window above them. The shkkkt shkkkt of windshield scrapers and muffled creaks of boots on snow.”

batsy Ohhh! Stacked :) 6y
Lindy @batsy Lots of street names & other location details that you will recognize. It has similarities—in its queer & cash-strapped characters, setting, & raw sex—to 6y
batsy That's great, I added that one to the TBR because of you too :) 6y
Lindy @batsy 👍 6y
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Lindy
Little Fish | Casey Plett
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If Wendy missed anything about her boy life, she missed what she had had with her dad. He‘d always known how to cheer her up. She thought randomly of that time he‘d persuaded her to drop out of university after one terrible year—“Look, you don‘t need to piss yourself into debt to be miserable,” he‘d said. “You can do that for free.”

(Internet photo of the author)

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Lindy
Little Fish | Casey Plett
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This novel begins with chapter 0:
“The night before her oma died, Wendy was in a booth at the bar with Lila, Raina and Sophie. It was 11 p.m. and they were all tipsy. Sophie was saying, ‘Age is completely different for trans people. The way we talk about age is not how cis people talk about age.‘”
#firstlines #lgbtq

Soubhiville Ok I think I need to read this! 6y
Lindy @Soubhiville Real realness. 👍 6y
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lovelybookshelf
Little Fish | Casey Plett
Pickpick

This book is perfection. It's honest and raw, with characters (and dialogue!) that are so realistic, I felt like I was right there inside the story. Like a silent, unnamed member of this circle of friends. I laughed with these characters, I was angry for them, I felt their grief. It left me thinking more about generational differences, religious differences, our choices in life, and finding ways to be at peace. #transbooks #queerbooks #lgbtq

KateFulfordAuthor If you need another recommendation, may I point you to my People‘s Book Prize nominated debut? Sassy female narrative, laugh out dialogue and a pacy plot. Check the link in the bio for 2 free chapters, reviews and more. 6y
lovelybookshelf @KateFulfordAuthor Oh, your book is an LGBTQ/trans read, too? 6y
KateFulfordAuthor No - I was responding to your characters & dialogue appreciation. 6y
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lovelybookshelf
Little Fish | Casey Plett
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"Whatever she hadn't made peace with, she'd made peace with the fact there'd never be peace, so to speak."

#translit #transbooks #queerbooks #lgbtq #ownvoices

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CaseyTheCanadianLesbrarian
Little Fish | Casey Plett
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Pickpick

A hard-hitting, beautiful, & thought-provoking novel. Amazing, complex, authentic characterization; Plett isn't afraid to make her characters messy. It's about a 30-year-old trans woman named Wendy living in Winnipeg, her group of trans women friends, and her Mennonite family. The crux of the plot is Wendy discovering her grandfather might have also been trans but it's just as much about other issues like alcoholism, sex work, friendship, suicide.

Cinfhen Sounds really interesting 7y
CaseyTheCanadianLesbrarian @Cinfhen definitely one of those books I will be thinking about for a long time 7y
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CaseyTheCanadianLesbrarian
Little Fish | Casey Plett
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"And she learned right then: you always had to be on your guard. It didn't matter how often you passed, it could always be taken away. Always. She'd never be little, she'd never be fish. It could always be taken away." ☹️
#TransBooks #QueerBooks

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CaseyTheCanadianLesbrarian
Little Fish | Casey Plett
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Just a convo between two girl friends:
"Oh--right, Ernie. Haven't heard from him yet."
"Bummer, girl."
"Yeah. Well. Thanks for asking."
They were silent for a second, then Lila offered, "There'll be more d."
"Ain't that the truth."

Casey Plett is so good at dialogue. It always sounds like how real people talk.
#TransBooks #QueerBooks

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CaseyTheCanadianLesbrarian
Little Fish | Casey Plett
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I have a whole day off ahead of me and I can't decide which book to read next!! From top left clockwise: queer urban fantasy, highly recommended historical romance, Canadian trans coming of age, or queer black sci fi? Help! #QueerBooks #Romantsy #Fantasy #ScienceFiction

Beachesnbooks I really enjoyed both Borderline & An Unkindness of Ghosts, so I vote one of those! 7y
ghosthost Borderline was a fun read. It had a lovable, prickly main character. 7y
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CaseyTheCanadianLesbrarian
Little Fish | Casey Plett
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It is going to take all my will power not to drop all the other books I'm reading right now and start reading this one!!! One of my favourite authors' first novel!! Plus she's a really rad person IRL!! And the synopsis looks awesome!! #CanLit #TransBooks #QueerBooks