CaseyTheCanadianLesbrarian's Reviews > Pretty Baby

I am not into the tone of this book. I'm having a similar reaction to how I felt reading the first bit of Maggie Nelson's The Argonauts, like the author is trying to scandalize, shock, and titillate me with the sexual content. That is just not something I'm interested in as a reader and it's not a reason why I read. Perhaps it's something that was done by an editor with the intention of marketability?

Belcher's writing is very propulsive and readable, and she knows how to set a scene. So if "scandalous" content about 12-year-olds wanting to lose their virginity and details about being a pro dominatrix are up your alley, this might be the book for you. To be clear: it's not this content that I'm not interested in, it's the way it's being presented and the reaction it feels like its purpose is to evoke.

I'd be interested to read reviews by sex workers about this book, because it feels to me very much like it's written for a non-sex worker audience, which would explain the tone but that's just a hunch I have as a non-sex worker. For memoirs that cover a queer coming of age and sex work, I prefer Amber Dawn and Melissa Febos's work.