“It begins as your typical boy meets boy. While out with friends at their local university drag night, Tom buys Ming a drink. Confident and witty, a magnetic young playwright, Ming is the perfect antidote to Tom’s awkward energy, and their connection is instant. Tom finds himself deeply and desperately drawn into Ming’s orbit, and on the cusp of graduation, he’s already mapped out their future together. But shortly after they move to London to start their next chapter, Ming announces her intention to transition. From London to Kuala Lumpur, New York to Cologne, we follow Tom and Ming as they face tectonic shifts in their relationship and friend circle in the wake of Ming’s transition. Through a spiral of unforeseen crises—some personal, some professional, some life-altering—Tom and Ming are forced to confront the vastly different shapes their lives have taken since graduating, and each must answer the essential question: Is it worth losing a part of yourself to become who you are?”
⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐
Publication Date: June 29th 2023
Content Warning: graphic drug use, eating disorder, transphobia. Moderate death, mental illness, grief.
Bellies is not a book I’d usually find myself reaching for, but there was something in that told me I needed to give this one a go, and in the end, I’m glad I did. It’s not my favourite, but it was enjoyable enough that I never found myself bored when I was reading.
Ming is a transgender woman who, when she first meets Tom, has not yet transitioned, so, even though Tom is supportive of her decision to transition, many complications in their relationship stem from this and give us the minimal conflict we see unfold in the book.
Bellies spans years and tells the story of Tom and Ming and the anxieties they both feel when it comes to their relationship. From being together to being strangers to being acquaintances once more, Nicola Dinan (she/her) has managed to tell a compelling story that will pull at your heartstrings from cover to cover.
As Ming is not the only main character in this book, Tom has his own personal struggles to overcome, with depression as such, Nicola has taken such care with how she tells this story by switching between the two points of view when needed.
I can tell from this book alone that Nicola knows how to be attentive when it comes to getting a story across, and I really hope to read more from her in the future.
Thank you to Doubleday for the ARC!
All the love,
Jade x
Tea Stains and Book Spines 