Origin Story by Jendi Reiter is a poetry collection that delves into themes of identity, faith, family, and resilience. Reiter uses myth, pop culture, and personal narrative to explore the shaping forces behind identity, particularly within LGBTQ+ and spiritual contexts. The poems often confront personal and generational trauma, blending humor with poignancy as they examine how love, loss, and memory contribute to a person’s sense of self. With an innovative, emotionally resonant style, Reiter invites readers to contemplate how individual histories intertwine with collective experiences, offering a journey through transformation and healing.

'Origin Story' was an absolutely gruelling read from start to finish - and that had nothing to do with the author's writing, which is excellent. This is just a heavy, heavy book. Themes include maternal incest, paedophilia, homophobia, transphobia, religious abuse, racism, sexual assault, incredibly badly negotiated kink aka essentially non con framed as BDSM, and the specific bigotry surrounding the AIDS crisis as well as therapy (as it existed) in the 1980s. That's before we get into the more commonly found TW territory of things like graphic sex, alcohol abuse, drug abuse, suicidal ideation & attempted suicide, and probably other things that pale compared to the whole child rape thing.

At the core, this is the story of some deeply damaged people who are trying to find their own paths; the protagonist is trying to discover (and then process) what they dealt with in their childhood, the boyfriend is semi-coping with his own trauma, there's a fragile trans-coded teen in limbo in the care system, a Black gay couple dealing with all sorts of shit, and a number of other characters woven throughout who are dealing with their own trajectories.

There's also a semi coherent side shtick about a comic that acts like a metaphor; some may like this, but for me it didn't really land due to just not being given enough space. It may have worked well as a graphic novel tie-in, though I know most publishers would balk at mixing media.

Was this enjoyable? Gut answer: G-d, no. Longer answer: The writing was solid and the character voices believable, even if at times the characters act obnoxious (outside the trauma) - that makes them believable. There's genuine peripheral Jewish-ness going on, which (as a Jewish reader) I really like seeing, without the need to either give the religious elements too much weight or to over-explain for any non-Jews. (That isn't saying that the relationship between the various characters and Judaism is presented in any which way; it's complex, but the inclusion feels natural and I'm all for the normalisation of just showing non-Christian folk doing their thing. We need more of that.)

In many ways, the gritty believability of the prose made this almost unbearable. The characters may not have been specific, named, living people who actually exist/ed, but the abuse on all levels was an all too real lens on the types of abuse that occurred during a specific point in time & place, and continue to occur to this day.

I think this was likely a very cathartic, important book for the author, and I think those who survived this era within these marginalised communities, may find a lot to validate their own experiences & feelings. For the rest of us, especially those of us who have dealt with any mental health issues, this is the sort of book you may need to put down and stop, because it could be incredibly traumatic.

Adult men dealing with maternal sexual abuse is going to stop most of you from picking this up.

Conversion "therapy", kink shaming, and the panoply of misunderstandings and bad takes that was 1990s-era psychotherapy should finish the remainder off.

Too bad. This is a solid love story between two deeply damaged men whose lives are somehow *better* when they're together. I'm really familiar with all the huge issues dealt with in here. I know these struggles. I think they're well-represented even when they're really hard to read.

If you're up for a very high-angst, dark and tough issue read, with a believable (though unsatisfying to me) HFN ending, this will apparate like it's dusted in Floo Powder into your cart. I myownself will never read it again. And I wish the comics stuff (which bored me) had been cut.

I'm really glad I'm seeing my therapist soon.

For the first two-thirds, a brilliant and ineffably moving story of the damage done to Peter's mind and heart by the rapes he experienced in early adolescence. Goes wholly off the rails in the last third, for reasons I discuss at length in my GR review, under a spoiler cut. I loved, loved, loved the author's first book and I deeply regret the impossibility of being more positive about this one.

If I had to comp this title, it’s like when I discovered Matt Dean, a talented writer self-publishing better litfic than 80% of the market, yet in a way that would earn rejections from most if not all of the big 5 and their imprints, as it’s not easily marketable as one thing or another. I’m glad this one found an indie publisher, although in my dreams it’s one with enough in the budget (ha!) to bring the comic book chapters to life. Akin to Blackouts by Justin Torres, it’s a collage of a novel, interspersed with letters and academic journals and emails and interviews, not to mention the entire comic book that Peter and Tai create as they go. Capturing that visually would make a compelling book.

But oh yes—the story. Peter, a social worker in 1990’s NYC, comes of age in his late 20’s, dealing with childhood abuse while navigating a relationship with his boyfriend Julian, who’s escaping family demons of his own, widowed by the loss of his first love to HIV. Collaborating with Tai (/Tyler), a kickass genderfluid teen, Peter starts to write his way back through his memories, exorcising the most painful parts of his past in comic book form. There’s a whole chorus of characters who all get a voice: an HIV-positive teacher who’s trying to adopt a child with his husband; a Christian bodybuilder/political bodyman who’s the “successful” product of conversion therapy; a model-turned-mystical-guru of the self-help set; Peter’s marvelous and plain-speaking half-sister Prue… and on and on. Steeped in nerd culture, and a celebration of queer culture in the midst of the AIDS apocalypse, there’s more joy and kink and friendship and healing than the heavier description of trauma would imply.

One thorny part is that various people on page ascribe Peter’s kinkiness to the childhood incest, much like homosexuality would have been ascribed to that a generation before. That’s pretty faithful to the characters and the time period, especially with the specter of AIDS and unsafe sex, but while in every other way I appreciated the 1990’s verisimilitude of it all—not 1990’s through the lens and vocabulary of 2024—I still yearned for a little glimpse of authorial pushback on that assumption. Thankfully though, it’s indicated near the end that it’s not really Peter “healing” from his kink so much as it is Julian meeting him halfway and embracing his own kinkiness, safely. There’s also a *smidge* of Zionism, which feels true to the Ashkenazi Jewish character(s) it comes from, but sticks out painfully with the current genocide in Palestine.

All in all, a complex book of messy characters that was worth the read. Well done, Jendi Reiter.

First and foremost, I'd like to extend my heartfelt thanks to NetGalley, the publisher, and the author, Jendi Reiter, for allowing me to read an ARC copy of Origin Story.

I thoroughly enjoyed this unique take on a novel. I'm constantly on the lookout for storylines that differentiate from the usual narratives I encounter, and that's exactly what I found in Origin Story. The book offers a refreshing and compelling journey through the complex lives of its characters.

The story revolves around Peter Edelman, his alter ego in the comic book he's writing, and the heavy themes that surface as he revisits his long-repressed memories. His co-author, Tyler "Tai" Wick, is a genderfluid teen navigating the challenging dynamics of a group foster home, while fashion photographer Julian Selkirk seeks to balance his Christian faith with his sexuality and love for Peter.

Julian, in particular, stood out to me. He is a lovable character who yearns for love and acceptance in return. I found myself rooting for Julian the most, hoping that he and Peter would find the happiness they deserve.

While some parts of the book felt a bit slow, the overall experience was completely worth it. Origin Story tackles heavy topics such as religious bigotry, rape, sexual assault, dysphoria, and more. These elements add depth and flesh out the story, making it a poignant and thought-provoking read. It's essential to approach this book with the right mindset due to its sensitive content.

The plot and characters are intricately crafted, leaving readers wanting to learn more about their journeys and struggles. Despite the heavy themes, the story remains hopeful, and you can't help but root for the characters to find their peace and happiness.

All in all, I believe Origin Story is a worthwhile read, deserving of 3.5 stars. It offers a fresh perspective on healing, identity, and the search for home and family in late-1990s New York City.

Content Warnings:
Religious bigotry, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Dysphoria, Sexual content, and Suicidal thoughts, Toxic relationship, Child abuse, Violence, Physical abuse, Homophobia, Self harm, Pedophilia, and Adult/minor relationship. (Someone else added these on their review and I thought it best to re-add them here too)

If you're prepared for a deep and challenging read, Origin Story will leave a lasting impact.

Origin Story by Jendi reiter instead of a fun horror story where a comic writer goes crazy while living in his grandfather‘s apartment, we get a comic writer whose main hero goes around killing pedophiles after visiting people in their dreams but after he moved in to his grandfathers and while going through papers and other detritus left by him, he gets bogged down in forgotten childhood memories that he just cannot ignore any longer. He has a boyfriend named Julian who is so lovable and just wants to be loved in return something he finds hard, if not to do, at the very least admit to. In the end he is not the only one in his family to have mental problems but his loom largest in the book he also has a relationship with a young teen at the teen crisis center his mom started and where he works but this is it to say the story is a happy one nor is there a very happy ending. I usually don’t rate a book until I am done with it and by the time I was done with this book I was just happy it was over for the most part I was sad throughout the book if not for Julian then for The transgender teen, Pru or Peter himself. The book is set in 1998 and I must be honest and say I wish I had been reading the comic instead of this book. It started weird but I guess this book was written for a different type of reader but if you like sorrow porn and books that will make you feel awkward and or sad then you may like this book. I did like the characters but not the story that much. I didn’t hate the story and there is a reader for the story it just wasn’t me. I thought Peter was funny and I loved him and Julian together but not enough to make me love the book. Please forgive any mistakes as I am blind and dictate my review.#SaddleRowPress, #NetGalley, #OriginStory, #JindiReiter,

i’ve never read a book quite like this one
thank you netgalley and the publisher for this book it feels like it discussed alot of topics that shouldn’t actually be connected but yet they are
this is honestly beautifully written and i enjoyed reading it.