Review: Little Blue Encyclopedia (for Vivian) by Hazel Jane Plante

I am so incredibly glad this book was recommended to me; it would have been very sad to have maybe not come across this book otherwise.

Little Blue Encyclopedia (for Vivian) follows a trans woman, who is unnamed for the majority of the book, as she processed the grief she is experiencing after her friend Vivian dies. Our main character begins to put together an encyclopedia to preserve her memories of Vivian and serve as a tribute to the fictional tv show Little Blue the two watched together.

I was recommended this book because I made it known that I love a novel with an interesting structure. The encyclopedia aspect is such an interesting narrative choice that adds such a wonderful discovery aspect to this story. We see the story unfold alphabetically after the brief introduction. The inclusion of Little Blue was also a really interesting and engaging aspect of this book; looking at what we like, especially what we have liked for a very long time, is a really clever way to let us get to know our narrator and Vivian.

I love the way Plante presents fan culture. She shows how much investment and emotional attachment can be aimed at media and how that media permeates our lives and strengthens our bonds to each other. She dives into the silly aspects and the meaningful giving both the proper amount of weight in the story. It is also just fun to try to piece together this show through the entries we receive about its characters.

The book isn't really about Little Blue, of course. It is about our narrator and Vivian, who introduced her to Little Blue. The friendship the narrator has with Vivian is so multilayered, and watching it unfold is so tender and raw and fascinating. It is pretty clear very early on that the narrator was in love with Vivian and that it was unrequited both due to personality differences and Vivian being straight. But in addition to that layer, Vivian was the trans woman that made her feel a sense of security in her own identity.

Viv gave me that. I felt protected. Being around her gave me confidence. I saw a way forward, a way of being trans in the world that didn't seem like a struggle... She softened my shame and anxiety about being trans. She showed me that it was possible to wade through that river and reach the other side.

I really loved seeing the way the narrator was shaped by Vivian. How seeing herself in another person changed her life so positively and deeply. And as the book goes on, we get to see the relationship in various stages and in different lights. The way Plante introduces new information to the reader is so intentional and well done; I was absolutely captivated with my reading experience.

You know the whole time you are reading that Vivian is dead, but the book is not a look at her death; it is truly a look at how her life changed someone else's. It shows that people can be complicated and flawed and still have an overwhelmingly positive effect on the people who surrounded them. This book had me so invested in both the narrator and Vivian, but it also made me constantly think about my own friendships. Not in a way that pulled me out of the world of the book, but that made the book feel very real. I constantly had to remind my brain that this was fiction.

I gave this book five stars on Goodreads and The StoryGraph. I absolutely adored this book. I highlighted so much of the book; I was not even 25% of the way through this under 200-page book when I was imagining how wonderful it was going to be to reread it. I am just obsessed. I would absolutely recommend this book to others. If you are looking to read more queer fiction, or want a novel by a trans author, or you just want a book that is poignant and creative and brilliantly written. Also, it is very funny in addition to being moving; I laughed out loud multiple times. I cannot recommend this book enough; it deserves to find more readers to become enraptured with this weird and wonderful book.