Reviews tagging 'Sexual violence'

A Scatter of Light by Malinda Lo

3 reviews

radhikag's review

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emotional hopeful inspiring lighthearted reflective medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? No

5.0

My heart feels so tender and pure. I love this book and I’m so happy it was my first read of the year. Love is so tender and sweet and soft n lasting!! I loved reading about Aria’s story, so much of it reminded me of i guess my first proper ~queer~ situationship and also made me ache for the how sweet it might have been to know n explore and presence this part of myself when i was younger, like Aria here or Lily in last night at the telegraph club. 

I’m so happy these books exist, I can’t wait to re read them time and time again. I think everyone should read these but esp queer Bay Area people lol because it’s beautiful to see all the details I recognize and know about my home and city and just ugh!! Too good! 
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Some quotes I love: 

"You can't worry about other people's feelings about what you're creating," Joan said. "That will suffocate you. You have to do what your heart desires." 
Joan and Steph were so focused on their conversation, it was as if I wasn't even there. 
"What if what your heart desires hurts someone else?" Steph asked. 
"Sometimes you can't avoid that," Joan said, "because people have feelings, and other people's feelings aren't always congruent with ours. But here's the important thing when it comes to art. This is what I've learned: The art is greater than you and your feelings. You have to serve it. It is not you. Some people will never understand that, but you need to surround yourself with people who do understand it. And you need to understand it yourself. Whatever you're creating may come from within you and your life, but then —almost like a child, it comes out of your body and it grows up and walks away. It walks away and affects other people you don't know and have never met. That's the beauty of it, and the reason I keep trying new things. 
You never know who it will affect." 
(170)

“[Her] physical body may be gone now, but who she was is not gone. She was more than her body, just as we are all more than our bodies. She was connected with all of you. You influenced her, and she influenced you, and that influence continued.” 
The urn was beautiful. It had a round belly and an elegantly curved neck and a perfectly fitted kid, and it had been glazed in some way that left brilliant sea green steaks and dark blue flecks on the surface. As if the sea had been burned into the clay. 
My stomach was a hollow inside me. 
“Everything [she] taught you goes on. The thoughts that arise in your mind when you think of her are still influenced by her.” 
The hollow was growing. I would become a sinkhole. 
Susan Douglas lot a candle on the altar. A thin trickle of smoke rose from the march. “Earth returning to earth, fire returning to fire, wind returning to wind, water returning to water.” (309)
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kyrstin_p1989's review

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emotional funny hopeful inspiring reflective sad fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

A story about life and death, love and loss, and the complications of familial relationships, this book is well-written and interesting. It took a few pages to get into the writing style but once I did I couldn’t put this one down. It made me laugh and cry in equal measure. The characters feelings are raw and real and the story is truthful and wise. 
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ivana007's review

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adventurous dark emotional funny hopeful inspiring reflective tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

5.0

A personal and dare I say, perfect read. Perfect because this book is definitely a writer’s book. The pacing is not for everyone as it’s sometimes slowed by details that don’t further the plot BUT they add texture and vibrancy to Aria, Joan, and Steph’s worlds. A full circle moment for anyone who has read Last Night at the Telegraph and a real nostalgic time-capsule for sapphics who grew up (and came out) in the early-mid 2010s. Time itself is a character throughout the text which adds both grounding elements and surrealist layers to the story.
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