Reviews tagging 'Biphobia'

Maame by Jessica George

30 reviews

jourdanicus's review against another edition

emotional hopeful reflective slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.0

While not a perfect five-star read for me, this book still touched on a lot of my "catnip" topics and I really enjoyed it.

Maddie as a character is naive in a way that toed the line of believability for me sometimes, esp cially for a gen Z/millennial with the lived experience of being Black in a colonial country. However, the way the themes of racism, misogyny, and sexuality were included is perfect for readers who might be newer to those topics and interested in diversifying their reading.

I did find Maddie relatable in a lot of ways too. The characters and the story were sweet without being saccharine. The plot was a little slow to build, but the second half/third was worth it.

For better or worse, the real life experiences of the author really came through in the story, and I think this book is a well-executed answer to the prompt of "write what you know."

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Grief and Death of parent

Moderate: Dementia, Panic attacks/disorders, and Sexual content

Minor: Medical content, Misogyny, Suicide, Drug use, Racism, Alcohol, Biphobia, and Eating disorder

kristenbynoe's review against another edition

emotional hopeful sad slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.25

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Grief

Minor: Alcohol, Racism, Terminal illness, Sexual content, Death of parent, Biphobia, Chronic illness, Toxic relationship, Suicidal thoughts, Panic attacks/disorders, and Infidelity

rosiebethreads's review

emotional hopeful inspiring sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death of parent

Moderate: Emotional abuse

Minor: Sexual content, Racism, Religious bigotry, and Biphobia

murve's review against another edition

emotional reflective sad

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Chronic illness, Cursing, Death of parent, Dementia, Grief, Toxic relationship, Death, Emotional abuse, Medical content, Sexual content, and Medical trauma

Moderate: Sexual harassment, Sexual violence, Suicide, Sexual assault, and Biphobia

kh_xion's review against another edition

emotional funny reflective sad slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Panic attacks/disorders, Racism, Vomit, Biphobia, Death of parent, Drug use, Grief, Chronic illness, Toxic relationship, and Sexual content

kayladaila's review

emotional funny reflective sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Mental illness, Grief, Death of parent, and Terminal illness

Moderate: Emotional abuse, Toxic relationship, Ableism, and Chronic illness

Minor: Alcohol, Eating disorder, Religious bigotry, Biphobia, Sexual content, Drug use, Infidelity, Racism, and Medical content

masego's review

emotional hopeful reflective sad medium-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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Grief, Death of parent, Panic attacks/disorders, Racism, and Terminal illness

Moderate: Biphobia

ec_holland's review

emotional sad fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

I was entranced by this book and was fully engrossed with Maddie and her story - until we go to a sudden bout of fixated biphobia nearly 70% of the way through the book, which docked my enthusiasm.

I understand that straight people are surprised by bisexual people on dating apps, but the MC questioning whether a person is worth dating because they are bisexual is a pretty cut and dry phobia.

For a coming of age story, this was otherwise really endearing. 

“I get that respite when I’m not being me,” was a really big and relatable moment with anyone who has done the laborious process of suppressing trauma - and that feeling of shame.

There was an intimate sadness throughout the book that felt both natural and familiar. 

Sometimes, everything really is exhausting.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death of parent and Racism

Moderate: Biphobia and Sexual content

thirdeyeangel23's review

challenging emotional funny hopeful inspiring reflective sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

Maame is the story of our late bloomer Maddie. After years of being her father’s caretaker and sole provider for her family, Maddie is in desperate need of finding a live that is all her own. While I believe this story has some important messages about how our daughters are treated, especially within black families, there were definitely some issues for me. For a woman who is highly educated Maddie is often written in a way that completely undervalues her strength and quite frankly makes her look stupid. These constant Google searching throughout the book eventually felt over-done for comedic relief. There is also some unfortunate bi-phobia within Maddie’s story.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Chronic illness, Medical content, Death of parent, and Grief

Moderate: Gaslighting, Racism, and Biphobia

bella_cavicchi's review

emotional funny reflective sad medium-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

This book had me feeling warm and fuzzy (even in its saddest moments!), a reaction in large part due to how honest a character Maddie feels. We're all in for a treat with whatever Jessica George writes next.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Panic attacks/disorders, Terminal illness, Racism, Mental illness, Grief, Medical content, Death of parent, and Death

Moderate: Infidelity

Minor: Biphobia, Alcohol, and Drug use