Reviews tagging 'Rape'

How Far the Light Reaches: A Life in Ten Sea Creatures by Sabrina Imbler

72 reviews

shugentobler's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional funny hopeful informative inspiring reflective medium-paced

5.0

As a biologist I sometimes find it hard to want to read about biology, especially in a pop sci story of way. It's just hard to look forward to having someone explain things you know and it can often come across as gimmicky, which is maybe why I put off this book for so long. 

I am not sure I would call this book "pop sci" and I instantly regretted not reading it sooner. 

This book is a iridescent gem of a collection of essays exploring the sea and a queer narrative of self discovery. It was so beautiful at times I wanted to weep. I instantly thought of 3 or 4 people I wanted to gift it too.

It's so magnificent and so perfectly interconnected-I could not recommend this queer nature book more. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual harassment, Eating disorder, Sexual assault, Dysphoria, and Rape

Moderate: Xenophobia and Transphobia

jnaiburg's review against another edition

informative inspiring reflective medium-paced

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcoholism, Rape, and Sexual assault

Moderate: Drug use

bibliomich's review against another edition

informative reflective medium-paced

5.0

Okay, I generally don't add star reviews for memoirs, but since this book is only part-memoir (and deserves all the hype), I'm giving it five stars.

How Far the Light Reaches is not only a favorite of this year, but possibly one of my favorites *ever*. At the end of each chapter, I'd think to myself, "Oh, okay, that was the best one. That was my favorite chapter so far." And then I'd listen to the next and be blown away once again.

In each chapter, Sabrina Imbler (they/them) juxtaposes autobiographical anecdotes with scientific facts about different marine species. For example, in "Beware the Sand Striker," Imbler alternates between discussing their experiences with sexual autonomy and assault, and then draws parallels with the sand striker's predatory behaviors. They discuss a range of topics (some quite heavy), including race and racism, body image and disordered eating, mother-child relationships, identity, sexuality, and bigotry (to name a few), and they write with so much honesty and vulnerability. I also learned A LOT about marine life, and even though I often shy away from nonfiction, these were some of my favorite sections of the book.

Imbler also narrates the audiobook, and their narration is exceptional. While I highly recommend listening to the audiobook, I would also love to own a physical copy (and will likely purchase one) just to return to it over and over again.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Rape and Sexual assault

Moderate: Transphobia, Alcohol, Eating disorder, Racial slurs, Racism, Fatphobia, and Homophobia

lazlio's review against another edition

emotional informative reflective medium-paced

5.0

Really enjoyed this book. I loved the combinations of stories from human life compared with sea creatures that share similarities. The drawing of connections between many viewpoints was really beautiful and I enjoyed Sabrina’s writing style and honesty throughout.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: War and Rape

fayemomodu's review against another edition

adventurous hopeful inspiring reflective fast-paced

5.0

This book took me by surprise. I had no idea what it was about initially and actually just thought it was going to be about sea creatures. Its about a lot more than that! Absolutely loved the writing and the authors story.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Violence, Racism, Sexual harassment, and Rape

lettuce_read's review against another edition

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual assault, Rape, and Eating disorder

Moderate: Racism and Homophobia

skbat's review against another edition

adventurous informative reflective medium-paced

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Drug abuse, Suicidal thoughts, Sexual violence, War, Alcohol, Sexual assault, Alcoholism, Racism, Rape, Violence, Sexual harassment, Racial slurs, and Body horror

elliv's review against another edition

hopeful informative inspiring reflective medium-paced

4.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Alcoholism, Rape, and Sexual assault

takarakei's review against another edition

emotional informative reflective medium-paced

I really enjoyed how Sabrina uses stories or information about sea life to relate back to human existence, especially as a queer POC.

Be sure to check content warnings!

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Rape, Sexual assault, and Eating disorder

Moderate: Racism and Dysphoria

crisscrossedshelves's review

emotional hopeful informative inspiring reflective medium-paced

5.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Racism, Eating disorder, Body shaming, Homophobia, Sexual assault, and Rape