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shereadytoread's review
- 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
Pros:
- complex, well-written characters
- multiple layers of growth for multiple women in the story
- genre blending
- serious story with some fun aspects
Cons
- the world building with multiple genres was a little lacking (but you could still understand the story fine)
- how “hell” works in a universe with multiple galaxies didn’t make a ton of sense to me
TW: transphobia, death of a child, child abuse, sexual exploitation
Graphic: Transphobia
Moderate: Child abuse
Minor: Child death
alyssamakesart's review
- 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
Graphic: Transphobia, Racism, Racial slurs, Sexual content, and Sexual assault
Minor: Child death, Sexual harassment, Deadnaming, and War
silvernfire's review
- 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
Graphic: Transphobia
Moderate: Rape, Physical abuse, Child abuse, Sexual content, and Violence
Minor: War, Child death, Deadnaming, and Self harm
brianneh's review against another edition
- 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
Graphic: Child abuse, Sexual assault, Sexual harassment, Sexual violence, Transphobia, Racism, Emotional abuse, Racial slurs, War, and Outing
Moderate: Murder, Violence, and Deadnaming
Minor: Child death
the_real_al_cal's review against another edition
- 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? It's complicated
3.5
In some ways, this book is a tough read because of the racism and transphobia that the main character, Katrina, faces. The story doesn't shy away from her struggles, including some very sad scenes early on in which she is brought very low. I imagine that unless trans readers are looking for a story where common struggles are highlighted, this would still be a tough read, because, as other reviewers have mentioned, Katrina is deadnamed and frequently fetishized and sexually assaulted, leaving no question as to what's happening. That said, the story places just as much importance on her growth as a musician and as the person she has always wanted to be. We follow Katrina during her highest highs and lowest lows, and it really just made you root for her in finding herself through her music and her supportive found family. Her parts of the story were the most compelling--reading about her growing relationship with Shizuka and Astrid was so wholesome and were some of my favorite parts of the book.
I'm typically more of a fantasy reader than a sci-fi reader, so I wasn't sure how I would like the sci-fi/alien aspect (not a spoiler; it's in the book summary). Sometimes it did feel a little bit much, with everything else going on, and could be a bit difficult for me to follow. Until the very end, I felt like the entire Tran family could have been nixed from the story without losing much. Though I did really like Shirley and Lan. But I think their part of the story reads more slice-of-life than anything. Looking at it in that context makes their contribution to the overall story feel more purposeful (I realize I just kind of boomeranged my opinion, but the Tran family kind of does that to me, lol).
All-in-all, I'm glad I read this book. I wouldn't say it shifted my reality or rocked my world in ways that other similar books have, but it was still a nice read and kept my attention all the way through. The descriptions of the foods left me drooling--they sounded delicious! I can definitely see it being a special book on the top shelf for other readers, especially (but not exclusive to) trans audiences. If you're at all curious about the book, I'd say give it a try! At the end of the day, the relationships were sweet and complex, and that was the most important part. Just like Katrina, this book deserves some love.
Graphic: Xenophobia, Child abuse, Domestic abuse, Dysphoria, Homophobia, Mental illness, Murder, Outing, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual harassment, and Transphobia
Moderate: Deadnaming and Lesbophobia
Minor: Child death and Chronic illness
discarded_dust_jacket's review
- 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
3.75
That being said, I don’t agree with the way this book is marketed as a “cute, cozy, queer sci-fi” novel, considering the story is so dark. Katrina gets both verbally and physically abused, sexually assaulted and raped on page, there’s a lot of bullying, there’s slurs, there’s murder. It’s not that I didn’t like it for what it was, but having read it, I’m not comfortable with the comparisons between this book and “the Long Way to a Small, Angry Planet,” or Douglas Adams. This isn’t a quirky, lighthearted story.
At times the style felt a bit over-written, and if you’re not very familiar with the terms used to describe classical music, it’s easy to get a bit lost or lose focus at some parts.
Graphic: Racism, Gun violence, Transphobia, Rape, Sexual assault, Bullying, and Dysphoria
Moderate: Physical abuse and Racial slurs
Minor: Child death and Deadnaming
achlaj's review against another edition
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
3.25
Graphic: Sexual content and Transphobia
Moderate: Physical abuse, Racism, Self harm, Deadnaming, and Homophobia
Minor: Miscarriage, Rape, Bullying, Sexual assault, and Child death
minervacerridwen's review
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
4.5
Graphic: Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Dysphoria, Emotional abuse, Child abuse, Physical abuse, Rape, Self harm, Domestic abuse, Transphobia, Deadnaming, Racism, and Sexual content
Moderate: Bullying, Outing, and War
Minor: Alcoholism, Child death, Miscarriage, and Murder
griddlemybeloved's review against another edition
- 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
Graphic: Dysphoria, Child abuse, and Transphobia
Moderate: Outing, Deadnaming, Lesbophobia, and Rape
Minor: Child death and Sexual assault
skudiklier's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
However, I also feel like I ended the book missing some of the point. Like, there was just so much going on, and I'm not sure what my takeaways were supposed to be. Also, there was just so much transphobia that Katrina had to deal with; it was hard to read and felt like some of it wasn't totally necessary? Idk. I get that that can be real but it's not like every single trans person has to go through all of the things she did, and it just was so rough to read. Between that and the racism and violence, I would definitely recommend checking out the content warnings before reading this.
Graphic: Homophobia, Racism, Outing, Racial slurs, Misogyny, Sexism, Death, Deadnaming, Lesbophobia, Transphobia, Xenophobia, Violence, and Murder
Moderate: Classism, Toxic relationship, Bullying, Child abuse, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Abandonment, Alcohol, Animal death, Blood, Body shaming, Fatphobia, War, Vomit, Child death, and Ableism