Reviews tagging 'Domestic abuse'

Light from Uncommon Stars by Ryka Aoki

188 reviews

foxblood's review against another edition

emotional hopeful inspiring mysterious 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? Yes

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Transphobia, Rape, Violence, Domestic abuse, and Racism

theirgracegrace's review

emotional reflective sad slow-paced

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

4.5

Light From Uncommon Stars is a beautiful symphony from start to finish. Every pastiche-style chapter slowly develops the relationship between its three main characters: Shizuka Satomi, a violin teacher who needs to sacrifice one more student to Hell to be able to play again; Katrina Nguyen, a transgender woman escaping her transphobic and abusive family only to become Satomi's student; and Lan Tran, an alien refugee fleeing a galactic war with her family by pretending to be the owners of a donut shop. The prose reveals and hides at every moment, building to a powerful concert the night before Satomi's contract with Hell is up, and either she or Katrina has to die. The ending completely surprises and lends itself well to the book's themes of being oneself and sharing one's soul with the universe to stave off apathy and hate. Incredible book that I've recommended to everyone already!

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Gun violence, Chronic illness, Domestic abuse, Homophobia, Racism, Sexism, Sexual harassment, Abandonment, Gaslighting, Grief, Hate crime, Emotional abuse, Panic attacks/disorders, Racial slurs, Stalking, Violence, Bullying, Physical abuse, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Child abuse, Self harm, Transphobia, Cursing, Death, Dysphoria, Kidnapping, Rape, Deadnaming, Mental illness, Misogyny, Murder, Outing, Suicidal thoughts, War, and Xenophobia

Minor: Blood, Vomit, and Fire/Fire injury

mpbookreviews's review

emotional 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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Deadnaming, Domestic abuse, Homophobia, Sexual harassment, Transphobia, Xenophobia, Child abuse, Racism, Dysphoria, Lesbophobia, and Sexual content

Minor: Self harm

brinsay's review

adventurous emotional funny inspiring 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? Yes

5.0

This book is so good it amazes me question wether anything else I've given 5 stars is worthy in comparison. I love these characters, I love this story l, I love the big donut. 

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Content Warnings

Minor: War, Panic attacks/disorders, Hate crime, Domestic abuse, Toxic friendship, Miscarriage, Racism, Mental illness, Gun violence, Sexual assault, Rape, Transphobia, Toxic relationship, and Grief

rainbowshelves's review

adventurous dark emotional hopeful inspiring mysterious reflective tense 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? Yes

4.25

Oh! Really painful to read at times but in the end so lovely and hopeful. Will also potentially make you hungry. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Transphobia, Outing, Murder, Physical abuse, and Gun violence

Moderate: Rape, Racial slurs, Child abuse, Sexual violence, Racism, Bullying, Domestic abuse, Violence, Body horror, Xenophobia, Suicidal thoughts, War, and Deadnaming

Minor: Animal death, Panic attacks/disorders, Body horror, Alcohol, Blood, Gore, and Grief

It's difficult to choose Graphic, moderate or Minor accurately but I'll do my best

hailstorm3812's review against another edition

adventurous emotional hopeful 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? Yes

4.5

This book has so much in it. So many plots, so many characters, so many trigger warnings (seriously check them, i didn't and almost stopped), but it's also filled with so much love that it is hard to critique it. It loves its characters, music, donuts, the community of Monterey Park, me, you, and every messy thing. Much like Katrina's music, discordant notes are brought together into an interesting whole. I'm typing through tears and my heart is full. (Though the people who say this book is cozy is a dead liar)

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Dysphoria, Deadnaming, Death, Child abuse, Outing, and Transphobia

Moderate: Homophobia, Pedophilia, Terminal illness, Lesbophobia, Sexual assault, Murder, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual harassment, Sexual violence, Emotional abuse, Grief, and Gun violence

Minor: Xenophobia, Domestic abuse, Racism, Toxic friendship, Violence, War, and Child death

abookwormspov's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional funny hopeful 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: War, Violence, Racial slurs, Sexual harassment, Toxic relationship, Self harm, Physical abuse, Pedophilia, Panic attacks/disorders, Transphobia, Sexual assault, Lesbophobia, Injury/Injury detail, Deadnaming, Cursing, Outing, Homophobia, Sexual violence, Xenophobia, Rape, Hate crime, Toxic friendship, Religious bigotry, Mental illness, Gun violence, Domestic abuse, Grief, Death, and Abandonment

emi_momo's review against another edition

emotional hopeful inspiring fast-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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Dysphoria, Emotional abuse, Homophobia, Deadnaming, and Transphobia

Moderate: Physical abuse, Sexual assault, War, Abandonment, Bullying, and Child abuse

Minor: Murder, Xenophobia, Alcoholism, Domestic abuse, Gun violence, Sexual content, and Racism

nerdysread's review against another edition

challenging emotional informative inspiring reflective 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? It's complicated

5.0

Wow

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual assault, Child abuse, Violence, Transphobia, Homophobia, Gun violence, and Domestic abuse

Moderate: Racism, Rape, Incest, Pedophilia, Hate crime, Emotional abuse, and Deadnaming

invaderday's review against another edition

2.5

you'd think i would like a book about a girl who plays undertale violin covers a lot more, but it didn't really come together for me. would not have finished it if i wasn't determined to read the whole book before a book club meeting. i liked some of the themes and some of the character moments, but a lot of it was tiresome after a while.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Transphobia, Domestic abuse, and Dysphoria

Moderate: Racism, Homophobia, Sexual assault, Racial slurs, Physical abuse, and Sexual harassment

Minor: Self harm