Reviews tagging 'Emotional abuse'

Light from Uncommon Stars by Ryka Aoki

162 reviews

danimal_crackers's review

Beautiful, but bizarre.

Found the homeless storyline and resortion to prostitution haunting and triggering.

No disrespect to the author, this is an amazing piece of fiction, it just is not for me.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Racial slurs, Emotional abuse, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, Trafficking, Transphobia, and Domestic abuse

miss_vonnegut's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional 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? It's complicated

5.0

This book was so interesting! It was definitely different than anything I've read before--filled with aliens and doughnuts and beautiful descriptions of violin music. I kept thinking about the song "The Devil Went Down to Georgia" when I was reading it. I love seeing more trans representation, and the way Aoki did it was fantastic. Warning: the trans character experiences transphobia, abuse, and deadnaming but (minor spoiler):

she gets a happy ending.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Rape, Deadnaming, Physical abuse, Transphobia, Racism, and Emotional abuse

Moderate: Violence, War, and Racial slurs

The trans character experiences a lot of transphobia and abuse, but

she gets a happy ending

.

madalynn_owens's review against another edition

adventurous emotional hopeful 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

this was a very different and interesting story filled with a wide array of unique characters. It was a little slow at times and I didn’t love the ending but transported me to a new world. And now I want a donut!

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Transphobia

Minor: Racism, Sexual harassment, Sexual content, War, Panic attacks/disorders, Hate crime, Emotional abuse, Child abuse, and Body shaming

emmambles's review

emotional inspiring reflective 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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body shaming and Transphobia

Moderate: Sexual harassment, Sexual violence, Sexual content, Sexual assault, Rape, Physical abuse, Outing, Emotional abuse, Dysphoria, Domestic abuse, and Deadnaming

swashbuckling_mathematician's review

emotional hopeful inspiring 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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Transphobia

Moderate: Alcoholism, Child abuse, Sexual assault, Deadnaming, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Incest, Physical abuse, and Rape

Minor: Self harm

turrean's review

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? It's complicated

4.0

I finished the book not quite clear on how the resolution was achieved.  Is hell a place? A force that can be evaded once you’re off the planet? I thought the references to the video game NetherTale implied rescue for all the lost students, not just Katrina and Shizuka. What will happen to Shizuka’s soul when she dies? Is there an afterlife if you die off Earth?

Music is a largely a closed book (uh, unheard song? Unplayed melody?) to me, and so its role in destruction and salvation was mystifying to me.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Transphobia, Domestic abuse, and Emotional abuse

Moderate: Body shaming and Bullying

blue_boy62's review against another edition

challenging emotional hopeful inspiring reflective sad 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 definitely took me by surprise in a lot of ways. It’s got a really interesting mix of genres through its sci-fi and supernatural elements, and it’s a nice twist on a lot of different tropes.  I loved the wide range of Asian cultures within it and how it depicted them through languages and food. I also really liked how it handled its queer and trans characters; it’s not afraid to show the messiness of our experiences/communities and has a balance of both the pain and joys we often face. I’m a sucker for the found family trope, and I really enjoyed it in this book. I was definitely invested in all the characters and how their stories intertwined.  Overall, despite all the fantastical elements, at its core, the story is very human. It’s about connection, community, love, and the power of art, especially music, and it handles those themes beautifully. Definitely worth the read! 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Emotional abuse, Sexual violence, Transphobia, Child abuse, Homophobia, Racism, Deadnaming, Sexual assault, Dysphoria, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, and Self harm

Moderate: Body shaming, Lesbophobia, Xenophobia, and Mental illness

Minor: Misogyny and Alcoholism

internationalreads's review

adventurous hopeful inspiring mysterious reflective fast-paced

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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual violence, Domestic abuse, Injury/Injury detail, Physical abuse, Rape, Transphobia, Child abuse, Emotional abuse, Hate crime, Racism, Self harm, Sexual assault, Sexual content, and Suicidal thoughts

clairejoanmarie's review

adventurous medium-paced

• Strong character development? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Rape, Sexual violence, Sexual harassment, and Transphobia

Moderate: Sexual violence, Deadnaming, Child abuse, Emotional abuse, Violence, Sexism, Racism, and Homophobia

Minor: Deportation, Alcohol, Alcoholism, Addiction, Blood, Domestic abuse, Sexism, War, and Adult/minor relationship

ncq's review

adventurous challenging dark emotional hopeful inspiring medium-paced

• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes

4.0

A beautiful story of many kinds of love

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Transphobia, Deadnaming, Body shaming, Sexual assault, Toxic relationship, Bullying, Sexual violence, Rape, Sexual harassment, Violence, and Dysphoria

Moderate: Emotional abuse, Gaslighting, Toxic relationship, Xenophobia, and Homophobia

Also features sex work throughout, but without being anti-sex work