Reviews tagging 'Misogyny'

Light from Uncommon Stars by Ryka Aoki

59 reviews

lilly_anne's review against another edition

adventurous emotional funny hopeful mysterious sad slow-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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Deadnaming, Self harm, Racism, Sexual assault, Toxic friendship, and Transphobia

Moderate: Alcoholism, Child abuse, Homophobia, Death, Domestic abuse, and Misogyny

Minor: Suicide

leanne_miron's review

adventurous emotional funny hopeful lighthearted 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

4.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Deadnaming, Outing, Rape, Racism, Sexual harassment, Child abuse, Transphobia, and Xenophobia

Moderate: Hate crime, Bullying, Panic attacks/disorders, Homophobia, and Misogyny

queersicles's review

emotional hopeful reflective slow-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

4.5

I love slow paced, slice of life books. Much of what I love about this book is about that. The book describes food with such texture and depth, it feels very comforting to step inside this world where there are clear problems but those are taken just as seriously as the character's meals. I love the relationships between these different women, power dynamics of adult-teenager, cis-trans, human-AI, and parent-outside adult giving perspective on her parenting choices were all explored. It felt like love between women was the main focus of the book. Grappling with the outside pressures of war, immigration, misogyny, racism, transphobia, etc, were battled out. No one woman was saving anyone else, they were grappling with power dynamics and how to listen and respect one anothers autonomy throughout, which was beautiful to see unspool in such a cooky little world where the devil and aliens are running around
 That all being said, I felt frustrated by the ending.

the end leaves Shizuka (the woman who was selling the souls of her students to hell for her own fame/glory) with a happy ending and a gay relationship which had depth and felt interesting and flawed, but left Katrina with no romantic relationship (which would have been fine) except her getting a Tesla and seemingly carrying on some kind of relationship with a man who literally sexually assaulted her the very first time he met her (he grabs her genitals through her dress in a backstage dressing room with a bunch of people around) which felt just.. like such a betrayal? She starts the book running from her abusive family, escapes and finds a new family to be a part of, but then the end, the book doesn't focus on her growing friendship with an AI named Wendy who I think would have been a more satisfying ending to see how their relationship was developing, and instead ties her to this rich asshole where she is (this is a presumption on my part) still in some way doing sex work in exchange for money/a Tesla from a rich asshole? It just felt like a slap in the face. </Spoiler> that unsatisfying ending detail took a lot away for me, which is why I couldn't give it 5 stars

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Transphobia, Violence, Xenophobia, Suicidal thoughts, Classism, Misogyny, Racism, Rape, Sexual assault, Body shaming, Bullying, Deadnaming, Domestic abuse, Dysphoria, Blood, Child death, Child abuse, Self harm, Sexism, Death, Hate crime, Homophobia, Outing, Racial slurs, Sexual harassment, Murder, and Physical abuse

s0ph1e_a's review

adventurous emotional hopeful 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? It's complicated

5.0

This is a very dynamic book, it brings together a lot of tropes i didn’t expect to work together - namely the combo of deal with the devil and aliens from outer space - in fact when I was in the shop buying this the synopsis confused me when it introduced Lan cause it was so unexpected 😂 

This book works SO well. The characters are likeable and develop in beautiful ways, they have flaws and are rounded people. They experience difficulties - transphobia, domestic abuse and sexual assault are exploded openly in this book, not in a way I’d consider trauma porn but they are actively touched on multiple times. Aoki does a wonderful job introducing a wonderful cast of character, you root for them all and want them to be happy and well. 

I’d definitely recommend this book to others, tho I would mention how openly it discusses heavier topics like transphobia and domestic abuse. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Transphobia, Domestic abuse, and Misogyny

Moderate: Sexual assault

ruthlessreads's review

dark hopeful mysterious sad slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? N/A
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

This was pitched to me as wholesome & hopeful book and, while I did find the ending hopeful, I would not consider this book wholesome in any capacity. There's lots of traumatic stuff explored so I recommend reading the trigger warnings before starting.
 

I wanted to like this book much more than I actually did. There were parts that I really enjoyed (the relationship between Lan & Shizuka, watching Katrina grow more confident, etc.) but overall I felt that the author was trying to weave too many disparate stories together. At least 2 storylines I do not feel needed to be included at all and there's at least one POV that I think could have been much more limited. It felt like some of these storylines petered out, without impacting the story in any real way. This could have been two books that tie into the same universe, rather than one book trying to smash as much into it as possible. 

That said, I really enjoyed the relationships between all the characters and, as a trans & queer reader, there were so many parts that were emotionally impactful in ways that I especially appreciated. This book could be enjoyed by anyone though, especially given the right information before starting. If I'd had different expectations going in, I may have enjoyed it more!

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Domestic abuse, Sexual content, Child abuse, Gaslighting, Toxic friendship, Homophobia, Misogyny, Emotional abuse, Transphobia, War, Physical abuse, Drug use, Violence, and Hate crime

Moderate: Child death, Self harm, Alcohol, Death, Murder, Sexual harassment, Drug use, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Racism, Grief, and Pandemic/Epidemic

bookwormbi's review

adventurous 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? It's complicated

5.0

That is one of the most beautiful books I’ve ever read. I was so deeply entranced while reading it. I fell in love with art and with life. Please, do yourself a favor and read it.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Transphobia

Moderate: Rape, Racism, and Misogyny

ka_ke's review

It starts off fine, the individual character perspectives are kept to individual chapters, but then around 25% of the book, perspectives change characters half way through scenes/paragraphs. 

I also think this book would benefit from a content warning in the beginning regarding the fmc’s body dysmorphia, suicidal thoughts, sex work etc. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Transphobia, Body horror, Body shaming, Bullying, Child abuse, Cursing, Dysphoria, Gaslighting, Mental illness, Misogyny, Panic attacks/disorders, Trafficking, Sexual assault, Self harm, Suicidal thoughts, and Toxic friendship

Moderate: Addiction, Deadnaming, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Abandonment, and Adult/minor relationship

Minor: Sexual violence, Violence, Outing, Pedophilia, Racism, Sexual content, Racial slurs, War, and Xenophobia

analenegrace's review against another edition

adventurous emotional funny hopeful tense 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 was a beautiful book that melded so many genres in a way that I found very successful. All the characters are incredibly compelling and represent the many different ways womanhood happens and exists. Trans characters are more important than ever, especially by Trans authors. I was never entirely sure where the plot was going to go, which can often make a book frustrating, but instead, Aoki made me constantly drawn back in. It's a hard book to summarize, but things like found/chosen family, the importance of art to humanity, and queer joy made this book so powerful, I imagine I will be thinking about it for quite a while!

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Transphobia, Homophobia, Suicide attempt, Misogyny, Body shaming, Suicidal thoughts, and Sexual harassment

Minor: Alcoholism, Alcohol, and Incest

lilaceous's review

adventurous dark emotional funny hopeful mysterious reflective sad medium-paced

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

4.0

characters - ⭐️

plot - ⭐️

engaging to read - ⭐️

would recommend - ⭐️

would read again - 

brought me to tears a number of times. although the narration is a bit unclear and poorly written at times (due to what seems to be editing problems), it’s a beautiful story and worth the read if you like fantasy and chosen family.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Racism, Self harm, Blood, Transphobia, Adult/minor relationship, Body shaming, Deadnaming, Misogyny, Outing, Sexual assault, Rape, Sexual harassment, Child abuse, Alcoholism, and Physical abuse

cozyscones's review against another edition

adventurous dark 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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Misogyny, Suicidal thoughts, Transphobia, Domestic abuse, and Racism

Moderate: Sexual content, Sexual assault, Murder, and Violence