Reviews tagging 'Self harm'

Light from Uncommon Stars by Ryka Aoki

218 reviews

suchacommotion's review

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adventurous emotional inspiring mysterious reflective sad 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

5.0

This book is so devastatingly emotional and philosophical and reads just like an old friend. The themes of identity, family and acceptance under the blanket of music in a sci-fi/fantasy setting all make this book complex, fascinating, and engaging from start to finish. 
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haileeraye's review against another edition

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adventurous dark emotional hopeful inspiring mysterious reflective 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? It's complicated

4.0

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overthinkereading's review

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4.0

“Where does the music end and love begin?”
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sonjak28's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional funny hopeful medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes

4.25

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caseylovett's review

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adventurous dark emotional medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes

4.0

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buttercat42's review

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adventurous hopeful medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? No

2.5

I wanted to like this book sooo much more than I did! I finished it because the story was really compelling and I wanted to know what happened, but the writing was very much not my thing. It felt like watching a movie with my eyes closed, it seemed like there was so much information missing. Instead of being immersed in the story, I felt like the author was giving a long, drawn out description of a TV show she had watched. The first half went really fast, which was fine, but the second half really dragged and I think the author was trying to do too much, to the detriment of every part of the story. Ultimately I think this would have made a much better animated TV show than novel. The story was wonderful, truly, but I just can’t recommend the book in good faith because of the writing. 
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murderousscottishgremlin's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional hopeful 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

Such a beautiful story of learning how to live again, even after what feels like losing everything. Aoki’s writing is so heartfelt and gorgeous, especially when talking about music. The characters are all so complex and messy and loveable in their own ways, and I adored the found family aspect! I’ll probably come back and write a better review once I can form coherent thought. This book is very good!! 
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amvs1111's review

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adventurous dark emotional funny 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? Yes

4.75

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sofiadanielle's review against another edition

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adventurous funny 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

4.0

A book with many stories, themes, content; from aliens to deals with hell, from classical music to anime/video game theme songs, and many a queer story overall. 

I didn’t know much about the story before diving in, and I was pleasantly surprised! The way this is written reads very easily and quickly; though I was maybe a bit confused in the beginning, after a chapter or two, the paragraph/character POV started to really flow. 

The ending seemed almost cinematic, in the sense that it flowed in a lovely way! Some themes pertaining to sexual violence (or just. really negative sexual experiences for Katrina) made me uncomfortable, but also, it’s worth noting that those aspects may not always be fiction, especially to queer individuals. It was great to see Katrina come into her own; her growth is certainly a highlight of this book. 
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k_fry's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional funny hopeful mysterious reflective sad tense 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

4.0

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