Reviews tagging 'Suicidal thoughts'

Light from Uncommon Stars by Ryka Aoki

122 reviews

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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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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pepper_mind's review against another edition

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adventurous dark emotional hopeful 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? Yes

3.75


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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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ngrant88's review

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Poorly developed characters and relationships, way too much plot without anything actually happening, POV changes mid paragraph and EVERY TRIGGER WARNING there is. This could have been a good book if someone else wrote it (and removed several plot lines).

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laguerrelewis's review

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adventurous emotional funny 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

“When two violins are placed in a room if a chord on one violin is struck
the other violin will sound the note”
—Say Yes, Andrea Gibson


Light From Uncommon Stars is difficult to distill. A plot synopsis often leaves your audience thinking “how does that fit together?” This is actually Stars’ greatest strength—it contains multitudes, and its insight is fathomless. Like Gibson says in the poem quoted above, Ryka Aoki is able to play the exact chords that resonate and sound in the reader. The result is a moving and incredibly affecting story of legacy, love, connection, community, mistakes, the condition of being alive, and the connective power of music and donuts. These words will stay with me for years to come. Keep tissues on hand, and do not read this book hungry.

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alienguy's review

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dark emotional inspiring 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

4.25


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angiealexa27's review

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inspiring reflective 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? N/A

5.0

Its weird, its 
queer, its scifi fantasy, its unique. The story follows 4+ different POVs, mostly surrounding a trans teen who is a violinist who is discovered by a teacher out to find a soul to steal for hell, i know nothing about violins and have literally never been interested in them lol, but the author captivates you with this cool story line that switches POVs, with small sections making it easy to read imo. 
Recommend for fantasy in the real world lovers or for queer story lines- lesbian couple in here

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subtlyfurious's review against another edition

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adventurous dark emotional 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

This was a bizarre read but so unique. I think it’ll stick with me for a long time

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jessamo19's review

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adventurous dark emotional funny slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

2.5


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