Reviews tagging 'Abandonment'

Light from Uncommon Stars by Ryka Aoki

30 reviews

shinypurplepants's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional mysterious tense slow-paced

• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

1.5

This was not my cup of tea. There were ideas I liked here but the way they fit together was disappointing. I especially hated Lucy and the whole violin-making family and their storyline. It felt like it only showed up to interrupt more interesting scenes and I didn't care for the internalized sexism of the Maestro.

The book tries to be so whimsical and uplifting but it's got all these random edgy passages of violence that serve no purpose to the narrative. Physical assaults, sexual violence, use of slurs, harassment, abuse, self harm. Every character seems to have unaddressed internalized -isms that the books chooses to just ignore rather than help them through it. It drags down any elements of lightness the book was working to cultivate. I did not enjoy this one!

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Transphobia

Moderate: War, Misogyny, Sexual harassment, Toxic friendship, Suicide attempt, Suicidal thoughts, Self harm, Rape, Sexual violence, Physical abuse, Emotional abuse, Xenophobia, Mental illness, Deadnaming, Body shaming, Abandonment, Sexism, Racism, and Hate crime

skudiklier's review against another edition

adventurous challenging emotional 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

4.5

I feel a bit torn when it comes to this book. On one hand, I was very engaged with it and wanted to keep reading to find out what would happen. I liked the mix of characters and perspectives, and even some of the surprising things (that at first felt like a mix of too many genres) ended up feeling natural and fine. 

However, I also feel like I ended the book missing some of the point. Like, there was just so much going on, and I'm not sure what my takeaways were supposed to be. Also, there was just so much transphobia that Katrina had to deal with; it was hard to read and felt like some of it wasn't totally necessary? Idk. I get that that can be real but it's not like every single trans person has to go through all of the things she did, and it just was so rough to read. Between that and the racism and violence, I would definitely recommend checking out the content warnings before reading this. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Homophobia, Racism, Outing, Racial slurs, Misogyny, Sexism, Death, Deadnaming, Lesbophobia, Transphobia, Xenophobia, Violence, and Murder

Moderate: Classism, Toxic relationship, Bullying, Child abuse, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, and Injury/Injury detail

Minor: Abandonment, Alcohol, Animal death, Blood, Body shaming, Fatphobia, War, Vomit, Child death, and Ableism

martinatan's review

adventurous emotional funny hopeful inspiring reflective 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? Yes

5.0

Everything I would want out of a queer modern fiction story. I was so delighted and moved by how authentically every single one of the main cast was written, and how Ryka Aoki does not shy away from letting the realities of living while queer/trans and Asian/mixed race play out as they do for many. The whole story represents to me the beautiful complexity of what it means to belong to multiple marginalized communities and understand others within them. I love the use of sci-fi and fantasy elements (my favorites) to explore themes of immigration and displacement, transformation, and self-actualization. I appreciated the connections between music, food, identity, and types of love that all feel essential to my own experience as an Asian American.

Chapter 35 was my favorite part of the writing in the book, but the entire novel is laced with such care and tenderness, as well as wit and charm, that by the first chapter I could tell it was something really special. Most of all I want these characters and anyone who identifies with them to be happy. Hopefully this book reaches others like me who will find much needed comfort in its story. Much love to Ryka Aoki for every word of this book!

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Homophobia and Transphobia

Moderate: Abandonment, Deadnaming, Dysphoria, Outing, Racism, Body shaming, Sexual content, Xenophobia, Domestic abuse, Rape, and Sexual assault

Minor: Blood, Child abuse, Colonisation, Drug use, Toxic friendship, Pedophilia, Adult/minor relationship, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Self harm, Alcoholism, Injury/Injury detail, Bullying, and Genocide

Explicit deadnaming of a protagonist near the end of the book by her parent

paidays's review against another edition

emotional inspiring 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

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Transphobia and Violence

Moderate: Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Racism, Abandonment, and Racial slurs

septemberdark's review

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

4.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Abandonment, Transphobia, Racism, and Dysphoria

Moderate: Sexual assault, Self harm, and Lesbophobia

unsuccessfulbookclub's review

adventurous challenging emotional hopeful mysterious 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

4.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: War, Racism, Body shaming, Racial slurs, Murder, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, Outing, Abandonment, Homophobia, Dysphoria, Transphobia, Sexual harassment, Self harm, Deadnaming, Domestic abuse, Child abuse, Sexual assault, and Sexual violence

Moderate: Miscarriage

Minor: Rape

hendrixpants's review against another edition

challenging emotional mysterious reflective tense slow-paced

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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Transphobia

Moderate: Rape and Homophobia

Minor: Abandonment

ladamemardi's review

adventurous challenging dark emotional hopeful mysterious sad slow-paced

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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Dysphoria, Physical abuse, Sexual violence, Sexual assault, Transphobia, and Abandonment

sagebrush_'s review

adventurous 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

4.75

I had no idea I desperately needed a book like this. The plot is bizarre but it captured me immediately.

There is so much heart to this story. It touches on a LOT of emotional topics, the most emphasized being transphobia. 

I wish it had been longer so we could get more detail on some of the sub plots. I would happily read a spin off book of any of these characters!

The author switches character perspectives very frequently, so keep that in mind, especially if you’re listening to the audiobook. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Dysphoria, Rape, Homophobia, Racism, and Transphobia

Moderate: Abandonment, Xenophobia, Body shaming, Domestic abuse, Deadnaming, and Self harm

rattification's review

emotional hopeful tense

• 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

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Violence, Self harm, Transphobia, Abandonment, Bullying, Body shaming, Suicide attempt, Sexual violence, Murder, Rape, Racism, and Suicide

Minor: Deadnaming, Homophobia, Lesbophobia, and Mental illness