Reviews with content warning for Deadnaming - All Our Hidden Gifts

Reviews tagging 'Deadnaming'

All Our Hidden Gifts by Caroline O'Donoghue

23 reviews

danielle_n's review

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adventurous mysterious 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? Yes

5.0

i loved it! absolutely awesome

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mcdal's review against another edition

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5.0

I cannot remember the last time I was so immediately gripped by a book that I could not put it down. Reading this opened the floodgates of nostalgia, to when I would pace around my room analyzing the mysteries of House of Anubis or when I would laugh at the corny but heartfelt banter of My Babysitter’s a Vampire or even when I’d watch pirated episodes of Trollz on YouTube.

This book was perfectly whimsical, had impeccable humor, and the characters were just so immediately likeable and dynamic. More than anything, what kept me going, what made it impossible for me to put this book down was the characters. I loved every single one of them. I even loved the sappy teen romance which in any other story I would have had little patience for (it does help that there are some critical differences when it comes to the identities of the characters involved though). (Oh, and Maeve has ADHD. Yeah, yeah she’s magic or whatever but also Maeve has ADHD and you cannot convince me otherwise)

I knew this book would be good but I was not expecting to fall in love with it. All Our Hidden Gifts is the fun, melodrama-laden queer urban fantasy romp I have been wanting for ages, and god am I so glad I decided to pick this book up. Even if it did throw a wrench in my to do list for the day lol.

I knew I was probably gonna give this book a high rating but what made it a five stars for me is unfortunately spoilers; what I can say is the ending was so refreshing as someone who has found herself frustrated in the past with similar YA books.

So yeah, this was amazing, the day has disappeared before my very eyes, I have no regrets, and I can’t wait to read the sequel.

I gained five years back to my lifespan when the author ended the story saying that forgiveness is never something a person is owed, like I can’t stress enough how having Lily still be mad at Maeve made this book a 5/5 in my eyes. Because yes, no one is obligated to forgive someone who has hurt them, and this is sadly a message too few YA books ever consider. I am so grateful the author in this case understood how trauma and interpersonal relationships actually work.

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alexafuson's review against another edition

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challenging dark mysterious 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

5.0

If you’re looking for a book with a morally grey protagonist that talks about serious issues in the real world, this is it. Most fantasy novels that attempt to include contemporary issues fall very flat in my eyes, but this book successfully gave a story about queer liberation, feminism, and xenophobia while still clearly explaining all of the complex magical components. I was worried I wouldn’t understand anything about the spirituality presented in this book, but everything was explained in a way that made perfect sense (which rarely happens in fantasy books). Maeve was a fantastic character to read about as she explored her own identity and her own flaws. I loved this book, and I’m so glad it was a Monthly Pick at Barnes & Noble, so hopefully, more people will read it.

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abigailc0x's review

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emotional mysterious tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.0

i literally read 250 pages today so be impressed!!!
it was really really good hence why i read most of it in a few days but ended not how i expected it
side note the made up song lyrics made me slightly cringe but maybe that’s a me thing

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thewoodlandbookshelf's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional mysterious 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

4.75

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valley's review against another edition

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adventurous dark emotional mysterious tense medium-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

3.25

I overall liked the story and all the details and explanations about magic, but what this book lacks in my opinion is subtlety. Whenever an important and controversial topic is brought up, which we have a lot of,

from Jo's activism, to Roes problems coming out and the racism Fiona has experienced,

we always get it written out, how bad that is. Of course explaining lgbtq themes for example is important, but the way it was written really just made me feel icky and it felt unnatural, like in a school lesson.

The end was honestly kind of annoying to me, totally subjective, i know, but them all getting powers just feels like creating Gary Stus and Mary Sues and quirky events.

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