Reviews tagging 'Transphobia'

Anger Is a Gift by Mark Oshiro

10 reviews

caitlin033's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional 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? Yes

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Police brutality, Murder, Hate crime, Racism, Death, Panic attacks/disorders, Grief, and Violence

Moderate: Ableism, Transphobia, and Gun violence

Minor: Rape and Lesbophobia

andy_chx's review against another edition

challenging emotional 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? Yes

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Police brutality, Death, Death of parent, Panic attacks/disorders, Transphobia, Racism, and Violence

Moderate: Biphobia, Ableism, and Homophobia

Minor: Suicidal thoughts and Rape

gayliott's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional 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? No

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Police brutality, Injury/Injury detail, Hate crime, Murder, and Racism

Moderate: Ableism

Minor: Transphobia

nervousyoungman's review

challenging dark emotional reflective tense

• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Racism, Police brutality, Child death, Death, Death of parent, Grief, Panic attacks/disorders, and Gun violence

Moderate: Deadnaming, Ableism, Transphobia, Mental illness, Blood, and Gore

Minor: Vomit, Confinement, Body shaming, Acephobia/Arophobia, Biphobia, Sexual harassment, Sexual assault, Cursing, and Car accident

ryanrambles's review

challenging emotional tense medium-paced

• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes

3.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death and Police brutality

Moderate: Racism and Transphobia

midgeyu's review

challenging emotional medium-paced

• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Police brutality, Racism, Death, and Gun violence

Moderate: Transphobia

Parts of this book are very heavy and likely triggering for some, but all content is handled respectfully. re: Police brutality, racism, death, and gun violence:

Cops assault minors and adults (primarily BIPOC) on multiple occasions throughout the book. This ranges from degrading pat-downs that border on sexual assault to an event that permanently injuries a character. Three characters are killed by cops: the main characters's father (before the story begins), the love interest (shot on the page and in detail) and a minor character (off page.)

re: Transphobia:

A Black trans girl is choked by a cop and suffers a concussion. It's implied she was targeted due to her gender identity.

alouette's review

challenging emotional sad tense medium-paced

• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

Very diverse and beautiful, but definitely a difficult read with a lot of tragedy. I have a lot of respect for the how the topics of racism, poverty, ableism, and more were handled. But I did find fault in how many of the side characters existed only to prop up the main character. Obviously they're his friends, but they felt very one dimensional compared to his (Moss') complexities. 

Even if the ending is slightly ambiguous, it gives a strong message about a fight that's not over and how it will be fueled by support for each other- and anger, in the best way.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood, Death, Grief, Police brutality, and Racism

Moderate: Gun violence and Panic attacks/disorders

Minor: Biphobia, Deadnaming, and Transphobia

emsim's review

The

death

in the middle of the book was shocking, and I decided it was to much for me to handle right now.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood, Death, Gun violence, Panic attacks/disorders, Police brutality, and Transphobia

wintersolace's review against another edition

challenging emotional medium-paced

4.0

A good read and a look into relevant topics such as racism, including systemic racism, and police brutality. Inclusive cast of characters as well.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Police brutality and Racism

Moderate: Child death, Death, and Panic attacks/disorders

Minor: Transphobia

cupidities's review

challenging emotional inspiring reflective sad fast-paced

• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.25

It's an insidious thing. It never happens overnight. This kind of thing crept into our community long ago. It latched on. It fed on prejudice. Selfishness. People's inability to see life through someone else's eyes. And it grew, bigger and bigger, until we got to a point where some people don't even question why a cop should be allowed to shoot first and ask questions later.

Anger Is a Gift is a dense read - it's full of detail, full of emotion and reflection, full of conflict and growth. It captures the burden of filling a highly visible role in organizing action: the emotional and psychological toll, the weight of carrying a responsibility to the community, the threats and criticism from people who don't understand the importance of this work. This is the first young adult book I've ever read that shows the work that goes into organizing and participating in movements and actions, that shows that actions don't happen without planning and protocols for protecting participants. 

Moss, over the course of the book, stops letting people from positions of privilege and power get away with distancing themselves from the results of their actions. Many characters from a variety of backgrounds are forced to confront the ways that their actions have hurt the people around them. They aren't let off the hook for having good intentions: instead, Moss shows all of them how their actions have compounded injustice and systems of inequity. 

This is also a deeply emotional read, and Moss doesn't get a tidy, happy resolution. Readers will feel the weight he and his loved ones take on and the price they pay to work toward justice. There is hope, but there is also pain, loss, and grief. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Police brutality, Gun violence, and Racism

Minor: Transphobia and Islamophobia