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bookishmillennial's review
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
“Something began in the dark. I’m talking about my dark now, I’m talking about myself. I’m talking about the feeling of being force-fed fistfuls of dirt by God himself.”
I listened to the audiobook, narrated by Sena Bryer, who did a fantastic job. I highly recommend that format!
I recently made a video on why I don't need on-page or extremely detailed rape scenes, and while there are post-rape and mentions of rape in this book, they are not gratuitous or exploitative. I genuinely felt like CSV took great care in both forcing the audience to bear witness to the violence that the travestis endured every day by everyone, whether it was by romantic partners, Johns, the police, or simply society at large, AND ensuring to not cause more harm by being unnecessarily graphic.
Through vignettes, we follow Camila from childhood to young adulthood, as she comes into herself and inadvertently finds a new family of sex workers in Sarmiento Park, in the heart of Córdoba, Argentina. She finds care with Auntie Encarna, who is 178 years old, and their home of travestis finds a baby, whom they call "Sparkle in her eye". These women also encounter headless men who return from a war being shunned by society. The magical realism is quite fun, a bit strange, and honestly provided a much-needed levity to a sometimes-heavier narrative. Camila also is both deeply unserious and funny, even though her story does carry so much pain and sadness.
Camila went through so much in this book, from parental abuse, to police manipulation and bribery, to the grief of losing friends to suicide. However, she continues on, and aims to live a truthful existence, rather than hating herself how society wants her to. Though she still experiences deep loss and heartache, Camila's story is one that thoughtfully humanizes people who society wants to villainize and further marginalize.
Graphic: Homophobia, Transphobia, Injury/Injury detail, Toxic relationship, Physical abuse, Misogyny, and Dysphoria
Moderate: Murder, Child death, and Fire/Fire injury
Minor: Suicide, Sexual violence, and Rape
solusipse's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
Graphic: Ableism, Child death, Chronic illness, Death, Emotional abuse, Classism, Suicide, Transphobia, Dysphoria, Excrement, Animal cruelty, Addiction, Outing, Drug abuse, Suicide attempt, Violence, Alcohol, Body shaming, Hate crime, Rape, Self harm, Suicidal thoughts, Terminal illness, Alcoholism, Sexual assault, Misogyny, Deadnaming, Drug use, Blood, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Sexual harassment, Sexual violence, Child abuse, Homophobia, Sexual content, Murder, and Domestic abuse
fynn_jls's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
Graphic: Murder, Rape, Violence, Bullying, Sexual violence, Drug abuse, Child abuse, Child death, Suicide, and Transphobia
Moderate: Police brutality, Toxic relationship, Homophobia, and Vomit
196books's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.75
Graphic: Transphobia, Rape, Sexual violence, Violence, Sexual harassment, and Abandonment
Moderate: Child abuse, Child death, Suicide, Suicide attempt, and Murder
Minor: Deadnaming
caidyn's review against another edition
4.0
Graphic: Police brutality, Drug use, Deadnaming, Dysphoria, Homophobia, Murder, Transphobia, and Rape
Moderate: Child death
lidia7's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.5
Graphic: Death, Rape, Sexual violence, Transphobia, Violence, and Physical abuse
Moderate: Alcoholism, Classism, Domestic abuse, Drug use, Ableism, Child death, Hate crime, Injury/Injury detail, Murder, Police brutality, Homophobia, Pregnancy, Suicide, Grief, and Racism
Minor: Animal cruelty, Medical content, Vomit, Abandonment, Cancer, Deadnaming, Excrement, Gun violence, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Terminal illness, Forced institutionalization, Colonisation, Animal death, Bullying, and Self harm
maxgdy's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
Graphic: Drug use, Emotional abuse, Injury/Injury detail, Mental illness, Hate crime, Homophobia, Infidelity, Misogyny, Murder, Sexual content, Abandonment, Cursing, Alcoholism, Body shaming, Child abuse, Bullying, Alcohol, Outing, Sexism, Sexual harassment, Transphobia, Violence, Addiction, Blood, Child death, Confinement, Domestic abuse, Police brutality, Sexual violence, Suicide attempt, Deadnaming, Drug abuse, Dysphoria, Rape, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Sexual assault, Death, Grief, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, and Suicide
internationalreads's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.5
Graphic: Death of parent, Alcoholism, Drug use, Excrement, Grief, Sexual violence, Abandonment, Alcohol, Child death, Emotional abuse, Homophobia, Sexual assault, Death, Hate crime, Injury/Injury detail, Murder, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Physical abuse, Police brutality, Rape, Sexual content, Sexual harassment, Violence, Suicide, Terminal illness, Transphobia, and Vomit
suzyreadsbooks's review against another edition
3.0
Graphic: Child death, Ableism, Suicide, Rape, Transphobia, Death, Sexual violence, Hate crime, Murder, and Police brutality
carolinacortez's review against another edition
- 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
pd. checar trigger warnings antes de leer.
Graphic: Alcohol, Alcoholism, Deadnaming, Drug use, Physical abuse, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual harassment, Sexual violence, and Transphobia
Moderate: Abandonment, Addiction, Suicide, Suicide attempt, Rape, Murder, Medical content, Hate crime, and Domestic abuse
Minor: Vomit, Suicidal thoughts, Sexism, Pregnancy, Misogyny, and Mental illness