Reviews tagging 'Homophobia'

Jawbone by Mónica Ojeda

9 reviews

antimony's review against another edition

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challenging dark tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated

4.0

I struggled a lot with the writing style at points. just like Our Share of Night, it would regularly go on multi-page stretches with no paragraph breaks, leading me to wonder if perhaps this is a perfectly normal literary convention in south america or at least for writers of literary horror there .... but this was really good once I got into it. I especially loved the chapter which was annelise's essay about fear/white horror/cosmic horror..that was really interesting. and I was really intrigued by what was going on with the girls at their meetings in the building and I also really liked the epistolary format. the ending felt so gaping wide open which I wasn't as much of a fan of but ah well. 

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elisascrive's review against another edition

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

4.5

Found myself gnashing at the end without even realising. It always keeps you on the edge. Not a five-star read just because I thought the ending would be much more devastating. Still, the rest of the book is a masterpiece of language and flow. 

It is not an easy read though, very explicit with toxic relationships all over. Motherhood and "sisterhood" are extremely relevant to the whole story and plot, with graphic depictions scattered throughout the novel.   

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shubunkin_reads's review against another edition

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

3.25


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hi_im_tate's review against another edition

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dark mysterious reflective tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

I loved the formatting of this book. The few reviews I skimmed over didn't mention it. There are chapters that are like regular chapter books, full of text, and then there are chapters that are formatted more like interviews. The chapters, also, jump between characters and past and present. If that isn't something you like, I suggest not reading this book. There were times were it was hard to read because it felt like the sentences just went on and on and on with several words that confused me and were hard to pronounce.

Now, onto the contents of this book. I can see why people call this book "gross". It does explore some intense kinks (biting, blood, guns) with minors, but I thought it was done in a good way when they were CONSENSUAL! Reading about minors doing some of these things did gross me out, but I also have to remember that this stuff in real life already. That was another this that made me enjoy this book. The things that happened in this book have happened and will happen in real life. It makes it much more harder to swallow. Looking at the relationships between the girls reminded me of my relationships with friends growing up (though, not as intense). Having a friendship with a group like this, where two are deemed the "leaders" and one an "outcast" really describes adolescent female friendships well in my experience. Growing up with one person all your life makes the two of you merge together in a way you wouldn't have thought possible before. 

The descent into psychosis felt real to me, even though I have never experienced it. The repetitive movements, the noticing small details, and the panic that is ever encompassing a person made ME feel like I was in her shoes. I could hold empathy for her because of what had happened to her and how she "learned" to deal with it.

The dealing of the religious trauma was probably my favorite part. Denying your sexuality, forming something you can actually believe in, questioning everything you've learned about the religion you were raised as. It definitely sheds light on how religion can fuck someone up.

The imagery from this book was wonderfully grotesque. It was a book I didn't want to put down; not necessarily because it was so good, but because I wanted the answers hidden in the pages. And I still don't feel satisfied with what I got 

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caitlynes91's review

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challenging dark mysterious tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

WHEW. wickedly good prose (shoutout to the translator omg?). also wickedly f-ed up. will be thinking about this one for a while.

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owlribbon's review against another edition

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challenging dark

4.25


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ruthypoo2's review

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challenging dark emotional tense 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? Yes

3.0


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taleofabibliophile's review against another edition

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I really wanted to love this, and whilst I haven't disliked it, I'm just not that fussed about reading it. So, for the moment, it's a DNF. The writing is absolutely gorgeous and there were some really un-nerving moments. I think I'll come back to this one, I'm just not feeling it right now. 
CW: up to where I read 

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aliciarosales's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional mysterious sad tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5


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