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Reviews tagging 'Medical content'
The Many Half-Lived Lives of Sam Sylvester by Maya MacGregor
7 reviews
melsage1823's review
adventurous
dark
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0
Disclaimer: This is an own voices review as I am like Sam, Nonbinary, Autistic and Asexual, however please do not just read my review when considering if this book is for you.
An absolutely amazing book with super positive representation, themes of found family, healing and a twisty murder mystery that lingers on every character throughout the book. This book was written with such beautiful care and you can tell that Maya definitely wanted to make a book their teenage self needed.
I had no dislikes I thought everything was handled beautifully. Would have loved to explore more of Sky and his subplot but I feel like that would have dragged from the main plot.
I'm just absolutely amazed. First of all the representation was just perfect and healed the wound in my heart I've had from being misunderstood by people. There are still people that our out to harm Sam but everyone mostly treats Sam like a human being. The stimming and meltdowns were written so well and very delicately but I wouldn't expect anything less from an Autistic Author. Sure Sam had a passionate special interest that would be a bit odd to neurotypicals but they were treated like The Good Doctor or Sheldon Cooper. It's so refreshing to have this representation in literature. I really hope this book inspires Autistic people to write their own stories so we have more fabulous stories like this. The queer representation is perfect too and I felt like I could relate to characters like Sam, Sky and Shep so so much.
Be warned that if you are experiencing a casual murder mystery, don't. The main focus is of Sam healing from their truama, finding a found family of queer friends and overcoming their fear of not living to nineteen. The found family development made me cry especially Sam's relationship with Shep who's an absolute angel. It's nice to see a healthy Autistic/Allistic couple represented in literature. As you follow Sam through their move to Astoria it's clear how even through the bad times Sam's new family are there to help them. Its beautiful and I think reading the book for Sam's amazing and healthy new friendships is worth it alone. Especially when we learn why they had to move.
The slow paced build up to the mystery of who killed Billy was well developed as I had no idea who could have done it till the very end of the book. There were lots of twists and turns that left me in huge suspense. The plot overall balances well with fluff and Sam dealing with their move as well as Billy's case. I don't think it was rushed or dragged out, it was just the right length. I also think the twist didn't seem far fetched as it foreshadowed how bad Carl was.
MacGregor writes amazing characters and it absolutely shows here. Each character introduced were compelling and unique in their own way. For me though the standouts had to be Sam themself, Shep, Sky and Junius. Every character managed to make you feel a curve ball of emotions even if it came from Sam's pov. I already mentioned but I want to say we stan a healthy relationship between a neurotypical parent and an Autistic child. Junius was such a kind character that I wish he was real. The book really makes you care for him and Sam's relationship. Junius is a prime example of how all parents of Autistic children should be and was a great role model. I also loved that he was Aro-Ace as it positively showed that singal parenting can work. There's some great touching moments between Sam and Junius that I don't want to spoil. Seriously all the dynamics Sam had with every character was written beautifully and with alot of intrigue.
Finally, I'd say I loved the fact that this book wasn't about Sam having to dramatically forgive the person that hurt them and forced them to move. It lets Sam take control of their own story and doesn't centre anybody that hurt them. I asked Maya about this at a book talk and they said they didn't want any of Sam's bullies to have a platform which clearly showed as none of their major bullies from Montana get proper names and characters like Blaise don't get forgiveness. It's great as it shows that you aren't owed forgiveness if you hurt someone.
Overall, this book hit hard, super hard. It's a book I wish little Mel had gotten the chance to read. It's so empowering, I'd recommend to it anyone but if your identify under the Trans umbrella and are Autistic you definitely need to pick this up its life changing.
An absolutely amazing book with super positive representation, themes of found family, healing and a twisty murder mystery that lingers on every character throughout the book. This book was written with such beautiful care and you can tell that Maya definitely wanted to make a book their teenage self needed.
I had no dislikes I thought everything was handled beautifully. Would have loved to explore more of Sky and his subplot but I feel like that would have dragged from the main plot.
I'm just absolutely amazed. First of all the representation was just perfect and healed the wound in my heart I've had from being misunderstood by people. There are still people that our out to harm Sam but everyone mostly treats Sam like a human being. The stimming and meltdowns were written so well and very delicately but I wouldn't expect anything less from an Autistic Author. Sure Sam had a passionate special interest that would be a bit odd to neurotypicals but they were treated like The Good Doctor or Sheldon Cooper. It's so refreshing to have this representation in literature. I really hope this book inspires Autistic people to write their own stories so we have more fabulous stories like this. The queer representation is perfect too and I felt like I could relate to characters like Sam, Sky and Shep so so much.
Be warned that if you are experiencing a casual murder mystery, don't. The main focus is of Sam healing from their truama, finding a found family of queer friends and overcoming their fear of not living to nineteen. The found family development made me cry especially Sam's relationship with Shep who's an absolute angel. It's nice to see a healthy Autistic/Allistic couple represented in literature. As you follow Sam through their move to Astoria it's clear how even through the bad times Sam's new family are there to help them. Its beautiful and I think reading the book for Sam's amazing and healthy new friendships is worth it alone. Especially when we learn why they had to move.
The slow paced build up to the mystery of who killed Billy was well developed as I had no idea who could have done it till the very end of the book. There were lots of twists and turns that left me in huge suspense. The plot overall balances well with fluff and Sam dealing with their move as well as Billy's case. I don't think it was rushed or dragged out, it was just the right length. I also think the twist didn't seem far fetched as it foreshadowed how bad
MacGregor writes amazing characters and it absolutely shows here. Each character introduced were compelling and unique in their own way. For me though the standouts had to be Sam themself, Shep, Sky and Junius. Every character managed to make you feel a curve ball of emotions even if it came from Sam's pov. I already mentioned but I want to say we stan a healthy relationship between a neurotypical parent and an Autistic child. Junius was such a kind character that I wish he was real. The book really makes you care for him and Sam's relationship. Junius is a prime example of how all parents of Autistic children should be and was a great role model. I also loved that he was Aro-Ace as it positively showed that singal parenting can work. There's some great touching moments between Sam and Junius that I don't want to spoil. Seriously all the dynamics Sam had with every character was written beautifully and with alot of intrigue.
Finally, I'd say I loved the fact that this book wasn't about Sam having to dramatically forgive the person that hurt them and forced them to move. It lets Sam take control of their own story and doesn't centre anybody that hurt them. I asked Maya about this at a book talk and they said they didn't want any of Sam's bullies to have a platform which clearly showed as none of their major bullies from Montana get proper names and characters like Blaise don't get forgiveness. It's great as it shows that you aren't owed forgiveness if you hurt someone.
Overall, this book hit hard, super hard. It's a book I wish little Mel had gotten the chance to read. It's so empowering, I'd recommend to it anyone but if your identify under the Trans umbrella and are Autistic you definitely need to pick this up its life changing.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Domestic abuse, Transphobia, Homophobia, Hate crime, and Toxic relationship
Moderate: Toxic relationship, Medical trauma, Medical content, Murder, Torture, Suicidal thoughts, Panic attacks/disorders, and Stalking
Minor: Alcoholism, Biphobia, Alcohol, and Kidnapping
Sam eventually tells Shep what happened to them in Montana and the hate crime is quite a graphic and serious one do be warned. Billy's murder attempts to murder several people throughout the book including Sam and its quite graphic too. Do be warnedvalereads's review
emotional
hopeful
mysterious
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
4.0
Review to come
Content Warnings
Graphic: Injury/Injury detail, Hate crime, Panic attacks/disorders, and Violence
Moderate: Medical content, Murder, Toxic friendship, Bullying, Biphobia, Death, Gun violence, Kidnapping, and Self harm
penguinsquack's review against another edition
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? No
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Transphobia and Bullying
Moderate: Ableism, Biphobia, Death, Child death, Hate crime, Homophobia, Injury/Injury detail, Medical content, Murder, and Outing
Minor: Alcohol, Alcoholism, Car accident, and Self harm
Allergic reaction and anaphylaxisanniereads221's review
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
medium-paced
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
5.0
This book made me emotional in a way i did not quite expect from a paranormal mystery. Sam is non-binary like me. Autistic like me. And asexual like me. And i can't believe there is a character that is like me in those ways all at the same time. They are probably one of my favourite characters. I really enjoyed this book so much. I have not read an autistic character that i have related so much to before with certain things. This book really pulled off the mystery aspect for me. This is a favourite for sure
Content Warnings
Graphic: Medical content, Transphobia, Violence, Alcohol, Bullying, Deadnaming, Death, Ableism, Murder, and Biphobia
Minor: Death of parent and Cancer
Anaphylaxis shocksarah984's review against another edition
dark
emotional
mysterious
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
1.5
I feel terrible giving this book such a low rating but I didn't like it at all.
I will say first off that I really liked Sam's relationship with their dad, and the way that emotions are described being interpreted through facial expressions and the general autistic point of view.
Every character that wasn't Sam or their dad was pretty one-note, though. I kept forgetting about Sky even though he was part of the core friend group, and it took me like half the book to realize Aidan and Dylan were two different guys. There were two different characters whose entire personality was "mean girl". The slang is really embarrassing (stop saying emoji!) and the constant brand name and meme references are already dated.
The mystery was also just really bad. The perpetrator is pretty easy to guessbecause it's the one adult with zero redeeming qualities. The author also seems to want to write a book where true crime sleuths save the day while acknowledging how damaging and ghoulish true crime superfans can be and that did not work for me. The way everything worked out comes across as "digging at old wounds and invading peoples' privacy is bad unless I do it."
I will say first off that I really liked Sam's relationship with their dad, and the way that emotions are described being interpreted through facial expressions and the general autistic point of view.
Every character that wasn't Sam or their dad was pretty one-note, though. I kept forgetting about Sky even though he was part of the core friend group, and it took me like half the book to realize Aidan and Dylan were two different guys. There were two different characters whose entire personality was "mean girl". The slang is really embarrassing (stop saying emoji!) and the constant brand name and meme references are already dated.
The mystery was also just really bad. The perpetrator is pretty easy to guess
Content Warnings
Graphic: Hate crime and Panic attacks/disorders
Moderate: Biphobia, Bullying, Death, Child death, Stalking, Ableism, Alcohol, Homophobia, Injury/Injury detail, Medical content, Murder, Self harm, Suicidal thoughts, and Transphobia
Minor: Police brutality, Toxic friendship, Racism, Toxic relationship, Vomit, Cancer, Death of parent, Chronic illness, Cursing, and Child abuse
benediction's review
dark
hopeful
mysterious
reflective
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? It's complicated
4.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Murder, Injury/Injury detail, Ableism, Death, Suicidal thoughts, Hate crime, Transphobia, and Homophobia
Moderate: Cursing, Emotional abuse, Grief, Stalking, Toxic friendship, Violence, Biphobia, Alcoholism, Bullying, Child death, Mental illness, Dysphoria, Outing, and Self harm
Minor: Deadnaming, Domestic abuse, Lesbophobia, Misogyny, Blood, Kidnapping, Medical content, Police brutality, Racism, and Religious bigotry
melaniereadsbooks's review
emotional
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? It's complicated
5.0
Thank you to Astra Publishing and Netgalley for an arc of this book.
After a nearly life-ending attack when Sam lived in Montana, they move to Astoria, Oregon with their adoptive father to try and start over. But what Sam's dad doesn't know is that they think they won't make it to their 19th birthday and join the book full of other teenagers who died too young--including the one that died in their very house.
I loved this mystery/thriller so so much! I was completely absorbed throughout the entire book and really consumed it quickly. Sam is such an amazing character and I loved the many aspects to their identity. They actually remind me a bit of one of my students and it made me a little weepy. Also their dad, Junius, is probably the best adult to ever exist in a YA book ever? Like...I love him so much. He's aroace and so supportive and loving and absolutely there for Sam and takes in Sam's new friends like they are his own. I just really am here for a supportive father!
All of the side characters were also amazing. I loved all of them. Shep is an adorable and wonderful love interest and I just want to give her a hug and tell her everything will be okay! I also loved Sky and Aidan and the supportive teachers and other friends that they had throughout the book.
I highly highly recommend this one!
After a nearly life-ending attack when Sam lived in Montana, they move to Astoria, Oregon with their adoptive father to try and start over. But what Sam's dad doesn't know is that they think they won't make it to their 19th birthday and join the book full of other teenagers who died too young--including the one that died in their very house.
I loved this mystery/thriller so so much! I was completely absorbed throughout the entire book and really consumed it quickly. Sam is such an amazing character and I loved the many aspects to their identity. They actually remind me a bit of one of my students and it made me a little weepy. Also their dad, Junius, is probably the best adult to ever exist in a YA book ever? Like...I love him so much. He's aroace and so supportive and loving and absolutely there for Sam and takes in Sam's new friends like they are his own. I just really am here for a supportive father!
All of the side characters were also amazing. I loved all of them. Shep is an adorable and wonderful love interest and I just want to give her a hug and tell her everything will be okay! I also loved Sky and Aidan and the supportive teachers and other friends that they had throughout the book.
I highly highly recommend this one!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Biphobia, Violence, Bullying, Transphobia, Death, Panic attacks/disorders, and Hate crime
Moderate: Gaslighting, Medical content, Toxic friendship, and Murder
Minor: Ableism and Self harm
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