Reviews with content warning for Transphobia - Lakelore

Reviews tagging 'Transphobia'

Lakelore by Anna-Marie McLemore

59 reviews

booksandbesitos's review

emotional informative inspiring reflective sad 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

4.25

I tried reading this but had trouble getting into it. So I switched to an audiobook. I didn’t know Avi Roque was narrating part of it so it was a nice surprise. (I had just finished listening to Cemetery Boys two days prior and had listened to the Julian books earlier that day!)

The audio definitely helped bring the story to life. The writing is really beautiful and almost musical so I liked having it read to me.

The way that Bastian and Lore meet at first connects them to the lake, and it almost feels like the lake is the third main character.

When they meet again it is less of meeting and more finding each other. Their friendship formed very quickly and the dialogue between them feels kinda awkward but in a way that complements one another. And when it starts

bec a relationship it didn’t feel forced at all.

the dynamic between the characters was just so good.

Like I said, I had trouble understanding it at first but The further I got into the book, the easier it was to understand how the lake and magic exists in the story. And it made me want to keep going and see what would happen between the characters and the lake. I can’t really explain it but it didn’t feel like there was much of a plot, but not in a negative way, more in a way where the characters lead the story. They don’t have a major goal, or a thing they are trying to accomplish. They are just existing in a world with lake magic and each other.

The characters are both neurodivergent and I liked the representation but I did feel like a lot of their inner thoughts turned into explaining their brains to the reader. I wish that it would’ve been shown in a different way rather than just “saying” it to the reader. There’s a few times where it’s shown in conversations between the characters, in things they do, or in experiences they have, and I liked those moments better. The telling made it hard to pinpoint if this was a YA book or a Middle Grade book. I enjoyed it either way though.

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caleigh_g's review against another edition

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emotional hopeful reflective 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

The inside jacket of the cover is a bit misleading. It reads like this will be a plot-driven mystery novel with magical realism elements. But it’s actually a novel about the character development of two teens with learning differences find themselves intertwined a world beyond the physical one they know.

The descriptions of the world under the lake are lyrical and vivid and gorgeous. But I felt too much time was spent telling about their struggles and not enough showing the plot. Telling about ADHD and dyslexia rather than building a plot made this feel like a younger, educational read.

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madamenovelist's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging dark emotional funny hopeful mysterious reflective sad 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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talonsontypewriters's review against another edition

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emotional hopeful reflective 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

3.5

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myrikle's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional reflective 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

4.25

This book absolutely was one you probably shouldn't set to the side unless you read it in one sitting. It took longer for me because I was kind of confused with the plot at first, but as I finished reading it, I slowly understood.

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the_true_monroe's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional hopeful mysterious 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? Yes

4.75

So many people rely on art to process their emotions and cope with a world where they are made to feel that they do not belong, and are treated as: less than, a burden, too much, broken and unnatural.

When we utilize art in this way though, what are we trying to do for ourselves? Are we trying to put the worst of us into a form that we should keep sealed shut like a genie in a bottle and mask, or are we wanting to capture each part of us so we can recognize what is going on in our head, why and how we can process that, or for some other reasons?

This book presents two nonbinary, brown, neurodivergent teens who have a curious and mystical connection with a part of the world others are unable to enter and perceive, that seems to revolve around using art as an escape and release. We see these characters who truly have been growing into their true selves, confronted by things from the past they worked so hard to bury deep down.

I absolutely loved listening to the audiobook, and how aside from a focus on internalized ableism, along with experiences of ableism, racism and transphobia , both main characters have solid, strong support systems and people who really do get them. There is no sugar coating but also so much emphasis on how simple it can be for people to accept you as you are, and learn and grow alongside you.

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lopeared's review against another edition

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emotional hopeful mysterious reflective sad 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? It's complicated

4.0

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stacyaj's review

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adventurous emotional hopeful 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

4.0

Content Warnings

nrchambers's review against another edition

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emotional 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? It's complicated

3.25

I loved the concept and the characters but found the narrative slow and mildly repetitive.

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rustedguina's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging emotional inspiring mysterious reflective 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

I have adhd, and honestly this authors depiction of adhd was kind of annoying to me. I knew everything they were talking about and they kept saying the same things over and over again about the character’s adhd. It made it seem like this horrible burden, and while it times it can be it is also not all of the time. While the main characters have marginalized identities the author often focuses on the bad parts of these identities and it is not written in an empowering way. That being said I did like the overall theme and message about dealing with your emotions.

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