Reviews tagging 'Fatphobia'

Skim by Mariko Tamaki

17 reviews

steveatwaywords's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional reflective sad fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

Skim is a story of young women and misunderstanding, of challenges to compassion and walls against love, of the gulfs between death and alienation, of all of us stumbling ahead nonetheless. Insecurity is near the heart of Tamaki's characters who casually lash out and judge the behaviors of difference, but it is an insecurity nonetheless paired with longing. There is no clear path to love, and tentative overtures are as likely to be lost as tragically fulfilled.

While the stark black and white illustration work complements the bleakness of the story and the divisions between characters, I wondered at points whether greyer tones might better represent the quiet quests of these students against the public performative nonsense the mainstream offers.

Tamaki takes on the misunderstandings we have as people, not merely adolescents, around our discussions of suicide, of enmity, of community. And we must not expect pat or final answers to any of it; quite the opposite. We just keep moving forward as best we can.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Grief, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic friendship, and Toxic relationship

Moderate: Self harm, Adult/minor relationship, Body shaming, Suicide, and Fatphobia

There is no graphic depiction of harm, death, or sexual situations, but these questions dominate the plot.

chris_reads's review against another edition

reflective sad fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.5

Pretty underwhelming. Grew on me towards the end though. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Drug use, Dysphoria, and Toxic friendship

Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Bullying, and Suicide

Minor: Racism, Homophobia, and Fatphobia

suchacommotion's review against another edition

adventurous emotional reflective sad fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

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Content Warnings

Minor: Fatphobia and Suicide

kitschysweater's review against another edition

dark emotional hopeful reflective medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Fatphobia, Homophobia, Adult/minor relationship, and Suicide

Moderate: Suicide attempt and Toxic friendship

pabi's review against another edition

emotional reflective sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? N/A
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.0

perfectly captures how pretentious, insufferable and weird I felt in high school (probably on most days I was). 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Homophobia, Grief, Lesbophobia, Mental illness, Self harm, Toxic friendship, Suicide, Suicidal thoughts, Body shaming, Adult/minor relationship, Biphobia, Injury/Injury detail, Racism, Bullying, and Fatphobia

aqrio's review against another edition

dark emotional sad slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Homophobia, Suicide, and Fatphobia

alisonfaith426's review

dark sad fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot

3.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Toxic friendship, Bullying, Fatphobia, and Body shaming

witchofthemountains's review against another edition

medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? N/A
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Homophobia, Death, Cursing, Body shaming, Toxic relationship, Suicide attempt, Fatphobia, Adult/minor relationship, Ableism, Toxic friendship, Racism, Lesbophobia, Grief, and Bullying

dhritigupta's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional funny hopeful mysterious reflective sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated

3.5

“I think everything you do and everything people do to you leaves a mark, or at least it affects who you are.”

i wish the part of the story where things start to look up for kim was longer! still, i think the book captured the heaviness of being a teen in a nuanced way and i liked the wiccan/90s toronto backdrop.

i kept waiting for the trauma of a teacher-student relationship to be addressed more significantly, and i don’t think that really happened 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Suicide, Toxic friendship, and Suicide attempt

Moderate: Fatphobia, Mental illness, Adult/minor relationship, and Homophobia

queerandtalkative's review against another edition

4.0

CW: pedophilia: grooming, adult/minor relationship. Fatphobia, internalized misogyny, toxic friendships, ableism. Topics around suicide.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Ableism, Adult/minor relationship, Pedophilia, Suicide, and Toxic friendship

Moderate: Gaslighting, Homophobia, and Fatphobia

Minor: Self harm