Reviews tagging 'Homophobia'

Freshwater by Akwaeke Emezi

54 reviews

bleepbloop's review against another edition

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Mental illness, Rape, Suicide attempt, Suicidal thoughts, Panic attacks/disorders, Self harm, Sexual violence, and Sexual assault

Moderate: Eating disorder

Minor: Child abuse and Homophobia

allisonbrooke's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional reflective sad tense medium-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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Abandonment, Transphobia, Car accident, Medical trauma, Sexual violence, Eating disorder, Toxic relationship, Infidelity, Injury/Injury detail, Death, Emotional abuse, Self harm, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Suicidal thoughts, Suicide attempt, Forced institutionalization, Lesbophobia, Panic attacks/disorders, Rape, Abortion, Biphobia, Body shaming, Homophobia, Alcohol, Sexual assault, Incest, Grief, Mental illness, and Sexual harassment

sammies_shelf's review against another edition

dark emotional reflective tense medium-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? Yes

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Self harm

Moderate: Sexual assault and Alcohol

Minor: Homophobia

decie's review against another edition

4.75

i wish there were more books like this. i loved reading about multiplicity from a depathologized lens, and entirely from a system's pov. 

note: definitelyyy check the trigger warnings on this one, friends.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Self harm, Suicide attempt, Sexual violence, Mental illness, Gore, Panic attacks/disorders, Suicidal thoughts, Forced institutionalization, Blood, Car accident, Eating disorder, Rape, and Pregnancy

Moderate: Homophobia, Infidelity, and Abandonment

Minor: Body horror

jamie_reads_stuff's review against another edition

challenging emotional hopeful reflective sad 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? Yes

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Biphobia, Blood, Car accident, Drug abuse, Drug use, Dysphoria, Eating disorder, Fire/Fire injury, Suicide attempt, Self harm, Alcoholism, Body horror, Child abuse, Homophobia, Infidelity, and Outing

Moderate: Medical content, Transphobia, Gaslighting, Grief, and Lesbophobia

thebakersbooks's review against another edition

dark emotional hopeful reflective sad 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? Yes

5.0

Akwaeke Emezi's debut novel Freshwater was the perfect book to boost me out of a reading slump. The prose is beautiful, the characters full of energy and detail, the experiences visceral. This is a book of sharp and jagged edges that cut to the emotional quick. I don't have the skill as a reviewer to do this story justice, but I enjoyed it a lot, even the painful parts.

It's odd to call such a dreamlike book relatable, but the main character of Freshwater was easy to connect to even when her specific struggles weren't ones I'd experienced. Ada's exploration of gender and sexuality were particularly special to me as someone with similar experiences. I'd be remiss not to mention that intersections of cultural and sexual/gender identity are unique to those who live them; as a white U.S.ian reader, I'm sure much of the nuance of being Black, Nigerian, an immigrant, etc. AND queer went over my head. That didn't diminish my enjoyment of reading it at all, and I hope will add to the richness of the experience for readers who do share those identities as well.

Freshwater is a short book but not necessarily a quick read; it grapples with a number of serious topics including rape, trauma, and grief. Nevertheless, the hints of magic and myth, whether real or allegorical, add a bit of lightness and much-needed distance from events that happen to Ada. There is joy amidst the pain that overshadows much of Ada's life, and the payoff when she eventually begins to understand herself more and come into her own feels like its own kind of magic. This is a story that will stay with me for a long time, a standout as both a literary work and a fantasy novel. I highly recommend this book to adult readers.

Content notes: accidental child injury (graphic); self-harm throughout; rape; eating disorder/anorexia; abusive relationships; drug use; alcohol addiction; gender dysphoria; outing a trans character; mild/brief homophobia; child sexual assault; suicide attempt

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Emotional abuse, Physical abuse, Rape, Self harm, Sexual assault, Suicidal thoughts, and Suicide attempt

Moderate: Drug use, Injury/Injury detail, Alcoholism, and Blood

Minor: Eating disorder, Dysphoria, Homophobia, Outing, and Transphobia

random19379's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional mysterious reflective slow-paced

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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Self harm, Mental illness, Rape, Blood, Suicide, and Infidelity

Moderate: Abortion and Transphobia

Minor: Homophobia and Racism

dakotahreads's review against another edition

challenging dark mysterious tense medium-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? Yes

4.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Self harm and Suicide attempt

Minor: Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Eating disorder, Blood, Homophobia, and Rape

laynemandros's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional reflective tense 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

Moderate: Alcohol, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Dysphoria, Eating disorder, Misogyny, Panic attacks/disorders, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Suicide attempt, Abandonment, Addiction, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Grief, Homophobia, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, and Suicidal thoughts

sp1derfairy's review against another edition

dark emotional hopeful informative mysterious reflective sad 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? Yes

5.0

Oh my gosh!!! This book was absolutely wonderful to read and I loved learning about Igbo culture and I cannot wait to do research of my own to learn more as well. Emezi’s writing is overwhelming and beautiful and it fills you up, takes you a minute to digest every imagery-rich word. It’s hard to process, you’re confronted with each of these sentences, faced with something bitter, like the Gods are and how they show you. I really loved it and how Emezi crafted this around their own experiences and I adored seeing the perspectives of the Gods as they all had so many unique thoughts and perspectives to offer. This book is about existing as who you are and being in touch with that. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Rape

Moderate: Child abuse, Sexual assault, and Sexual content

Minor: Homophobia