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roaming_enn's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
reflective
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? Yes
4.5
This book tells the story of a queer punk band that gets an eviction notice one day, and they decide to occupy the warehouse that their band plays in. But the occupation turns into something bigger, with more causes for which to fight, and even goes national and international. The POV character is Maddie Ryan, a white cishet young woman that grows up middle-class and finds herself, by chance really, in the middle of the protests and demonstrations because of her circumstances. Through her participation, she learns and grows into a person that is eventually willing to fight for what she believes in.
I loved this book! I saw some reviews on here (the Storygraph) about how people thought all the major characters were unlikeable, and I was a bit worried that I might feel the same way. But I didn't! Yes, they all have flaws that may feel unbearable for some readers. Maddie, for instance, is a white cis woman who never had to deal with racism or transphobia or violence, and so she's clueless about a lot of the things and constantly questioning her motives and actions. I think I related to her a little bit, which is why I didn't find her absolutely unbearable. I feel like her thoughts were very much understandable for someone in her situation.
My favorite character was Red, though, and I'm not quite sure why. Every time xe appears on the page, probably from the very first page, I just wanted to keep reading!And when I learned of xir fate , I wanted to curse the author for eternity! Sure, Red was a drunk that when not doing demonstrations just wanted to numb xirself by getting blackout drunk or doing drugs. And that just made me worried for xim... For me, it was seeing someone being in such emotional turmoil that they would harm themself that made me connect with xim.
I'm not a big romance reader, especially where books that aren't advertised as being romance but where a romance plays a major role in the story. But I loved Maddie's and Red's relationship, and I rooted for them from the beginning.
A poignant metaphor in the end of the book is used by Shayna to describe huge demonstrations vs. the small actions that demonstrators must take everyday. One of the participants asked what the point of their weekly meetings was if only 6 of them attended. Shayna compares the large demonstrations to a mushroom, and the weekly meetings as the mycelium of the mushroom, the things underground that feed and nurture the mushroom. The mushroom can then shoot spores that spread throughout the landscape to give birth to even more mushrooms. Things like the weekly meetings serve to nurture the global need for change, so that once a large demonstration is bound to happen, people will be ready. It's such a good metaphor to describe how large protests can happen seemingly out of nowhere, almost organically, but it is due in part to the everyday work done behind the scenes.
So much of the book is so applicable today. And this is why everyone should be reading it. Anyway, thanks for coming to my rambling TED talk.
I loved this book! I saw some reviews on here (the Storygraph) about how people thought all the major characters were unlikeable, and I was a bit worried that I might feel the same way. But I didn't! Yes, they all have flaws that may feel unbearable for some readers. Maddie, for instance, is a white cis woman who never had to deal with racism or transphobia or violence, and so she's clueless about a lot of the things and constantly questioning her motives and actions. I think I related to her a little bit, which is why I didn't find her absolutely unbearable. I feel like her thoughts were very much understandable for someone in her situation.
My favorite character was Red, though, and I'm not quite sure why. Every time xe appears on the page, probably from the very first page, I just wanted to keep reading!
I'm not a big romance reader, especially where books that aren't advertised as being romance but where a romance plays a major role in the story. But I loved Maddie's and Red's relationship, and I rooted for them from the beginning.
A poignant metaphor in the end of the book is used by Shayna to describe huge demonstrations vs. the small actions that demonstrators must take everyday. One of the participants asked what the point of their weekly meetings was if only 6 of them attended. Shayna compares the large demonstrations to a mushroom, and the weekly meetings as the mycelium of the mushroom, the things underground that feed and nurture the mushroom. The mushroom can then shoot spores that spread throughout the landscape to give birth to even more mushrooms. Things like the weekly meetings serve to nurture the global need for change, so that once a large demonstration is bound to happen, people will be ready. It's such a good metaphor to describe how large protests can happen seemingly out of nowhere, almost organically, but it is due in part to the everyday work done behind the scenes.
So much of the book is so applicable today. And this is why everyone should be reading it. Anyway, thanks for coming to my rambling TED talk.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Suicide, Suicide attempt, Rape, and Suicidal thoughts
catsteaandabook's review against another edition
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
3.75
It was cool to read such a brazenly leftist book, though it did kind of read as “this is what leftism is” at times which was just not what I wanted. I can understand its value though. The prose also was not my favorite, though it wasn’t bad.
Also, this is a very small portion of the book, but I kind of didn’t appreciate how Christianity was portrayed, like I believe we can understand and condemn all of the terror that has been inflicted using Christianity as a front and all the oppression still perpetrated by Christian leaders and organizations, while also recognizing that they do not define the religion as a whole. The book basically calls Christianity inherently evil, using European Christian conquests and white Christian nationalism as reasoning, which I just think is belittling to progressive and non-European Christians. (Christianity literally started in Palestine.) Also not all preachers are rich? Like? Most aren’t?
Anyway, I appreciated a lot of what this book had to say. I loved the concept and I think it did an excellent job showing how democrats won’t save us. I also appreciated seeing different opinions within leftism. And neopronoun rep! I loved its portrayal of white guilt and how, while it’s well meaning, it frequently ends up hurting people of color. Liberal white guilt runs deep and I’m still in the process of unlearning it. It’s admittedly only recently that I learned about the harm it can cause.
This book wasn’t perfect, and honestly I think part of my feelings are just it not really being my style, but I still am glad I read it and I would like to read more from Sim Kern.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Suicide attempt, Transphobia, and Suicidal thoughts
hmknerr's review against another edition
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Police brutality, Drug use, Suicidal thoughts, Alcoholism, Rape, Suicide attempt, Drug abuse, Alcohol, and Addiction
bobbi's review against another edition
challenging
reflective
slow-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
3.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Drug abuse, Drug use, Police brutality, Confinement, Suicidal thoughts, Alcoholism, and Toxic relationship
Moderate: Blood, Grief, Vomit, Gun violence, Rape, and Suicide attempt
Minor: Deadnaming and Transphobia
rpompom's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
hopeful
sad
medium-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
4.25
I was looking forward to this book and feel like it did inspire complex thought and good discussions with others. I have not seen many books with a narrator sitting with shame, guilt, desire to change and support liberation while wrestling with their privilege as explicitly. I did feel like the narrator felt a bit young (than their supposed age) and a bit flat in their exploration, sitting with so much white guilt. I did enjoy that this was not a utopian novel - it sat within an alternate timeline of dystopia and wrestled with things we are currently fighting as well.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Panic attacks/disorders, Addiction, Police brutality, Drug abuse, Death, Alcoholism, Grief, Suicidal thoughts, and Suicide attempt
Moderate: Sexual assault and Rape
alienguy's review against another edition
challenging
hopeful
reflective
tense
fast-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? Yes
4.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexism, Misogyny, Police brutality, Suicide attempt, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic relationship, Drug abuse, Classism, Rape, and Addiction
Moderate: Sexual harassment, War, and Religious bigotry
Minor: Xenophobia
decie's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
inspiring
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? Yes
4.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: Classism, Suicidal thoughts, Drug abuse, Forced institutionalization, Violence, and Drug use
Moderate: Colonisation, Panic attacks/disorders, Police brutality, Death, Grief, and Racism
Minor: Transphobia, Rape, War, Suicide, and Suicide attempt
kchamp's review against another edition
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.0
This book is so fucking depressing. It kind of almost redeems itself in the last 5-10 pages? But honestly this felt like a novel that did not need to be written. What is the intention of telling this made up story, with an “alternate future” that’s so obviously parallel to our own that it hardly counts as speculative? It feels lazy. What is the intended purpose of telling this story from Maddie’s perspective? Her character is so underdeveloped, flimsy, annoying, and hard to empathize with. She’s a hollow character with no defining personality trait other than “shame,” and even that feels under explored?
And oh god, don’t get me started on Red and the romantic subplot. Maddie just hops from toxic relationship to toxic relationship and it’s boring. And there was not a single moment of this book that convinced me that Red was “charming.”
I did not give a shit about Red or Maddie, and it infuriated me to have to trudge through their story for the scraps of what was actually compelling in this book. I want books about hope, not just in the last 5 pages.
And oh god, don’t get me started on Red and the romantic subplot. Maddie just hops from toxic relationship to toxic relationship and it’s boring. And there was not a single moment of this book that convinced me that Red was “charming.”
I did not give a shit about Red or Maddie, and it infuriated me to have to trudge through their story for the scraps of what was actually compelling in this book. I want books about hope, not just in the last 5 pages.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Emotional abuse, Grief, Suicide attempt, Toxic relationship, Addiction, Drug use, Sexual assault, Gun violence, and Police brutality
Moderate: Racism, Suicidal thoughts, Alcoholism, Police brutality, Death, Blood, Drug abuse, Drug use, Rape, Sexual assault, Toxic relationship, Transphobia, and Addiction
isitnaptimezo's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
sad
tense
medium-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? It's complicated
4.5
I loved this book. The alternative timeline made the plot feel different enough from reality while still being realistic. Being set in the city I grew up in, yet having extremely mixed feelings about, was somehow a healing balm to my heart. The characters were very relatable and I learned so much from each of them. The story is raw, heart wrenching, while also being immensely inspiring, especially as we head into what will undoubtedly be a tumultuous election year. Will the conditions be right for Free People Villages to sprout across the world in 2024 for a revolution? I hope so.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Rape
Moderate: Addiction, Sexual assault, Panic attacks/disorders, Suicide attempt, Suicidal thoughts, Death, War, Transphobia, Violence, Racism, and Sexual content
mxfahrenheit's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
fast-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? Yes
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Alcohol, Confinement, Death, Sexual assault, Suicide attempt, Drug use, Police brutality, Vomit, Drug abuse, Suicidal thoughts, Alcoholism, Addiction, and Rape
Moderate: Classism, Violence, Emotional abuse, Panic attacks/disorders, Grief, Colonisation, and Deadnaming
Minor: Body shaming, Animal death, and Animal cruelty