Reviews tagging 'Deadnaming'

Dreadnought by April Daniels

48 reviews

ethana's review against another edition

adventurous challenging emotional hopeful 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

4.5

While I generally really enjoyed Dreadnought, I do advise others to heed the trigger warnings, especially the ones pertaining to transphobia and emotional abuse. There were definitely parts of this book that hit a little too close to home where I had to stop and collect myself before continuing. I think a large part of that was due to the fact that I went into Dreadnought expecting a more lighthearted superhero romp only to get absolutely bodied by the amount of transphobia Danny faced, especially from her parents. In the end I did enjoy the book overall, and the premise was entertaining, just be ready for things to get rough.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Deadnaming, Transphobia, and Emotional abuse

Moderate: Ableism, Misogyny, Homophobia, Outing, and Violence

Minor: Rape

shae_purcell's review against another edition

adventurous dark slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

2.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood, Homophobia, Ableism, Deadnaming, Emotional abuse, Gore, Transphobia, Outing, and Fire/Fire injury

Moderate: Cursing, Medical trauma, Bullying, Violence, Vomit, and Death

Minor: Fatphobia, Rape, War, Alcohol, Cancer, Death of parent, Suicidal thoughts, Animal death, Alcoholism, Grief, and Genocide

teyn's review against another edition

adventurous 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? No

3.75

I would've loved this if not for the gendered fatphobia and ableism that added absolutely nothing to the story.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Eating disorder, Violence, Fatphobia, Deadnaming, Transphobia, and Emotional abuse

Moderate: Homophobia, Addiction, Misogyny, Murder, Injury/Injury detail, and Ableism

Minor: Toxic friendship and Sexual harassment

gameoftomes's review against another edition

adventurous emotional hopeful inspiring reflective sad tense 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

Amazing. The book really gives a payoff for its superhero genre, transgender representation, and first person POV. It uses all of these well, and towards a conclusion with physical and emotional stakes involved. 

There are good action sequences, a bit of gore, and a good bit of body horror. But none of it overwhelms the novel. The supers don’t feel regurgitated and cliché. It feels like it could fit in with comic book superheroes, yet isn’t weighed down with tropes. The world of superheroes and hypertech is fleshed out without being exposition heavy. 

Warning that there is a significant amount of transphobia, including slurs, deadnaming, emotional abuse, and parents kicking out their 15 year old kid. But none of this stops main character Danielle from being super, from being flawed, from being a beacon of hope. Individuals are not a monolith, and I think at the author is transgender herself helps. 

This is a first person perspective YA novel that feels like you’re in the head of a real teenager. Danny clearly had reactions with a lot of self-hate because of how actively awful her dad is and how passively awful her mom is. So negative self-talk happens in stressful situations. Her journey as a superhero starts out as finally getting her body to match her gender identity, then fighting crime becomes an escape from reality, and finally starts to become a community, a newfound family. 

I honestly came in thinking I would be lightly enjoyable fun, but I’m really blown away with the characters, world-building, and balance of emotional, fun, and tense moments. I might have to break my book buying ban to grab the sequel. 

9/10 objectively a good time.

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Injury/Injury detail, Violence, Emotional abuse, Fire/Fire injury, Gore, Homophobia, Murder, Toxic friendship, Transphobia, Deadnaming, Abandonment, Blood, and Body horror

foxwish's review against another edition

adventurous emotional mysterious fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Deadnaming, Emotional abuse, and Transphobia

Moderate: Gun violence, Gore, Medical content, and Death

Minor: Rape

mehlennial's review against another edition

adventurous emotional funny tense fast-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? Yes

3.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Violence, Transphobia, Torture, and Deadnaming

the_vegan_bookworm's review against another edition

adventurous emotional fast-paced

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

3.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexism, Emotional abuse, Child abuse, Deadnaming, Transphobia, Violence, and Death

Moderate: Injury/Injury detail, Sexual harassment, Medical content, and Gore

Minor: Rape

krishnak's review against another edition

dark fast-paced

3.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Transphobia and Homophobia

Moderate: Dysphoria, Deadnaming, and Outing

solenekeleroux's review against another edition

adventurous emotional 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? No

4.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Gun violence, Transphobia, Homophobia, Outing, Domestic abuse, Deadnaming, Emotional abuse, and Child abuse

Moderate: Death and Medical content

phantastic's review against another edition

I didn’t like how one-dimensional some of the antagonistic characters were. Also, it felt like the book was misandristic in its effort to support trans women.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Outing, Transphobia, Child abuse, Dysphoria, and Emotional abuse

Moderate: Suicidal thoughts, Deadnaming, and Cursing

Minor: Infertility, Toxic friendship, and Sexual harassment