Reviews tagging 'Homophobia'

Plain Bad Heroines by Emily M. Danforth

67 reviews

owenwilsonbaby's review against another edition

dark emotional funny mysterious slow-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? It's complicated

4.25

"She'd pass a flooring place and imagine her life selling carpet. She'd pass a beauty salon and imagine her life doing hair. Mostly she tried to imagine contentment: the state of being content. She didn't think it was something she'd ever been before, so it was difficult for her to accurately imagine how it might feel. But she did try."

I loved this! The last 600 page novel I read was Dune and in some ways that felt like such a slog in comparison to this. I occasionally had issues - pauses that lasted too long, issues with the pacing - especially when the beginning and middle felt like they were building to something that wasn't quite carried to fruition by the culmination of Alex and Libby's plot and the modern Hollywood plot. The tone at the start was also interesting to adjust to, with a very camp Gothic element - often an interesting shift when the narrator themselves is a bit of an all-knowing, anonymous character (and frequently reminds the reader of this).

That said, all of these are minor quibbles in an otherwise fun and absorbing take on queer horror. Danforth has a brilliant grasp on when to employ terror and when to employ horror. The novel has lots of potential themes but ultimately seems to be about the dangers of spectacle, not unlike my other horror favourite of this year, Jordan Peele's Nope. I also loved Harper, Audrey and Merritt's characters, who are all complex and three-dimensional. Merritt was especially interesting and accurate as a survivor of bereavement by suicide, and someone who came to writing and success young and is now floundering in her 20s. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death, Body horror, Child death, Homophobia, Mental illness, Toxic relationship, Vomit, Grief, Murder, Pregnancy, and Toxic friendship

Moderate: Death, Suicide, and Death of parent

Minor: Fatphobia

matcha_cat's review against another edition

dark mysterious medium-paced

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

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death

Moderate: Sexual content, Grief, and Injury/Injury detail

Minor: Body shaming, Homophobia, Infidelity, Vomit, Fire/Fire injury, and Alcohol

ksgoetz's review against another edition

dark mysterious medium-paced

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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual content

Moderate: Body horror, Death, Drug use, Fatphobia, Homophobia, Mental illness, Misogyny, Sexual assault, Forced institutionalization, Blood, Vomit, Grief, Suicide attempt, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Pregnancy, Lesbophobia, Abandonment, and Injury/Injury detail

kharlan3's review against another edition

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Bullying, Gore, Death of parent, and Gaslighting

Moderate: Suicide

Minor: Homophobia, Mental illness, Sexual content, Pregnancy, and Alcohol

Yellow jackets feature heavily in the horror

eleanora's review against another edition

dark medium-paced

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

4.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Death, and Grief

Moderate: Mental illness, Forced institutionalization, Pregnancy, and Gaslighting

Minor: Homophobia, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Dementia, Car accident, Abortion, Fire/Fire injury, and Alcohol

re_leyendo's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional funny inspiring mysterious reflective sad tense slow-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

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Drug use, Gore, Sexism, Violence, Blood, Grief, and Car accident

Moderate: Death, Homophobia, Sexual assault, Forced institutionalization, Vomit, and Gaslighting

Minor: Biphobia

decie's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense medium-paced

5.0

honestly a little bit offended nobody told me about this book. dark academia that isn't pretentious? contemporary and historical storylines that are beautifully woven together? a witty, self-aware narrator? sapphic characters EVERYWHERE in a book clearly written FOR sapphics? yes pls. it's sharp, fast, and kept me up at night. so. fucking. good.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Child death, Death, Drug use, Gore, Homophobia, Misogyny, Grief, Murder, and Lesbophobia

Moderate: Hate crime, Sexual assault, and Religious bigotry

Minor: Ableism, Addiction, Alcoholism, Mental illness, Forced institutionalization, Stalking, and Pregnancy

pineneedles's review against another edition

dark emotional funny mysterious tense medium-paced

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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, Gore, Death of parent, and Schizophrenia/Psychosis

Moderate: Homophobia, Rape, Suicide, and Vomit

Minor: Forced institutionalization

eveee_reads's review against another edition

adventurous dark mysterious tense slow-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? No

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, Death, Vomit, and Schizophrenia/Psychosis

Moderate: Biphobia, Homophobia, Sexual assault, and Lesbophobia

Minor: Alcoholism and Fatphobia

j_squaredd's review against another edition

dark mysterious slow-paced

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

3.5

A little too long - it would be a better paced story if it was 400-500 pages instead of 600. Never truly creepy because of the whimsical tone of the narrative, but never not creepy.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death and Suicide

Moderate: Homophobia