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amarreth's review against another edition
- 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
2.75
Graphic: Sexual harassment, Homophobia, Murder, Sexual assault, and Transphobia
anna_brawn's review against another edition
- 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
Graphic: Homophobia, Rape, Transphobia, Misogyny, Dysphoria, Racial slurs, Panic attacks/disorders, Murder, Emotional abuse, Sexual assault, Toxic relationship, Bullying, Racism, Outing, Domestic abuse, and Deadnaming
tinysierra's review against another edition
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
3.75
Tomorrow is tomorrow. Over there is over there. And here and now is not a bad place and time to be, especially when so much of the unknown is beautiful. (pg 186)
Light from Uncommon Stars was both mundane and magical. It was like an episode of Doctor Who or Good Omens. It was bizarre.
Maybe this is silly but I don’t get why specific car types were mentioned more than once? I don’t see how those details were central to the story, besides what car Shazuki drives 😂 but I’m not a car person so idk
CW: sexual assault, transphobia (deadnaming, death threats, misgendering, sexual harassment, etc), physical abuse, homophobia, racism, sex work
This is the song of a queer kid who escapes from a window to a sidewalk in the middle of the night. This is the song of a trans girl just wanting a fucking bathroom in the middle of the day.
So what if you don't understand? So what if you think I'm a half-woman freak.
This is my song. My voice. My voice leads. (pg 338)
Graphic: Transphobia, Body shaming, Child abuse, Homophobia, Misogyny, Sexual assault, and Deadnaming
Moderate: Murder and Self harm
Minor: Miscarriage and Sexual content
maryellen's review against another edition
- 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
4.75
Graphic: Child abuse, Deadnaming, Homophobia, Injury/Injury detail, and Transphobia
Moderate: Murder, Death, and Blood
fionamclary's review against another edition
- 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
Graphic: Transphobia and Bullying
Moderate: Murder, Child abuse, Sexual assault, Racial slurs, Racism, Rape, Xenophobia, Suicidal thoughts, Dysphoria, and Homophobia
Minor: Self harm, Outing, War, Alcoholism, Deadnaming, and Pandemic/Epidemic
ccaz's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Graphic: Transphobia, Violence, Murder, Sexual harassment, Sexual assault, and Xenophobia
Moderate: Rape
domtheknight's review against another edition
- 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
There's some heavy stuff in this book, in some ways these events didn't feel as upsetting as they might have in a more brutal narrative style.
Moderate: Deadnaming, Transphobia, Sexual assault, Self harm, Rape, Physical abuse, Child abuse, Murder, Suicidal thoughts, Sexual harassment, Racial slurs, and Dysphoria
There's 1 prominent trans character; she is abused by her parent, and escapes from that house as a teenager. She is raped by a friend, and pushed into doing some sex work, which she doesn't enjoy and wouldn't consent to if not desperate for funds. She experiences ongoing transphobic "jokes" and comments. None of these actions are from the other major heroine/hero characters. There's murder on page from a moderate character, and self harm. Those are separate from the trans character, although multiple characters have suicidal ideation to varying degrees.overthinkereading's review against another edition
4.0
I’m honestly not sure where my love for Light From Uncommon Stars begins, but as a hobbyist musician for most of my life, probably safe to say it started with the heartfelt way music and its importance is portrayed in this book. I don’t think I’ve seen a better representation of the transcendence of music and the way it impacts a musician and connects us to other living things.
The trans representation in the book is impeccable. Major CW for realistic portrayals of the dangers of being trans, but trans joy is also depicted so, so well.
It’s otherwise really difficult to describe this book. It was unexpected and a little weird - but really beautifully weird! Demons and humans and intergalactic refugees and music and queer rep and badass AAPI women and donuts all rolled up into one story.
Graphic: Lesbophobia, Gun violence, Murder, Outing, Rape, and Transphobia
Moderate: Rape, Child abuse, Self harm, Sexual violence, War, and Domestic abuse
Minor: Alcoholism
zackseuberling's review against another edition
- 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
Graphic: Transphobia
Moderate: Racism and Rape
Minor: Panic attacks/disorders, Murder, Outing, and Misogyny
monstrouscosmos's review against another edition
- 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
Relationships: 8/10
Atmosphere/Setting: 10/10
Writing Style: 9/10
Plot/Intrigue: 9/10
Internal Logic: 8/10
Entertainment: 9/10
Overall: 62/70, 4.5*
sometimes a family is 2 parents, 2 kids, and a household pet. sometimes a family is a transgender runaway, The Queen of Hell and her living companion Oki, and a group of intergalactic refugees-turned-donut shop proprieters.
I think my biggest issue with the book boils down to the pacing. with 3 primary interconnecting storylines and 1-2 secondary storylines it definitely felt like none actually got the thematic exploration they deserved. specifically I would have loved to see more about the violin shop! this was also the most triggering read I've ever finished. while not necessarily a detriment never feeling like I knew when things would get very heavy very quickly definitely made it difficult to enjoy some of the more sweet and lighthearted moments.
the pros are many though. I actually appreciated the quick POV changes, they were challenging but gave a depth of understanding I appreciated. the LARGE number of neurodivergent-coded characters was also great, love to see a group of people with highly specialized interests who just want to info dump to one another. some of the character beats felt unrealistic at first, but I was quickly able to suspend disbelief when considering some of the sociocultural experiences of the characters (and, again, just coding all the characters as being neurodivergent in some way). given how explicit the writing is in other ways I would have preferred seeing more explanation of how and why characters other than Kristina react the ways they do in-the-moment, but the context clues and overarching pattern of experience was definitely there for me.
Graphic: Gun violence, Classism, Colonisation, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Sexual harassment, Toxic friendship, Transphobia, Racism, Deadnaming, Dysphoria, Gaslighting, Lesbophobia, Outing, War, Xenophobia, Emotional abuse, Murder, and Violence
Moderate: Rape
rape was on page and fade to black, harassment/violence was on page and explicit, assault covers all 3 so I consider it explicit