Reviews tagging 'Classism'

The Space Between Worlds by Micaiah Johnson

73 reviews

kassidyreads's review

challenging dark emotional 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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Domestic abuse, Physical abuse, Violence, Murder, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Drug abuse, Toxic relationship, Grief, Death of parent, and Classism

Minor: Gun violence, Homophobia, Sexual content, and War

spicycronereads's review against another edition

adventurous dark mysterious 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

5.0

On the surface this is a SciFi thriller about multiverse travel. But at heart it is about fate, found family, and the violence of classism, racism, colonialism, and homophobia. The writing is quite fluid and sometimes beautifully poetic.

The first ten percent or so takes patience as you get oriented to the world and the mechanics of how multiverse travel works, but after that it is engrossing, with dynamically flawed characters and twists galore. 

The book has rich secondary characters whose development is rounded out by meeting the same characters in different worlds.

There is a bit of romance between the main character Cara and her colleague Dell. There is plentiful pining, punctuated with occasional moments of potential. I give it one swoony heart 💖 

This book has quite a lot of diverse representation. Not only are Cara and Dell in a sapphic romance, but they are both women of color: Cara and other characters are Black, while Dell is Asian. The book deals with attitudes toward queer relationships as well as with the intersection of class, race, and sexuality. 

Overall I found this to be a beautiful read. I was excited to see that Johnson’s next book is set in the same world, centered on a tertiary character from this book. I will definitely read it! ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ / 💖

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcoholism, Drug abuse, Racism, Xenophobia, Grief, Death of parent, and Classism

Moderate: Homophobia

Minor: Suicidal thoughts

deetabz's review

adventurous dark mysterious tense medium-paced

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

3.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Death, Toxic relationship, Violence, Medical content, Murder, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Domestic abuse, Homophobia, Physical abuse, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Torture, Blood, Grief, Religious bigotry, Death of parent, Lesbophobia, and Classism

Minor: Racism, Sexual content, and War

widowrites's review

adventurous dark emotional mysterious 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? Yes

5.0

This book absolutely blew me away. I love a complicated character who isn’t perfect and this story nails that. The premise itself is interesting and it’s executed brilliantly. 

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Body horror and Classism

Minor: Addiction, Child abuse, Child death, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Genocide, Physical abuse, Sexual content, Toxic relationship, and Murder

talonsontypewriters's review against another edition

adventurous dark 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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Death, Domestic abuse, Gore, Physical abuse, Violence, Murder, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism

Moderate: Child abuse, Panic attacks/disorders, Racism, Grief, Death of parent, and Fire/Fire injury

Minor: Addiction, Child death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Homophobia, Miscarriage, Sexual content, Suicide, Vomit, and War

hybridhavoc's review against another edition

adventurous dark mysterious 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? Yes

5.0

Absolutely loved this one. It's not often that a sci-fi novel gets a really great premise and complex characters with complex relationships. This book delivers.

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Domestic abuse, Violence, Murder, and Classism

Minor: Drug use

lyall_reads's review against another edition

adventurous emotional funny reflective 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

4.5

The Space Between Worlds delivers the sort of morally complex main character who makes bad decisions because she’s put in tough places that I can't help loving. Cara messes up, she's self effacing, she's a mess, and she grows. She's one of the most real protagonists I've followed for a while and seeing her come to terms with all the pieces of herself- including the ones she doesn't like- really resonated with me. Despite the fact that I would also call this story 'fun,' it's very emotionally impactful- kind of the antidote to the Marvel version of the multiverse where the endless possibilities make everything feel sort of meaningless.
It’s SF with fun world building and interesting commentary about the exploitative nature of the modern tech landscape but also some Mad-Max-esque road warriors and some classic self-destructive sapphic pining. Would recommend!

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Classism

Moderate: Domestic abuse and Physical abuse

tangleroot_eli's review

adventurous challenging emotional reflective tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes

It's only March, but the books I read for the rest of 2024 will have a hard fight to unseat this one as my favorite of the year.

Johnson's worldbuilding is exquisite. I got attached to her characters within paragraphs of their introductions. Her portrayals of classism, racism, and colonialism felt like constant gut-punches. If Spouse weren't waiting to read it before we have to return this copy to the library, I might've flipped right back to the beginning and started reading it again the moment I finished it.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Domestic abuse, Physical abuse, Toxic relationship, Murder, and Classism

Moderate: Addiction, Body horror, Child abuse, Child death, Confinement, Gore, Homophobia, Racism, Violence, Blood, Vomit, Medical content, Death of parent, Injury/Injury detail, and Deportation

Minor: Gun violence, Miscarriage, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Kidnapping, Religious bigotry, and War

Graphic: Environmental degradation Minor: Whorephobia, Child labor

lex_y's review

adventurous challenging emotional hopeful inspiring mysterious reflective 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? It's complicated

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Domestic abuse and Classism

Moderate: Body horror

un_savoury's review against another edition

adventurous dark mysterious 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? It's complicated

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Physical abuse, and Classism

Moderate: Toxic relationship

Minor: Death of parent