Reviews tagging 'Xenophobia'

The Space Between Worlds by Micaiah Johnson

9 reviews

workingdaley's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional mysterious reflective tense fast-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

I read this book for a book club that I was in, and I found it to be a fascinating read. Not my favorite by any means, but I find the concept of turning something as aspirational as dimension traveling into grunt work for the poor that (mild spoilers)

the rich are actively trying to replace

to be deeply interesting. It's one of the things that I love about Afrofuturism. It's important to take these concepts that we are aspiring to and consider who it is being built off of and what the consequences of that are for society at large. This book does a great job of exploring that.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Domestic abuse, Xenophobia, Classism, Death, and Deportation

Moderate: Domestic abuse, Physical abuse, Police brutality, Racism, Sexual violence, Grief, Gun violence, Violence, Emotional abuse, Murder, and War

Minor: Abandonment, Death of parent, and Sexual content

lbelow's review

adventurous dark emotional tense medium-paced

5.0

This book packs a wallop. The constant tension of the plot kept me turning the pages, watching as Caralee grappled with her emotions and learned to see people as multifaceted, as deserving of love and empathy. In so doing, she learns to see herself in the same way, to stop thinking of herself as nothing and trying to prove she is something by way of a script other people have written. The settings come alive like characters themselves, but it's the people in the book and the choices they make in different realities that gripped my heart and squeezed. I cannot wait to read more from this author because this book was next level! 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Mental illness, Murder, Racism, Torture, Violence, Physical abuse, Gore, Injury/Injury detail, Blood, Body horror, Cursing, Death, Xenophobia, and Grief

marioosa517's review

adventurous challenging dark emotional hopeful mysterious sad medium-paced

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

4.5

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Content Warnings

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

Moderate: Medical content, Fire/Fire injury, Body horror, Child death, Adult/minor relationship, Death of parent, Grief, War, and Gun violence

Minor: Sexual content, Sexual violence, Vomit, Miscarriage, Pregnancy, and Cursing

leannanecdote's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional mysterious tense medium-paced

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

3.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Bullying, Child abuse, Child death, Drug use, Gaslighting, Infidelity, Rape, Sexism, Sexual harassment, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, War, Addiction, Adult/minor relationship, Animal cruelty, Body horror, Classism, Colonisation, Death of parent, Emotional abuse, Fire/Fire injury, Gore, Sexual assault, Torture, Toxic relationship, Death, Abandonment, Blood, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Kidnapping, Medical trauma, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Domestic abuse, Genocide, Murder, Racism, Self harm, Xenophobia, and Violence

Moderate: Alcohol, Animal death, Trafficking, and Vomit

ciaomara's review

adventurous dark emotional medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? N/A
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Classism, Deportation, Trafficking, Sexual content, Xenophobia, Violence, War, Toxic relationship, and Emotional abuse

jdamae11's review

adventurous dark reflective tense 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

5.0

Read this back in January but I'm back to give a full review of one of my favorite books, probably taking the crown for my top book of 2023 tbh. Micaiah Johnson took a common Sci-Fi concept—the multiverse—and created a super Queer adventurous narrative exploring classism, exploitation, and race, and identity. In the world of the novel, it has been discovered that multiverse travel can be fatal if one’s alternate self is still alive on another universe that one travels to. So the tech-run ultra capitalist govt on Earth 0 creates a class of “traversers” comprised of the mostly Black and Brown working-class poor to travel to other universes. Our main character, Cara, is a traverser and is only alive on 8 versions of earth. There are so many satisfying plot twists and moments of exciting action throughout the book. We also experience Cara’s internal crises as she grapples with the idea of her true self, mortality, and the fallout of having lived a life constantly in survival mode no matter the universe. The author’s writing is just beautiful and made me want to pick up my own pen again. In Johnson’s world, gender is fluid and Trans elders are widely regarded with the highest respect, as they should be always! It also features a central wlw love story that’s really heartfelt and the ending leaves you full of hope and imagination for what could be. In terms of setting there’s a bit of both Mad Max and Hunger Games Capitol vibes, which was very fun! 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Physical abuse, Violence, and Toxic relationship

Moderate: Xenophobia, War, and Injury/Injury detail

chapis's review

adventurous mysterious tense 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

4.75

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Suicidal thoughts, Child abuse, Child death, Colonisation, Xenophobia, Sexual violence, Racism, Classism, War, and Torture

I've been looking for a book like this for so long.

troisha's review

adventurous dark mysterious tense 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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood, Body horror, Death, Domestic abuse, Gore, Murder, Physical abuse, and Violence

Moderate: Death of parent, Fire/Fire injury, Grief, and Xenophobia

Minor: Addiction, Child abuse, Child death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Homophobia, Kidnapping, Medical content, Racism, Religious bigotry, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Terminal illness, and Vomit

alouette's review

adventurous dark emotional 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

I've always believed, like all rational people, that my selves are separate. That they- we- exist independently. But sometimes when life is too still, when I lie in bed in the quiet, I can feel it all happening.

it might take me awhile to sort out my feelings about this book in a legible way, so for now here's a quick list:

• worldbuilding was amazingly immersive and confronted issues of poverty, segregation, etc. with a full-on approach as well as going about the multiverse in a way that could be understood without much difficulty
• the characters were super diverse and had a lot of depth, with an exploration of ethics and an examination of their values across different worlds and different situations
• the plot twists were awesome, the plot itself with good pacing
• the main romance as well as other character interactions were brilliant (even if i feel like the big misunderstanding between the main romance couple was a bit silly)
• the author covered some very heavy subjects with a lot of care but also the honesty that such trauma encompasses
• for once i could feel positively about the existentialism in a novel
• slightly ambiguous ending was perfect for the type of book this is

make sure to check content warnings before you read this!!

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood, Body horror, Colonisation, Death, Death of parent, Grief, Murder, Physical abuse, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic relationship, Violence, and Xenophobia

Moderate: Addiction, Child death, Cursing, Drug abuse, Emotional abuse, and Medical content

Minor: Miscarriage and Terminal illness