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Reviews tagging 'Child abuse'
Everyone on the Moon is Essential Personnel by Julian K. Jarboe
9 reviews
eli99's review
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
3.75
An interesting collection of speculative queer fiction. Some of the works are very good while a few didn't land with me. That is the case with most collections of fiction as not everything lands. I really enjoyed I AM A BEAUTIFUL BUG as a self aware metaphor for being trans.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Ableism, Child abuse, Fatphobia, Homophobia, Transphobia, and Colonisation
Minor: Sexual assault
directorpurry's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
hopeful
reflective
sad
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
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body horror, Child abuse, Homophobia, Self harm, Transphobia, and Classism
Moderate: Alcoholism and Religious bigotry
Minor: Drug use
sarah984's review against another edition
dark
reflective
slow-paced
2.5
I enjoyed a few stories in this collection (particularly Self Care, Estranged Children of Storybook Houses, and I Am A Beautiful Bug!) but the more poem-like pieces didn't really interest me and there were a lot of distracting usage errors in the kindle version.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Ableism and Self harm
Moderate: Child abuse, Eating disorder, Fatphobia, Homophobia, Transphobia, Religious bigotry, and Injury/Injury detail
bamboobones_rory's review
emotional
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
This book was SO GOOD.
Absolutely incredible speculative fiction, comparable to Octavia Butler's "Bloodchild" collection- different, but similar in social commentary, reflective slice-of-life tone, and genre subversion. Everyone on the Moon is Essential Personnel also feels so relevant to now, cause it paints a dystopian capitalist future on runaway tourism and housing crises, where transness and queerness is normative and catered to by companies but little has changed for equity in class and race (so right now-2023- but with space colonies and cool tech).
Gentrification and tourist towns are still found in this world- even when land slips into the rising sea, rich hipsters still gentrify it. There is a commodification of religion, identity, and personal growth- new age cures are still abound, housing is still scarce. Workers are being pushed to the moon, on a race/class strata. Anyone who has grown up in or near a tourist area or worked in a tourist town/a job that caters to the wealthy might really enjoy the bitterness in the book about that. 90% sure the island in the title story is supposed to be like Martha's vineyard or something. The class rage and trans rage is really shining through in this collection and I absolutely related to and loved it.
Absolutely incredible speculative fiction, comparable to Octavia Butler's "Bloodchild" collection- different, but similar in social commentary, reflective slice-of-life tone, and genre subversion. Everyone on the Moon is Essential Personnel also feels so relevant to now, cause it paints a dystopian capitalist future on runaway tourism and housing crises, where transness and queerness is normative and catered to by companies but little has changed for equity in class and race (so right now-2023- but with space colonies and cool tech).
Gentrification and tourist towns are still found in this world- even when land slips into the rising sea, rich hipsters still gentrify it. There is a commodification of religion, identity, and personal growth- new age cures are still abound, housing is still scarce. Workers are being pushed to the moon, on a race/class strata. Anyone who has grown up in or near a tourist area or worked in a tourist town/a job that caters to the wealthy might really enjoy the bitterness in the book about that. 90% sure the island in the title story is supposed to be like Martha's vineyard or something. The class rage and trans rage is really shining through in this collection and I absolutely related to and loved it.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Child abuse
olive_lol's review
emotional
reflective
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? It's complicated
4.25
One of the things I like most about this collection is that each story is unique, but they come together to create a full image. The collection tackles many topics, and each feels like it gets the attention it needs to be properly addressed. A few of the stories didn't click with me, but those that did really stuck.
In general, the collection has a vibe of contemplative melancholy, but it still keeps good humor at points. Most stories' perspectives and writing styles are noticably different from the last, which kept the same style from getting stale.
My two favorites have to be Everyone On The Moon is Essential Personnel (as in, the story that shares a name with the collection) and The Android that Designed Itself.
If beautiful prose with some experemental storytelling is your thing, give this a try!
In general, the collection has a vibe of contemplative melancholy, but it still keeps good humor at points. Most stories' perspectives and writing styles are noticably different from the last, which kept the same style from getting stale.
My two favorites have to be Everyone On The Moon is Essential Personnel (as in, the story that shares a name with the collection) and The Android that Designed Itself.
If beautiful prose with some experemental storytelling is your thing, give this a try!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body horror, Self harm, and Blood
Moderate: Child abuse, Cursing, Mental illness, and Transphobia
Minor: Animal death, Death, and Homophobia
One of the stories (Estranged Children of Storybook Houses) can be interpreted as an allegory for a family being abusive toward their neurodivergent child.scribblesandsuch's review
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? N/A
- Strong character development? N/A
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A
This was an amazing read, I highly recommend it for someone who wants to read some expansive queer literature. It made me feel deeply connected and grounded (funnily enough since it's surrealism) and the autism story made my heart ache as an autistic in the best way
Content Warnings
Moderate: Ableism, Body horror, Child abuse, and Transphobia
leguinstan's review
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
Why does God create grapes and wheat, but not wine and bread? God does this because God wants us to share in the act of creation. To be how you made me, to become how God made me, through you, I can remake myself. You and I: we are already only whole, and shifting towards the divine.
Everyone on the Moon is Essential Personnel is a collection of consisting of short stories, poetry, and one novella. Although I consider myself a huge fan of SFF short stories and novellas, I actually found Jarboe's flash fiction a lot more compelling than their longer works--which is surprising since the shortest stories in the collections I have previously read tend to be my least favorites.
I'm not sure how to explain this but I feel that a lot of Jarboe's short stories lack that sense of resolution--regardless of emotional mood and tone-- I usually associate with my favorite short stories. Stories such as the titular novella, "The Nothing Spots Where Nobody Wants to Stay", and "As Tender Feet of Cretan Girls Danced Once Around an Altar of Love" did not have distinct character or plot arcs. And while I recognize the character development in other works such as "The Seed and the Stone" and
We Did Not Know We Were Giants", these works felt so bogged down in metaphor that I struggled to derive a sense of satisfaction from their respective endings.
I don't particularly appreciate these aforementioned works as stories. What I do appreciate, however, is the strong imagery, lyrical prose, and imagination that is on display in all of the works in this collection--even in the ones that I dislike. I suspect that Jarboe's flash fiction and poetry generally worked better for me because I can focus on these aspects of their writing while setting aside my expectations of what makes a good work of fiction.
"The Marks of Aegis" and "The Heavy Things" really resonated with me despite the fact that they are less than five pages long and that they fully lean into the surrealism that can be found in a lot of Jarboe's works. "Estranged Children of Storybook Houses", "Self Care", and "I Am a Beautiful Bug!" were the other stories that also stood out to me. While I am unenthused with the collection as a whole, I genuinely think that Jarboe has a lot of talent and I look forward to reading more of their works.
Minor sidenote: the edition I read (ISBN 9781590216927) is riddled with typos which on occasion detracted from my reading experience. Hopefully this issue gets solved in reprintings!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Self harm
Moderate: Ableism, Animal death, Body horror, Child abuse, Emotional abuse, Physical abuse, Sexual content, and Violence
Minor: Homophobia and Transphobia
VERY GRAPHIC self harm in "The Marks of Aegis". Body horror in the "The Marks of Aegis", "The Heavy Things", and "I Am a Beautiful Bug!". Emotional abuse & physical abuse of children in "Estranged Children of Storybook Houses" and "Everyone on the Moon Is Essential Personnel". Animal death of akay_brot's review
challenging
emotional
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Content Warnings
Moderate: Child abuse
vanadiumbean's review
adventurous
dark
emotional
funny
hopeful
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? N/A
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
This book is what it says on the tin and more, showcasing a broad cross section of the author's interests and skill. The whole time I was reading I was reminded of a dear friend. My favorites from the collection are probably "Estranged Children of Storybook Houses" (which I was compelled to read twice in a row) and the titular "Everyone On the Moon is Essential Personnell." Shout-out to "The Android that Designed Itself", "I am a Beautiful Bug!" and the very, very last page. Jarboe is great at taking the absurd interior things of life and giving them exteriors to match.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body horror, Child abuse, and Emotional abuse
Moderate: Religious bigotry and Colonisation
Minor: Homophobia, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, Death of parent, Murder, and Alcohol