Reviews tagging 'Racial slurs'

Flamer by Mike Curato

39 reviews

rhiannon814r's review against another edition

emotional hopeful reflective sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated

4.25

This was a good read! It was very slice-of-life, when I had expected it to be more plot-driven. The art was great and was perfect for telling the story. I don’t know how to describe it. Maybe I’ll be able to write a better review when I’m done SOBBING.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Suicidal thoughts, Fire/Fire injury, Cursing, Religious bigotry, and Homophobia

Moderate: Body shaming, Emotional abuse, Gaslighting, Domestic abuse, Suicide attempt, Toxic friendship, Racial slurs, Racism, and Self harm

Minor: Cancer, Child death, Fatphobia, and Outing

There was a happy ending (or at least a satisfying conclusion where nothing terrible winds up happening to the main character), but the book as a whole was heavy.

the_vegan_bookworm's review

Me DNFing this is not a critique of the book at all! I think I might just be too much older than the protagonist Aiden in order for me to meaningfully get into the story.

If you are closer to middle school age or someone who can relate to Aiden's experiences around scouting, for example, you might be able to better relate to this book than I was. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Homophobia, Racial slurs, Racism, Religious bigotry, Body shaming, and Fatphobia

nicoleonbooks's review

challenging emotional hopeful reflective sad 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? No

5.0

Heartwrenching. LGBTQ+ kids, and adults, will find themselves in Aiden and his struggle around his sexuality. The art perfectly matched the story. Perfect use of color to depict emotion. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Racism, Racial slurs, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide attempt, and Violence

Moderate: Religious bigotry, Homophobia, Sexual content, and Bullying

Minor: Domestic abuse and Outing

caribbeangirlreading's review

challenging emotional reflective 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

5.0

 "There is no "right" north, really. This is all about figuring out how to get where you need to go. It's not always straight forward. You have to figure out where you are in the world first, then adjust for the setbacks to find you way. We all feel lost sometimes." 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Racial slurs, Bullying, Homophobia, and Sexual content

Moderate: Self harm, Blood, and Suicidal thoughts

Minor: Domestic abuse

marenmk's review

dark emotional hopeful tense fast-paced

• Loveable characters? Yes

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Homophobia, Religious bigotry, and Bullying

Moderate: Racial slurs and Suicide attempt

Minor: Domestic abuse

kylieshart's review

dark emotional hopeful medium-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

5.0

This was so impactful, a beautiful story!

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Self harm, Bullying, Racial slurs, Suicidal thoughts, Outing, and Homophobia

Moderate: Domestic abuse and Body shaming

tangleroot_eli's review against another edition

challenging emotional hopeful reflective sad medium-paced

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

This is so beautifully drawn. Curato's black-and-white landscapes are stunning, and the occasional pops of red and orange are perfectly chosen and placed. I kind of want to go back through it and just look at the pictures, without reading the words.

Because the words are... they're rough, y'all. I'm not too much older than the characters here, and it was a terrible time to be a young queer person. Or a young person other people thought was queer. Or a young person who was just different in any way. And yet we all yearned for connection and belonging, no matter how many times other people broke our hearts. Curato looks at all of that with an unflinching honesty that made the book kind of difficult to get through. He tells a vitally important story, but not, perhaps, one you'll want to revisit, despite the hopeful ending.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Fire/Fire injury, Bullying, Homophobia, Racial slurs, Suicide attempt, and Suicidal thoughts

Moderate: Racism, Religious bigotry, Fatphobia, Body shaming, and Violence

Minor: Child abuse, Body horror, and Sexism

cassiebee's review

emotional funny hopeful medium-paced

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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Racism, Racial slurs, Fatphobia, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide attempt, and Homophobia

pich's review

emotional funny hopeful reflective tense fast-paced

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

2.75

(2.75 leaning towards 3 stars) 
i really liked the symbolism behind the fire, even if it was pretty simple. i think the story started to pick up more towards the middle, but i still liked it. the religious themes were definitely pretty relatable, for me at least.

obviously the scenes involving masturbation made me uncomfortable, but i’m glad they didn’t drag on for an unnecessarily long time. i would’ve liked for ted to have had another appearance, maybe with a letter of some sort delivered to Aiden.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Suicide attempt, Bullying, Cursing, and Homophobia

Moderate: Domestic abuse and Sexual content

Minor: Body shaming and Racial slurs

jmbz38's review

emotional reflective 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? It's complicated

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Bullying and Homophobia

Moderate: Racial slurs, Body shaming, and Suicidal thoughts