Reviews tagging 'Sexism'

Flamer by Mike Curato

3 reviews

demetrius_bennett's review

emotional reflective medium-paced

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

4.0

The story was amazing and I found the protagonist's experience very relatable. The characters felt very realistic, especially compared to other books portraying 14-year-old boys. However, the ending of the story felt very rushed.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Fatphobia, Hate crime, Homophobia, Racism, Body shaming, Bullying, Religious bigotry, Outing, and Emotional abuse

Moderate: Suicide attempt, Cursing, Fire/Fire injury, Death, Hate crime, Sexual content, and Misogyny

Minor: Misogyny, Injury/Injury detail, Sexism, Pedophilia, Panic attacks/disorders, Racial slurs, Self harm, Suicide, Terminal illness, and Sexual harassment

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

therainbowshelf's review against another edition

adventurous emotional sad tense 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? It's complicated

5.0

💭 My thoughts 💭: Aiden’s experiences with bullies making it hard to just be himself are unfortunately not uncommon. I liked the way this book tackles tough topics without flinching. We get to see Aiden’s personality really clearly in these pages and feel his pain. I felt like this book might make someone else going through similar things feel less lonely.

📚 The gist 📚: Aiden gets picked on regularly for being fat, unmanly, and Asian American. Summer camp with the Boy Scouts has always given him an escape from his problems. Except  for this year. This year his problems have followed him to camp. 

📒Representation📒: mlm mc, Philippino-American mc, overweight mc

💕 For readers looking for 💕: summer camp/Boy Scouts, journeys for self-acceptance, inner conflict, a queer story with strong religious themes, a story based on the author’s  own experiences

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Suicidal thoughts, Suicide attempt, Fatphobia, Body shaming, Racism, Homophobia, Bullying, Outing, Religious bigotry, and Sexism

Moderate: Sexual content