Reviews tagging 'Dysphoria'

When the Moon Was Ours by Anna-Marie McLemore

11 reviews

ash_ton's review

medium-paced

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

2.75

This book was... okay. I wasn't really invested in the story during any point in the book. I feel bad because it's so great that there's trans and queer rep in a teen book, but I can't rate it high just for that.

The plotline idea was cool, just maybe not the execution? I just felt like I needed more. Idk. 

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Injury/Injury detail, Blood, Outing, and Transphobia

Moderate: Child abuse, Confinement, Death, Body horror, Deadnaming, Bullying, Grief, Homophobia, Death of parent, and Dysphoria

Minor: Sexual content, Racism, Religious bigotry, and Cursing

ghostlyprince's review against another edition

emotional mysterious 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

4.0

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Transphobia, Confinement, Suicide, Suicide attempt, Outing, and Deadnaming

Moderate: Grief, Lesbophobia, Child death, Death, Bullying, Child abuse, Homophobia, Death of parent, Racism, Physical abuse, and Sexual content

Minor: Racial slurs, Misogyny, Animal death, Dysphoria, and Religious bigotry

solareclipse's review against another edition

emotional hopeful mysterious slow-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

4.0

This book is definitely hit or miss, and I can see why. McLemore’s writing is an intense example of figurative language and at times too much, which makes their work lose clarity and make the meaning a bit difficult to find. When I first read When The Moon Was Ours I was confused and a bit bored. Thankfully, this changed around the half way point where I narrowed down a meaning to focus on and got more attached to the main characters Miel, Samir, and Aracely. Overall, I thought When The Moon Was Ours was an intelligent novel that discusses the dangers of conformity in a creative way.

---

Content Warnings

Moderate: Transphobia

Minor: Dysphoria

avie_j's review against another edition

emotional hopeful lighthearted sad 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? No

3.0

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Transphobia, Deadnaming, Emotional abuse, and Bullying

Moderate: Dysphoria

Minor: Kidnapping and Death of parent

rockyroadbutch's review against another edition

emotional hopeful mysterious reflective sad 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

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Bullying, Child death, Confinement, Grief, and Death of parent

Moderate: Lesbophobia, Suicide attempt, Transphobia, Blood, Deadnaming, Homophobia, Injury/Injury detail, Violence, Fire/Fire injury, Outing, and Sexual content

Minor: Dysphoria, Pregnancy, and Classism

sbnita's review against another edition

inspiring mysterious reflective 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

4.5

Weird. Interesting. Loved it. Definitely not for everyone, as the style is very different than the literature we're used to. But a lovely story and worth the read💖

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Deadnaming, Blood, and Transphobia

Moderate: Panic attacks/disorders, Dysphoria, and Bullying

darcy124's review against another edition

emotional mysterious reflective 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

4.75

Loved this book so much! Only gave it a 4.75 instead of a 5-star rating because the beginning took me a while to get into and understand and one scene in the beginning threw me off completely. I think everyone should read this book. 

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Dysphoria, Homophobia, Suicide attempt, Transphobia, and Self harm

thereadingoutlaw's review against another edition

emotional hopeful mysterious 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

4.25

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Suicide attempt, Blood, and Bullying

Moderate: Death of parent, Dysphoria, and Injury/Injury detail

ang_mendoza's review against another edition

mysterious reflective fast-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

2.0

I feel like I read the rough draft of this book. A lot of cheap storytelling devices were used to tell readers things that weren't clearly shown. There were a few symbols that could have been really cool but the author overused them and reintroduced stories/imagery as if they weren't already said. Also the extent of what magic was normalized and what wasn’t felt unclear and inconsistent. I mainly read for the trans rep and while I like Sam a lot as a character, a lot of his plotline felt heavily based in Miel's very surface level understanding of the trans experience. His struggle with gender felt unfairly posed against the other characters' more deliberate secrets and while it may ring true to some relationships, the framing of compromising your boundaries around dysphoria as a gesture of trust felt very misplaced. I recognize that the author is nonbinary but they also explicitly said that they were drawing on their husband's experience and not their own.

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood

Moderate: Child abuse, Deadnaming, and Transphobia

Minor: Death of parent, Dysphoria, and Racism

solspringsreads's review against another edition

emotional mysterious reflective slow-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

4.25

Beautiful, lyrical, and so, so magical. It’s hard to express everything this book makes you feel into words because, more than a novel or concrete story, it feels like a sensory overload as we journey through the lives of the story’s protagonists. There were a lot of tense moments where I found myself dreading what might happen to the characters, especially at the hands of the often cruel and misunderstanding townspeople they lived with, but it’s ultimately a story about love, self-reflection, and self-acceptance. It’s an experience that stays with you long after you finish reading.

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Gore, Dysphoria, Domestic abuse, Death of parent, Grief, and Body horror

Moderate: Outing, Ableism, Transphobia, Deadnaming, Child abuse, and Lesbophobia