Reviews tagging 'Body shaming'

We Are All Made of Molecules by Susin Nielsen

5 reviews

isabookabel's review against another edition

lighthearted fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes

3.75

An accessible, enjoyable quick read which included a range of important themes such as grief, divorce, homophobia, hate crimes and sexual assault. It is heartwarming, funny and the characters are well developed. Nielsen did a spectacular job with the character of Jared and managed to make him horribly believable. The relationship with him and Ashley was very well developed and really captured teenage infatuation. Likewise, the choice to make Ashley actively block out the negatives was very well done.

I did genuinely enjoy this book. However, at times I struggled with Ashley's 'using the wrong word' joke - it felt a bit heavy handed and repetitive - but might be more enjoyable for a younger audience. 

I also felt like there was an excessive amount of attention paid to weight and dieting. Whilst this narrative is written from the perspective of a image conscious, self absorbed teenage girl so is unsurprising, it also means that we don't really get any critique of why this is a problematic mindset and I felt could normalise/perpetuate unhealthy attitudes around weight and body image/diet culture. 

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Bullying, Body shaming, Hate crime, Homophobia, Sexual assault, and Sexual harassment

bookishperseus's review against another edition

dark emotional inspiring 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? Yes

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Hate crime, Physical abuse, Death of parent, Homophobia, Toxic friendship, Cancer, Toxic relationship, Violence, Alcohol, Alcoholism, and Bullying

Moderate: Gaslighting, Physical abuse, Sexual harassment, Toxic relationship, Injury/Injury detail, Body shaming, Homophobia, Transphobia, Vomit, Xenophobia, Bullying, Death of parent, Emotional abuse, Sexual violence, Toxic friendship, Death, Sexual content, Hate crime, Rape, Sexual assault, Blood, Cursing, Grief, Pedophilia, Cancer, and Violence

emmaciarciello's review against another edition

funny hopeful reflective medium-paced

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

2.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Homophobia, Death of parent, and Sexual assault

Moderate: Bullying

Minor: Alcohol, Body shaming, Cancer, Toxic friendship, Hate crime, and Vomit

_eleanorgreen8_'s review

emotional hopeful lighthearted 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? It's complicated

3.5

I didn't really like this book at first as it seemed like a generic, poorly written YA/kids novel, but the more I read it the more entertaining I found it and it was hard to put down. I didn't really like either Stewart or Ashley (the two protagonists) much until near the end of the book, but I enjoyed reading their individual sides of the story. About midway through the book it became clear that this was definitely a YA novel and not meant for kids, as one of the characters turns out to be extremely messed up and violent. Throughout the book we also hear about the past death of one of the protagonist's parents. However, the book does resolve in a happy, positive ending. An overall fun, read-in-a-day kind of book. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Bullying, Homophobia, and Misogyny

Moderate: Cancer, Death of parent, Sexual violence, Toxic relationship, and Toxic friendship

Minor: Alcohol, Body shaming, and Vomit

There are regular mentions of homophobic slurs

beefstew's review against another edition

emotional hopeful lighthearted 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? It's complicated

5.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Grief, Sexual assault, Death of parent, and Homophobia

Minor: Cancer and Body shaming