Reviews tagging 'Death'

Fierce Femmes and Notorious Liars: A Dangerous Trans Girl's Confabulous Memoir by Kai Cheng Thom

29 reviews

orchidd's review against another edition

adventurous dark hopeful mysterious reflective sad 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? Yes

3.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Murder, Police brutality, Hate crime, Sexual content, Blood, Child abuse, Death, Abandonment, Violence, and Transphobia

Moderate: Self harm, Rape, Sexual assault, Blood, and Abandonment

thewordsdevourer's review against another edition

adventurous emotional hopeful fast-paced

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

4.0

this book was so friggin FUN. the magical realism aspect was one of my fav things--how it was naturally woven into the setting and story--and it was a joy to keep reading simply bc i wanted to see what weird, interesting, simultaneous-knitted-brows-and-smile-inducing things were gonna pop up on the page.

and it was so refreshing to see a trans author write a trans story that defied any external expectations, instead steamrolling into an adventurous, exciting romp full of diverse and multidimensional trans women doing fun and badass things, yet upholding and supporting one another in their community-minded found family, while also tackling serious topics like self-love, self-discovery, identity, and clashing ideals. the various forms of verse, prose, and even play made the story more effective and interesting as well.

this was unlike anything ive ever read and im excited to read more works by kai cheng thom.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Violence and Transphobia

Moderate: Sexual content, Death, Addiction, Drug abuse, and Police brutality

Minor: Murder, Emotional abuse, and Injury/Injury detail

suzyreadsbooks's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional fast-paced

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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Violence, Transphobia, Self harm, Death, Murder, and Body shaming

Moderate: Gore, Fatphobia, Addiction, Sexual violence, and Police brutality

Minor: Deadnaming

simple_alien's review against another edition

emotional 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? Yes

5.0

Magical and bada**. A must read.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Hate crime, Self harm, and Violence

Moderate: Sexual violence, Transphobia, Murder, Homophobia, Racism, Suicide, Panic attacks/disorders, Drug use, Drug abuse, Death, Addiction, Body shaming, Body horror, and Blood

podanotherjessi's review against another edition

adventurous challenging funny 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? Yes

4.5

This book was a very strange experience. I treated it more like non-fiction with heavy metaphor than fiction iwth real life inspiration, but I rated it like I would fiction, so I really don't know. But in any case, I don't agree with every theme the author included in here (opening with "I don't believe in safe spaces" certainly had my back up from the get go), but I do think they are presented in a deep way. The writing style is amazing, and the audiobook narrator includes inflections that make it almost sound like listening so spoken word poetry at every moment. I really enjoyed this book over all.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body shaming, Bullying, Death, Drug use, Drug abuse, Emotional abuse, Grief, Gun violence, Hate crime, Homophobia, Misogyny, Murder, Panic attacks/disorders, Police brutality, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Self harm, and Transphobia

emfass's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional funny hopeful reflective 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? Yes

5.0

A beautiful, gut-wrenching read. Honestly I don't want to say too much more because I think it is best to go in knowing very little, except perhaps that this is a fictionalized memoir, not a true-to-life nonfiction one, though it carries many truths. The narrator remains nameless, and is a young Asian trans girl trying to find a place for herself.

Haunting, heartbreaking, powerful, hopeful, full of magical realism and the power of trans femininity. I read it on audiobook and would love to revisit it in hard copy form.

Many many quotes I loved that I forgot to capture as I was voraciously listening, but one I did write down: 

 "That's the difference between love and hunger. Hunger is a story you get stuck in. Love's the story that takes you somewhere new." 

I'm so grateful to the Bad Bitch Book Club's LGBTQIA+ subgroup for picking this one, I don't know if I would have heard about it or read it otherwise!

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Death, Drug use, Hate crime, Medical trauma, Murder, Police brutality, Self harm, Sexual violence, and Transphobia

Moderate: Addiction, Body shaming, Child abuse, Sexual assault, and Sexual violence

Sexual assault is a definite undercurrent, and is threatened or implied many times, but I can't recall if any instances happened explicitly on-page.

crinspire's review against another edition

emotional hopeful 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? It's complicated

5.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Blood, Death, Gun violence, Hate crime, Homophobia, Murder, Police brutality, Self harm, Transphobia, and Violence

plantbasedbride's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional funny 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? Yes

5.0

What an entrancing memoir, unlike anything I’ve ever read. Dark, imaginative, fast paced, thoughtful, and, in equal measure, harrowing and joyful, Fierce Femmes and Notorious Liars explores the experience of a young Asian trans girl stepping into womanhood through a fantastical lens of colourful metaphor. A story of sisterhood and transformation.

Kai Cheng Thom has found a unique literary voice through which to share her lived experience, and I am endlessly grateful that she has chosen to share it with the world. Thom’s work is poetic yet blunt, dreamlike yet firmly rooted in reality.

“Little cocoon apartment, I love how you rattle and shake in the wind. You are mine like nothing has ever been before. Someday you'll tear open, and I'll fly out with the wings I have grown inside you. Still shimmering. Still wet.”

I highly recommend!

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Self harm, Sexual violence, Violence, Sexual assault, Death, and Medical content

simonamiller's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional sad fast-paced

• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual assault, Violence, Self harm, Addiction, Police brutality, Drug use, Death, and Medical trauma

Moderate: Transphobia