Reviews tagging 'Hate crime'

Can't Take That Away by Steven Salvatore

18 reviews

melancholymegs's review against another edition

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emotional informative inspiring 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

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aspring's review against another edition

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emotional hopeful inspiring fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

i’m pretty sure steven salvatore writes specifically to hurt me. ouch. 

the writing is full of drama and passion and a deeply desperate need to be loved, understood and accepted. it is brutal and honest and not entirely a happy story. 

but it gives you hope and shows you that fighting for who you are is always worth it. even if you shouldn’t have to. 

this was surprisingly heavy and it did take my by surprise so please please check trigger warnings for this if you need them <3

but i love this authors writing style and the way they write their characters. phenomenal as always.

also, the relationship isn’t the focus! don’t go into it expecting it to be :) this is, at its core, carey’s story of their fight to be recognised and treated like everyone else <3 (the lil bits of romance was very cute though! (and heartbreaking :,))

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kmudzy07's review against another edition

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emotional inspiring 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

3.5


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jenny_librarian's review against another edition

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emotional hopeful informative inspiring fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes

4.75

I will protect Carey Parker with my life. That kid is so precious. From the very first chapter I was 100% rooting for them.

While the beginning is pretty cute, it’s not an easy read. There’s a lot of queer pain and queerphobia in this book, which made it a bit harder for me to get through. I am very much a reader of queer joy and – while the ending was worth it – it was rough getting there.

I’m not a Mariah fan, but I recognize the fangirling (term used as genderneutral here) and obsession of a specific artist that you feel understands you better than you sometimes understand yourself.

There is one mention of HP that completely took me out the story, and that I find extremely disappointing, especially coming from a genderqueer author who has to know how harmful that woman is. It was a tiny thing, a single word used as a comparison, and I wish it had been changed before publishing.

As a whole, it is a hard but inspiring story of standing up for yourself, of friends having your back and of fighting for those who can’t use their voice yet.

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averyconfusedhomosapiensbooks's review against another edition

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emotional funny hopeful informative slow-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

2.25


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misssleepless's review against another edition

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

2.5


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melaniereadsbooks's review against another edition

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challenging emotional 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? It's complicated

3.75

This book is a heavy-hitting YA contemp about a genderqueer teen dealing with extreme homophobia from classmates, teachers, and school board members.  Throughout it all, Carey manages to stay hopeful and strong and surrounded by a few people that make their life better.  I was so angry at the school. As someone who works for a small school district, I 100% know the likelihood a similar queer-phobic incident occurring, and the saddest part about that is most of the time things don't get changed like they did in this book. I'm glad for the hope of that, and I loved seeing Carey grow throughout the novel!

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foreverinastory's review against another edition

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

4.0

The school/principal really made me mad. But otherwise I definitely loved this! However, the audio quality was TERRIBLE and it's not even from Netgalley--wtf @Bloomsbury!?!

Rep: white genderqueer MC with anxiety and anxiety/panic attacks, Black female side character, bisexual male love interest, disabled elderly grandmother who can't speak much--implied side effects of a stroke possibly.

CWs: Alcohol consumption, biphobia, bullying, death/death of grandparent, dysphoria, gaslighting, grief, hate crime, homophobia, lesbophobia, mental illness (anxiety), panic/anxiety attacks, misogyny, sexism, transphobia.
 

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seawarrior's review against another edition

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emotional hopeful inspiring reflective sad tense 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

4.0

There's a lot of ways I feel about this story and how I relate to it, but I'll try not to go on too long. I sincerely hope this book was as validating an experience to write as it surely will be for the genderqueer people who read it. 

I began this story feeling that I couldn't see much of myself in Carey and was somewhat at odds with their melodramatic perspective of the world. Yet after reading further, I quickly became invested in their life and their dreams. Their wish to just exist authentically without having to make a political statement to do so is painfully close to my heart. I loved that as Carey grew kinder to themselves, they learned to apply similar kindness and understanding towards the people they were close to. It's very rewarding to watch a character who's a self-described diva learn to de-center themselves and prioritize their loved ones, along with those they have the power to inspire. Carey's love towards themselves and their friends and family made me love and respect them too as a reader. The supporting characters don't feel like props in Carey's play of life. Instead they are written with their own dreams, and anxieties they learn to overcome over the course of the story.

Really my only significant criticism of this story was that some of the character's speeches read more like a well-plotted lecture than organic dialogue that would realistically occur between people. However, I understand how difficult these moments must be to create as a writer, especially when your character is representing a piece of yourself. For the most part I felt this story was refreshing and inspiring, and the characters' voices will likely stick with me for a long time. 

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prebeartobemoosified's review against another edition

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I didn’t like the writing. This was the author’s first book, so I’m very happy to keep a lookout and watch their writing career, but for right now, this one wasn’t it for me. 

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