Reviews tagging 'Bullying'

Like a Love Story by Abdi Nazemian

31 reviews

jeleigh16's review against another edition

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

4.0

I wanted to absolutely love this book. I enjoyed it, but there were things about it that kept me from giving this 5 stars. The main issue I found was the consent issue. There was more than one character forcing themselves on another character in the name of teenage lust. If the book didn't have that element or they'd more strongly communicated about that difficulty in their relationships, I would have had an easier time with it. The representation of various experiences of these teens during the late 80s/early 90s in NYC during the AIDS epidemic was well done though and the ending does bring the themes together nicely. It certainly showcased what it means to learn to be a part of this thing we call community.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Fatphobia and Terminal illness

Moderate: Suicide, Toxic friendship, Toxic relationship, Body shaming, Excrement, Homophobia, Infidelity, Death, Death of parent, Bullying, Cancer, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Hate crime, Chronic illness, Cursing, Injury/Injury detail, Islamophobia, Misogyny, Pandemic/Epidemic, Violence, Grief, Outing, Medical content, and Racism

Minor: Gun violence

hope_is_reading's review against another edition

challenging emotional informative 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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death and Homophobia

Moderate: Terminal illness, Body shaming, Bullying, and Fatphobia

Minor: Suicidal thoughts

kibbles15's review against another edition

challenging emotional informative sad tense slow-paced

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

1.5

I have thought a lot about how to explain why I did not like this book.  I think the main reason I did not like it is because I feel that it had so much potential and the author ruined the story with unlikable characters and way more sexual descriptions than seem appropriate for a book intended for teens.   I don't have any kids, but if I did, gay or straight, I would not want them to read this book.  It promotes underage drinking and sexual intercourse without any real references to the consequences of such actions.  I also don't like how the author persistantly implied that sexual intercourse equals love when in reality it is so much more.  Almost every relationship in the book (be it Judy and Raza or Art and Raza) was based solely on the physical attraction of each for the other. Judy and Art were honestly almost predatory in their relationships with Raza. To be honest, the only relationship I believed was that of the Uncle Stephen and his relationship with the people around him.  Stephen was the only character that seemed to have any depth.  His relationship with his friends, his passion to stand up for his beliefs despite his health, his love of old movies, and his efforts to teach his teenage protégés with love were the only thing I liked about this book.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Medical content, Bullying, Cursing, Death, Chronic illness, Grief, Homophobia, and Sexual content

antidietleah's review

challenging emotional hopeful 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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Bullying, Death of parent, Death, Grief, Homophobia, Medical content, Sexual content, and Terminal illness

Moderate: Hate crime and Vomit

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brookey8888's review against another edition

emotional funny hopeful informative inspiring reflective sad 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

5.0

Wow was this book moving. 

I cried multiple times and just felt for the characters. This story is so important to learn about what activist did for the queer community and how things have changed,but how much still needs to be done. I don’t know why I didn’t realize this might be sad  when it’s set during the AIDS epidemic. I really liked our characters(for the most part). I just like the growth and courage they all had. The family relationships in this were so sweet for the most part. Now Art was not that likable at times which is the point, but it was so hard to read his POV  sometimes(also he’s a teenager so it makes sense). I also didn’t really love the ending. It was bittersweet to me, but realistic. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Islamophobia, Medical content, Death, Abandonment, Body shaming, Outing, Racism, Bullying, Fatphobia, Grief, Hate crime, Homophobia, Suicide, and Violence

linnea1801's review against another edition

emotional inspiring reflective sad 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? It's complicated

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Domestic abuse, Homophobia, Bullying, Death, Grief, Racism, Pandemic/Epidemic, Terminal illness, Xenophobia, and Violence

ranjanireviewsreads's review

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Homophobia, Bullying, Death of parent, Hate crime, Misogyny, Cursing, Medical content, Grief, Police brutality, and Death

mattyb's review

challenging emotional funny hopeful informative inspiring reflective sad tense 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

4.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death of parent, Terminal illness, Grief, Death, Hate crime, and Homophobia

Moderate: Alcohol, Blood, Medical trauma, Bullying, Islamophobia, Medical content, Outing, Police brutality, and Sexual content

Minor: Injury/Injury detail, Classism, Vomit, and Violence

nicholasl_'s review against another edition

emotional hopeful inspiring reflective sad 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? It's complicated

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Homophobia, Bullying, Terminal illness, and Death

Minor: Gun violence and Mass/school shootings

m_hates_reading's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional hopeful informative inspiring reflective sad 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

4.0

4/5 Absolutely heartbreaking. 

A queer, first-love romance, but set in 1989 New York and based in the AIDS crisis - it’s one of the most moving books I’ve read. It’s been sat on my bookshelf since I originally came out in 2020, and I never bothered to read it until now. Im actually glad I didn’t read it when I first got it, bc I don’t think I would have been able to appreciate the imagery and symbolism as well.

The tri-perspective approach really works well- nobody’s the main character, it’s about how what happens effects all of them, the entire community. 

The reason it’s not a five star read, for me, was because I felt the writing lacked balance. The first half of the book was very cute and bubbly (or as cute and bubbly as it gets when your book is a queer romance set in 1989 New York) and all the very deeply emotional and moving scenes kind of happened together. It’s hard to explain, and I don’t want to criticise it too harshly because it is an incredibly beautiful story that the author has very obviously put their entire heart and soul into, but it felt like some passages were missing the spark that made the rest of it so great. 

Not my usual thing, but I’m glad I read it, and I’m glad it exists because I know just how meaningful it is and will be to so many people.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Violence, Bullying, Death, Emotional abuse, Grief, Hate crime, Homophobia, and Terminal illness

Moderate: Death of parent, Gun violence, Mass/school shootings, Outing, Police brutality, Racism, Religious bigotry, Sexual content, and Xenophobia

Minor: Alcoholism