Reviews tagging 'Cancer'

Like a Love Story by Abdi Nazemian

5 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

jmross10's review against another edition

challenging emotional hopeful informative inspiring 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

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Terminal illness, Blood, Body horror, Death, Homophobia, and Bullying

Moderate: Body shaming, Cancer, Injury/Injury detail, Islamophobia, Medical content, Racial slurs, and Racism

Minor: Deadnaming

19becky97's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional hopeful 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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Abandonment, Alcohol, Bullying, Death, Death of parent, Fatphobia, Grief, Hate crime, Homophobia, and Sexual content

Moderate: Cancer

kharlan3's review against another edition

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Grief, Homophobia, and Terminal illness

Moderate: Death of parent, Body shaming, Cancer, Death, Excrement, Medical content, and Sexual content

Minor: Abortion, Pregnancy, and Genocide

achingallover's review against another edition

challenging emotional hopeful inspiring sad fast-paced

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

3.0

I cried a lot. I liked the note cards, especially the one on high school. 

I however didn't totally get why Judy was so angry with Art. I initially thought it was because she thought Reza and Art had been cheating on her together, and was a miscommunication. But Art hadn't acted on his feelings after Reza shut him down before his first date with Judy, so like, I really don't get that he'd done anything wrong? I understand the upset that Reza had used her in a way, but I don't see what Art had done that was so awful that she wouldn't speak to him for 6 months. Art was an interesting character, but could have done with some character development, and I'm not sure his POV added much given that he didn't seem to learn much throughout the book. I also didn't like how much pressure he put on Reza about sex, even whilst saying he wouldn't pressure him.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Bullying, Cancer, Chronic illness, Death, Death of parent, Fatphobia, Grief, Hate crime, Homophobia, Medical content, Sexual content, Terminal illness, Violence, and Vomit

Minor: Alcoholism and Religious bigotry