Reviews tagging 'Medical content'

Like a Love Story by Abdi Nazemian

25 reviews

punchofwishes's review against another edition

emotional hopeful 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? Yes

5.0

I simply adored this book. As an enthusiast for queer history and especially 1980s queer history, this was a wonderful, heart-wrenching experience. I loved the characters, especially Uncle Stephen, and the plentiful references to real protests and events. The pop culture I was not as familiar with but the characters’ love made me not mind as much. While some parts were a little didactic I found it rather endearing. Also considering how many people are unfamiliar with queer history having (semi-)educational material that’s appealing is important. Great read and made me want to dive right back into some nonfiction books concerning the era. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Homophobia, Death, and Terminal illness

Moderate: Alcohol, Medical content, Vomit, and Fatphobia

kikiareyoureading's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional informative inspiring 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? Yes

4.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Homophobia, Medical trauma, and Medical content

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

menomica's review against another edition

emotional hopeful informative sad medium-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? It's complicated

I got to say this book would have been a whole lot better if it was more centered around Reza. The story literally wouldn’t exist without him. I love Judy but what do she and Art bring to the table? What does Art bring?
There are so many aspects of Reza’s life that were mentioned but never really developed.

Hell, we could’ve talked about Saadi’s mommy issues that were sprung up at the end of the book.

But we didn’t get to that bc we had to do the stupid love triangle that literally everyone involved in knew was a farse :(. It was very unnecessary. It would have been so much cooler to see Reza’s family more in depth, Reza at school, or his relationship with Abba, or really just more of Reza.
Speaking of which; Art very much was the weakest link. As a character… I just don’t care for rich white men. As a boyfriend?? Very gross how he did not respect Reza’s not wanting to have sex. I know he said he was willing to wait, and for his part his did, but you do not need to bring it up all the time! He is clearly not ready, respect that! Yeah, his chapters were the weakest, queer activism aside. 

I like that they broke up though, that was nice. It felt realistic.

 
All in all, this book was kind of meh. Definitely had potential but just kind of fumbled the ball

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Homophobia and Terminal illness

Minor: Fatphobia, Medical content, and Toxic friendship

whatcassiedid's review against another edition

challenging 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

4.0

Aside from the typical YA secondhand embarassment bits and the ending feeling a bit rushed, I really enjoyed this.

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Homophobia, Death, and Medical content

hannahmayhere's review against another edition

emotional hopeful reflective sad medium-paced

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

4.25

This is such an important book. A perspective of teens growing up during the height of the AIDS crisis and the impact that had on them is something I haven’t had the opportunity to read before and I’m so grateful I now have. 

*explanation content warning on aphobia* one character does say a few times some aphobic lines ( sex is needed for a relationship, sex is ultimate goal of all relationships,  everyone wants it, etc.) and it goes unchallenged because they are the character’s thoughts. Part of this could be explained as he is a high schooler grappling with fear due to the AIDS epidemic but it still read as invalidating. So just a warning to fellow aces!

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Content Warnings

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

Moderate: Child abuse, Emotional abuse, Religious bigotry, and Islamophobia

Minor: Acephobia/Arophobia, Mass/school shootings, and Ableism

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

tinana's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional hopeful informative inspiring 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? Yes

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Bullying, Death, Grief, and Homophobia

Moderate: Body shaming, Death of parent, Fatphobia, Medical content, Physical abuse, Religious bigotry, and Sexual content

Minor: Xenophobia, Racial slurs, Violence, and Vomit

olivia9024's review against another edition

emotional informative inspiring reflective sad medium-paced

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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual content, Death, Homophobia, Medical content, and Terminal illness

hmatt's review against another edition

emotional hopeful 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

4.5

What a great read. The writing strikes that perfect balance where it's both appropriate for YA but not too simplified. There's just the right amount of focus each on family/friendships/romance for a coming-of-age novel. I also felt like it did a great job at being didactic without being preachy re: sex ed, queer history & culture, intersectional privilege, etc.

Where I had a small issue was with the main point of conflict - it just felt very contrived to me.

I guess I just didn't buy in that it would be such a big deal to Judy that Art had a crush on Reza, acted on before she and Reza started dating, was rejected, and then kept his distance for the duration of their relationship. It's believable that she would be upset to some degree, but the extent it went to didn't make a lot of sense to me.

I was able to look past this because the author didn't make it the only plot point. Yay, multi-dimensional storytelling.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Chronic illness, Death, Death of parent, Grief, Sexual content, and Terminal illness

Moderate: Blood, Bullying, Medical content, Police brutality, Racism, and Religious bigotry

Minor: Homophobia, Islamophobia, Mass/school shootings, Violence, Vomit, and Xenophobia