Reviews with content warning for Deadnaming - Light from Uncommon Stars

Reviews tagging 'Deadnaming'

Light from Uncommon Stars by Ryka Aoki

360 reviews

secretofmusing's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional sad tense slow-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

3.25

Overall... I liked the story but this read more lit fic than sci-fi and once I realized that it was easier to continue.

Rating the book:
1. Characters? - Characters except for Shizuoka Satomi made sense to me ... in that I could understand/justify their motivation, wants, and needs etc. BUT

I don't think I ever really heard why or how Shizuoka was okay with collecting souls. (I understand it was to save her own soul) I could maybe have justified her having collected one or two souls already, but six? You'd think that after seeing what happened to the first person, she would have been like nah, I can't do this but she kept going. That says a lot about who she is as a person and that no one was able to reach her, and in my mind she's probably just as bad as Tremon.

1.
2. World-building/setting? - yes. 1.
3. Plot? It was ...okay? .25
4. Originality? - I have never read anything else like this. 1
5. Writing? Great. The writing was brilliant. I have a few quotes that will stick with me. When it came to some dialogue I did not like the occasional swear word, or racial slur, none of them felt genuine or necessary. Instead they felt very jarring and almost in the story for shock value. I don't really know. I loved the language used when Akoi described music and art and what it means to create. Especially Lucy's POV chapters. 1
6. Pacing? Nope, this was kind of a slog to get through. Especially with all the POV switching. 0
7. Themes? quite expected, and they kinda fell flat for me. 0
8. DID I CRY/WILL IT STICK - I did not cry, but it may stick just for being so weird. .5
9. Enjoyment? eh, I loved specific story lines, Lucy Matía. .5
10. THE end. It was okay, I saw it coming a mile away.

I loved how Aoki described the musical piece Katrina plays at the competition.

1

math - 6.25/10 = 3.125/5 = 3.25/5 - the rating might change as I let this story settle.

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edenconroy's review against another edition

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emotional medium-paced

3.75

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sgrunwald96's review against another edition

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emotional funny hopeful 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? It's complicated

4.25

A sweet book and an odd book. A mixed up love letter to the food of the San Gabriel Valley, immigrant families, violin performance, and runaways finding a home. There is some absurdity in the number of directions this involved (see: aliens, a doughnut shop, a cursed violin bow, a cybernetic daughter, a real demon, etc etc), but the characters are sweet and full of depth. It’s an entirely unbelievable story, but that’s kind of the point. Music and the human experience are the relatable parts. Writing wise, I had a bit of trouble with how quickly it jumped viewpoints and that it never comes back to the Marcus character.

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readwithria's review against another edition

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emotional slow-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

2.75

This book was a TRIP, but not the kind I was looking for.

I read this blurb and comp titles, and went into the book with expectations of a cozy sci-fi that dealt with morality. I was wrong.

Light From Uncommon Stars is a very literary book with some mild elements of science fiction and magical realism. Because of the heavy emphasis on the violin music throughout the book it reads more like a piece of literary fiction than a SFF book. The language surrounding music and food is very descriptive and flowery, and while that isn’t a bad thing it also isn’t what I was looking for.

The characters are really what saved this book for me. I loved Shirley and Astrid, and grew to like Shizuka and Katrina more as the book progressed. The themes of personhood and identity were really well done, and it was in those themes that I saw why The Long Way to a Small, Angry Planet was chosen as a comp title.

The story, however, was not my cup of tea. I found that the mid-chapter POV switches were hard to keep track of (I listened to the audiobook, so maybe this would be better in print?) and that made it hard for me to connect with what was happening sometimes. I also think there were too many storylines that didn’t get fleshed out enough for me to care about them.

I don’t regret finishing the book, but it definitely wasn’t my cup of tea. I’d recommend this for people who typically read contemporary fiction and are looking to get into sci-fi. 2.75 stars

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readsknitsrepeats's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional funny hopeful inspiring reflective sad slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes

4.5

If you think music, violins, deals with Hell, donut shops, and the Galactic Empire don’t go together, this book will change your mind. The author’s incredible writing and world-building weave all these elements together through the interconnected stories of Katrina, Shizuka, and Lan. I was thoroughly invested in the journey each character undertakes. Katrina's experiences with abuse and transphobia are brutally honest and heart-breaking. Themes of healing, found family, connection, resilience, and acceptance are at the core of this story, ultimately creating a heartwarming and hopeful tale.

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persephonefoxx's review against another edition

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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

4.75

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koiolee's review against another edition

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dark emotional inspiring reflective 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

4.5

Not a bad book, but hard to recommend. I feel like this book has too many things going on. They all make sense by the end, but I think it's doing too much. I guess I don't like the combination of the fantasy and scifi elements without going too in depth about the fantasy elements.

Content Warnings