Reviews tagging 'Emotional abuse'

Light from Uncommon Stars by Ryka Aoki

169 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. 

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Rape, Racial slurs, Dysphoria, Transphobia, Self harm, Racism, Panic attacks/disorders, Body shaming, Misogyny, Mental illness, Deadnaming, Sexual content, Homophobia, and Emotional abuse

Moderate: Child abuse

Minor: Suicidal thoughts

readsknitsrepeats's review against another edition

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.

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Emotional abuse, Physical abuse, Outing, Deadnaming, Sexual assault, and Transphobia

koiolee's review against another edition

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

Graphic: Biphobia, Homophobia, Bullying, Suicidal thoughts, Dysphoria, Deadnaming, Pedophilia, Outing, Domestic abuse, Misogyny, Sexual violence, Emotional abuse, Body shaming, Rape, Transphobia, Toxic friendship, Sexual harassment, Physical abuse, Terminal illness, Sexual assault, and Racism

adalinemccormick's review against another edition

adventurous emotional inspiring mysterious reflective 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

4.5

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Emotional abuse, Homophobia, Outing, Rape, Self harm, Racial slurs, Deadnaming, Dysphoria, Sexual violence, Child abuse, Misogyny, Pedophilia, Sexual content, Transphobia, Cursing, Domestic abuse, Sexual harassment, Sexual assault, and Suicidal thoughts

rhi_'s review against another edition

challenging dark emotional sad tense slow-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

4.25

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Transphobia, Homophobia, Lesbophobia, Domestic abuse, and Racism

Moderate: Sexual assault, Xenophobia, Mental illness, Hate crime, Emotional abuse, Deadnaming, Child abuse, and Bullying

Minor: Violence and War

anna_brawn's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional funny hopeful inspiring mysterious reflective sad tense 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

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Homophobia, Rape, Transphobia, Misogyny, Dysphoria, Racial slurs, Panic attacks/disorders, Murder, Emotional abuse, Sexual assault, Toxic relationship, Bullying, Racism, Outing, Domestic abuse, and Deadnaming

danimal_crackers's review against another edition

Beautiful, but bizarre.

Found the homeless storyline and resortion to prostitution haunting and triggering.

No disrespect to the author, this is an amazing piece of fiction, it just is not for me.

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Racial slurs, Emotional abuse, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, Trafficking, Transphobia, and Domestic abuse

miss_vonnegut's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional 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? It's complicated

5.0

This book was so interesting! It was definitely different than anything I've read before--filled with aliens and doughnuts and beautiful descriptions of violin music. I kept thinking about the song "The Devil Went Down to Georgia" when I was reading it. I love seeing more trans representation, and the way Aoki did it was fantastic. Warning: the trans character experiences transphobia, abuse, and deadnaming but (minor spoiler):

she gets a happy ending.

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Rape, Deadnaming, Physical abuse, Transphobia, Racism, and Emotional abuse

Moderate: Violence, War, and Racial slurs

The trans character experiences a lot of transphobia and abuse, but

she gets a happy ending

.

madalynn_owens's review against another edition

adventurous emotional hopeful slow-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

this was a very different and interesting story filled with a wide array of unique characters. It was a little slow at times and I didn’t love the ending but transported me to a new world. And now I want a donut!

---

Content Warnings

Moderate: Transphobia

Minor: Racism, Sexual harassment, Sexual content, War, Panic attacks/disorders, Hate crime, Emotional abuse, Child abuse, and Body shaming

emmambles's review against another edition

emotional inspiring reflective 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

4.5

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Body shaming and Transphobia

Moderate: Sexual harassment, Sexual violence, Sexual content, Sexual assault, Rape, Physical abuse, Outing, Emotional abuse, Dysphoria, Domestic abuse, and Deadnaming