Scan barcode
ruthlessreads's review against another edition
dark
hopeful
mysterious
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? N/A
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
This was pitched to me as wholesome & hopeful book and, while I did find the ending hopeful, I would not consider this book wholesome in any capacity. There's lots of traumatic stuff explored so I recommend reading the trigger warnings before starting.
I wanted to like this book much more than I actually did. There were parts that I really enjoyed (the relationship between Lan & Shizuka, watching Katrina grow more confident, etc.) but overall I felt that the author was trying to weave too many disparate stories together. At least 2 storylines I do not feel needed to be included at all and there's at least one POV that I think could have been much more limited. It felt like some of these storylines petered out, without impacting the story in any real way. This could have been two books that tie into the same universe, rather than one book trying to smash as much into it as possible.
That said, I really enjoyed the relationships between all the characters and, as a trans & queer reader, there were so many parts that were emotionally impactful in ways that I especially appreciated. This book could be enjoyed by anyone though, especially given the right information before starting. If I'd had different expectations going in, I may have enjoyed it more!
I wanted to like this book much more than I actually did. There were parts that I really enjoyed (the relationship between Lan & Shizuka, watching Katrina grow more confident, etc.) but overall I felt that the author was trying to weave too many disparate stories together. At least 2 storylines I do not feel needed to be included at all and there's at least one POV that I think could have been much more limited. It felt like some of these storylines petered out, without impacting the story in any real way. This could have been two books that tie into the same universe, rather than one book trying to smash as much into it as possible.
That said, I really enjoyed the relationships between all the characters and, as a trans & queer reader, there were so many parts that were emotionally impactful in ways that I especially appreciated. This book could be enjoyed by anyone though, especially given the right information before starting. If I'd had different expectations going in, I may have enjoyed it more!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Domestic abuse, Sexual content, Child abuse, Gaslighting, Toxic friendship, Homophobia, Misogyny, Emotional abuse, Transphobia, War, Physical abuse, Drug use, Violence, and Hate crime
Moderate: Child death, Self harm, Alcohol, Death, Murder, Sexual harassment, Drug use, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Racism, Grief, and Pandemic/Epidemic
ctara2123's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
emotional
hopeful
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
5.0
God, this was so good!!!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Transphobia and Xenophobia
Moderate: Violence, Self harm, and Rape
Minor: War
speedofhuman's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
sad
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
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual violence, Rape, Body shaming, Transphobia, Toxic relationship, and Violence
kanonkita's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
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? Yes
5.0
Absolutely gorgeous -- not just the story but the language of it. Aoki's background as a poet really comes through in this book. It's a stellar example of how a story can deal with very real and personal issues while also incorporating fantastic elements like demons and aliens.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Violence, Transphobia, Dysphoria, and Death
Moderate: Sexual content, Self harm, Murder, War, and Racism
Minor: Child abuse, Body shaming, Deadnaming, and Sexual assault
ash_ton's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
Fr should have read the content warnings for this because some of this stuff kinda bothered me, and normally reading things doesn't affect me that much. I guess it's kind of on me because obviously I have access to content warnings. Oh well. Anyways.
Complaints first, because I'm an asshole. I'm not sure I liked the different shifting POVs. I like to think I'm not an idiot, so at first I'd be a little lost on who was talking. And there were so many. Some of them just side characters. Wack.
I did really like the book though. I don't normally go for sci-fi, and I actually read this or the LGBTQIA+ book club I'm in. At first I wasn't a huge fan of it but I'm glad I stayed with it. Definitely thought provoking and an interesting story. Shirley was my favorite character. All my homies love Shirley.
Complaints first, because I'm an asshole. I'm not sure I liked the different shifting POVs. I like to think I'm not an idiot, so at first I'd be a little lost on who was talking. And there were so many. Some of them just side characters. Wack.
I did really like the book though. I don't normally go for sci-fi, and I actually read this or the LGBTQIA+ book club I'm in. At first I wasn't a huge fan of it but I'm glad I stayed with it. Definitely thought provoking and an interesting story. Shirley was my favorite character. All my homies love Shirley.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Blood, Dysphoria, Murder, Sexual assault, Sexual harassment, Rape, Self harm, and Transphobia
Moderate: Xenophobia, Alcoholism, Deadnaming, Gun violence, Homophobia, Injury/Injury detail, Lesbophobia, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Racism, Violence, Child abuse, Death, Grief, Racial slurs, Bullying, and Emotional abuse
Minor: Suicide, Cultural appropriation, Suicidal thoughts, Deportation, Religious bigotry, Suicide attempt, and War
osladek's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
hopeful
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
4.0
This book was so delightfully weird and whimsical. I loved the writing style, although I understand other's criticisms of the POV switches and dialogue issues. I didn't have any issue with these parts of the book and they felt like a thematic part of the book.
My main criticism was the sensitive content and how it was regarded in the book. This book should've had a large content warning at the beginning of it for the themes of graphic transphobia, sexual assault, physical violence, racial, homophobic, and transphobic slurs, and much more. In addition to it lacking a warning, these issues could have been dealt with a million times better. Mainly with the character Katrina, the incessant transphobia was almost bordering on insane. As a trans person I have never experienced this amount of transphobia in day to day life. Although the abusive, transphobic family part of the book was not unrealistic, the constant transphobia from strangers just felt overboard. Granted, I am not a trans woman nor a person of color and I am positive trans women of color receive worse treatment in everyday life than I do, I doubt it is as depicted in this book. In addition the the external abuse Katrina receives, her internal monologue is difficult to get through. Reading this trans character use "queer" as a slur to herself just felt very gross, just her being trans seems to be equated to being disgusting according to Katrina. I don't want to say this is unrealistic either since internalized transphobia and homophobia are real things, however with a fictional character everything being put on paper is a decision made by the author. I believe the author should have hired sensitivity readers even though I know she herself is a trans woman of color. I think some sensitivity readers could've given her constructive criticism on this portion of the book bordering on trauma porn. Also Katrina seems to have almost no character development even in accepting herself.
Regardless of the issues with Katrina, I still thoroughly enjoyed this book. I was hooked from the beginning and had trouble putting this book down. The deal with the Devil plot was spectacular and witty. I loved the alien family owning the donut shop plot and I think these completely different themes worked well together. I wished these two plots were the main focus without including the transphobia plot, but still included Katrina. The Markus plot was a little insane to add considering his story has no definite ending and I don't think the author handles it well, it feels like an add-on that makes no sense to the overall themes of the book. Although it has a lot of flaws, I liked this book a lot and I hope the author makes more weird books that keep me hooked, granted she eases up on the intense content.
My main criticism was the sensitive content and how it was regarded in the book. This book should've had a large content warning at the beginning of it for the themes of graphic transphobia, sexual assault, physical violence, racial, homophobic, and transphobic slurs, and much more. In addition to it lacking a warning, these issues could have been dealt with a million times better. Mainly with the character Katrina, the incessant transphobia was almost bordering on insane. As a trans person I have never experienced this amount of transphobia in day to day life. Although the abusive, transphobic family part of the book was not unrealistic, the constant transphobia from strangers just felt overboard. Granted, I am not a trans woman nor a person of color and I am positive trans women of color receive worse treatment in everyday life than I do, I doubt it is as depicted in this book. In addition the the external abuse Katrina receives, her internal monologue is difficult to get through. Reading this trans character use "queer" as a slur to herself just felt very gross, just her being trans seems to be equated to being disgusting according to Katrina. I don't want to say this is unrealistic either since internalized transphobia and homophobia are real things, however with a fictional character everything being put on paper is a decision made by the author. I believe the author should have hired sensitivity readers even though I know she herself is a trans woman of color. I think some sensitivity readers could've given her constructive criticism on this portion of the book bordering on trauma porn. Also Katrina seems to have almost no character development even in accepting herself.
Regardless of the issues with Katrina, I still thoroughly enjoyed this book. I was hooked from the beginning and had trouble putting this book down. The deal with the Devil plot was spectacular and witty. I loved the alien family owning the donut shop plot and I think these completely different themes worked well together. I wished these two plots were the main focus without including the transphobia plot, but still included Katrina. The Markus plot was a little insane to add considering his story has no definite ending and I don't think the author handles it well, it feels like an add-on that makes no sense to the overall themes of the book. Although it has a lot of flaws, I liked this book a lot and I hope the author makes more weird books that keep me hooked, granted she eases up on the intense content.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child abuse, Homophobia, Sexual violence, and Transphobia
Moderate: War, Violence, Racial slurs, Racism, and Self harm
tilder's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
inspiring
reflective
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
4.75
I really loved this read, the writing has incredible imagery and fascinating story. Each character has unexpected moments (like actual people) and have you looking for more. I learned so much more about violins.
I think that the ending wasn’t what I wanted. I think that I was expecting either Shizuka or Katrina to evade Trenton. But not in this way, it almost felt too… easy? I think I would have preferred a conclusive death and see how it affects each character. Like Shizuka dying and Lan or Shirley becoming Katrina’s first student. It felt almost like fan service or a cop out. Either way, I really enjoyed this book and I am eager to read more
I think that the ending wasn’t what I wanted. I think that I was expecting either Shizuka or Katrina to evade Trenton. But not in this way, it almost felt too… easy? I think I would have preferred a conclusive death and see how it affects each character. Like Shizuka dying and Lan or Shirley becoming Katrina’s first student. It felt almost like fan service or a cop out. Either way, I really enjoyed this book and I am eager to read more
Content Warnings
Graphic: Toxic relationship, Sexual assault, Emotional abuse, Physical abuse, Dysphoria, Deadnaming, Child abuse, Sexual violence, Homophobia, Alcoholism, Addiction, Violence, Self harm, Xenophobia, Transphobia, Suicidal thoughts, Racial slurs, Rape, Hate crime, Racism, and Gun violence
caroline_rk's review against another edition
emotional
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? Yes
4.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: Rape, Violence, and Transphobia
christine_d11's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
reflective
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
4.25
Content Warnings
Graphic: Transphobia
Moderate: Violence
Minor: Rape
mmccombs's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
reflective
medium-paced
4.0
This was a reading experience unlike any other, mixing genre and tone and style into something that feels kind of out of this world. There is SO much going on, I was not convinced all of it could gel into something cohesive. Personally, I don’t think every element in this book worked perfectly, but I do think the end result was so rewarding. A book about belonging and truth and the powerful beauty of music, it made me want to listen to music and make new friends and feel more comfortable in my skin. A weird, sweet, very queer joy to read!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Physical abuse, Child abuse, Sexual violence, and Transphobia
Moderate: Murder and Violence