Reviews with content warning for Transphobia - Sistersong

Riva and Sinne unfortunately felt very shallow in the manner they were written.

I found it painfully obvious how Keyne was written by someone who is not a trans man. The first few chapters from his perspective were repeating how he felt different on the inside, noone understands what it's like to be perceived as someone you're not, dresses make him uncomfortable etc. All valid trans experiences but executed in a very shallow manner because there was nothing else to him. Trans people have personalities and not every single waking moment is spent thinking about how being trans is different or hard.

Similarly the portrayal of the disabled character Riva also felt shallow to me initially. Much like Keyne she kept repeating how hard it was to be a burn victim and for others to look at her differently. One guy appears and says he thinks she's strong for living with a disability, not weak, and suddenly

she's anamoured with him.

It annoyed me as a disabled trans person how heavily these characters relied on tropes / stereotypes of what it's like to be disabled or trans. They didn't feel human a lot of the time as they hugely lacked in depth. Therefore when events happened that were intended to be emotional I just felt..meh.

But on the other hand, the premise for this story was a wonderful idea. The setting, the magic, the culture.. all made me so happy. It is lovely to see traditional British culture celebrated through story. I just wish it had been executed better , so I would have cared more about the plot.

Content Warnings

agooding's review against another edition

Go to review page

dark emotional hopeful mysterious sad tense 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? It's complicated

4.5

Content Warnings

bluejay21's review against another edition

Go to review page

adventurous dark hopeful tense 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? Yes

4.25

Content Warnings

abbeyroad1410's review against another edition

Go to review page

adventurous emotional inspiring sad 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

3.75

I feel very conflicted about this book because the things it did well, it did exceptionally, but overall, I feel like a lot of areas were underdeveloped.
I want to start with the things I felt the book did exceptionally. To begin, it carries a plot about a transgender boy, Kenye, throughout the novel which is moving and has a happy ending. I find this rare, especially in a historical fiction novel, and I enjoyed the representation in a way that made sense. For people that think this is unrealistic for the time period, I would look into the thirteenth century text Le Roman de Silence by Heldris.
The book also does a great job showing Riva's insecurity with her disability (she is a burn victim) and the pressure she feels from having to be the older, more responsible sister. Dealing with her insecurities gives Riva's character depth, though I will admit she may be the most frustrating character in the book.
This novel is also great at drawing emotion. At the emotional peak,

when Sinne dies and is turned into a harp,

I simultaneously felt like crying and vomiting. Without Lucy Holland's ability to write such sympathetic characters, I doubt this emotion would hit as hard.
Now, I want to touch on the things that just generally confused me about the novel, Sistersong. I think my biggest issue with this novel is the fact that there seems to be no rhyme or reason for the magic in it. The novel began with the sisters having specific powers, but by the end, they blurred together and you could also half raise the dead. This is very frustrating.
Additionally, the driver of the main event

,Sinne's death during her fight with Riva,

is jealousy. However, at the time this occurs, there is no reason for Sinne to be jealous as she doesn't trust Tristian and had a major revelation that Tristian had always favored her sister. Honestly, everyone's feelings about Tristian and infatuation with him was very confusing by the end of the novel.

For the majority of the novel, Riva chose to be ignorant that Tristian was the villain despite everyone else suspecting him. This girl was shocked when he was revealed to be a Saxon and it made zero sense how shocked she was.

Overall, I wouldn't say that I am disappointed with the book. I am mostly just left confused. It was a beautiful adaptation of the Ballad of the Twa Sisters, but at times, it was doing too much.

Content Warnings

picaresquedreamer's review against another edition

Go to review page

Boring, most characters were kinda irritating

Content Warnings

musicalpopcorn's review against another edition

Go to review page

adventurous dark sad medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.5

In this retelling of a gruesome old song, a magical world on the brink of destruction needs saving, but who will be the one to protect it?

This was quite the story. I’m glad I looked up the Twa Sisters beforehand otherwise I think I would have had a massive shock about 3/4 of the way in. The book definitely takes a sharp turn.

I wasn’t all that interested in it to begin with. I didn’t find the story grabbed me, but once it took a darker turn, I definitely felt more inclined to see how it ended.

Interesting idea, so-so execution.

Content Warnings

claire_riach's review against another edition

Go to review page

adventurous emotional inspiring mysterious tense 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

Content Warnings

More...