Reviews tagging 'Hate crime'

Some Desperate Glory by Emily Tesh

6 reviews

raychelbennet's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional mysterious sad 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

5.0

Despite the extensive trigger list, just wow. Incredibly comprehensive for a single novel. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Genocide, Hate crime, Homophobia, Misogyny, Racism, Rape, Sexism, Sexual violence, Suicide, Torture, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Medical trauma, Death of parent, Gaslighting, Sexual harassment, Colonisation, War, and Classism

Moderate: Bullying, Abortion, and Pregnancy

alyxbeau's review against another edition

challenging dark sad tense medium-paced

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

1.5

I don't rate this lowly because it is a bad book, but because I did not enjoy it. This does not mean you will not! Especially if you enjoy books with huge political/social commentary as part of the messaging. I personally do not look for messaging when picking books to read. I get enough from social media and friends/family. This becomes a detractor for me when what i am looking for is an escape. 

I also dont enjoy most sci-fi. This is absolutely that. 

The rest of my review I feel should be in spoiler tags. Read at your own risk. 

The book did not go where I thought it would, and ulimately that is the only thing that kept me from DNFing at 40ish percent. However, it didnt lean into the redo over and over scheme enough for me to have enjoyed it. I really should have quit at 20 percent in when I was just uncomfortable listening to the brainwashed Kyr. She never does become entirely likable. 
The book covers a lot of massively disturbing concepts- and it covers them from the mind of a blindly accepting cult. Its VASTLY unnerving and uncomfortable. Eugenics, Child/adult relationships and assault of minors, forced childbearing, militant control and brainwashing. Truly heinous. 

I do not reccomend this  book to people who read for enjoyment only. This book is meant to be critiqued, not pleasantly enjoyed in an evening or two. You will walk away disturbed chapter after chapter. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Genocide, Homophobia, Pedophilia, Sexism, Sexual assault, Suicide, Violence, Xenophobia, Lesbophobia, and War

Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Bullying, Death, Emotional abuse, Hate crime, Pedophilia, Rape, Sexual assault, Suicide, Toxic relationship, Xenophobia, Blood, Death of parent, Pregnancy, Toxic friendship, Sexual harassment, and War

ceruleanseas's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional hopeful reflective sad tense fast-paced

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

4.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Ableism, Body shaming, Bullying, Child abuse, Child death, Death, Emotional abuse, Genocide, Homophobia, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Sexism, Sexual assault, Violence, Xenophobia, Blood, Medical content, Grief, Death of parent, Murder, Gaslighting, Abandonment, Colonisation, War, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Gun violence, Hate crime, Incest, Pedophilia, Rape, Suicide, Torture, Kidnapping, and Toxic friendship

Minor: Slavery, Trafficking, Abortion, Pregnancy, and Alcohol

ablanket42's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional reflective tense medium-paced

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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Bullying, Child abuse, Death, Emotional abuse, Sexism, Sexual assault, Violence, Xenophobia, Religious bigotry, and War

Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Bullying, Genocide, Hate crime, Homophobia, Pedophilia, Colonisation, and Classism

Minor: Incest, Pedophilia, Abortion, Death of parent, Pregnancy, and Injury/Injury detail

harperphillips96's review against another edition

adventurous hopeful tense fast-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

4.5

I have this tendency to feel a sense of smug superiority when reading YA I don’t like… which sometimes means my guard is down when the author decides to wreck my judgmental little heart. 

(ETA: apparently this isn’t marketed as YA. Please go into it assuming this is YA and you will have a better time.) 

Surprised to see so many negative reviews because this really did wreck me a little. Maybe it’s because the main themes perfectly call out what I know to be my own biggest flaws, so even a simplistic story around those themes cuts me deeply. 

This is a book about radicalization, bigotry, what it means to be redeemed, what atonement and forgiveness could look like, whether those are worthy goals or if they’re beside the point. I had very strong opinions about these Bad People and was called out hard towards the end. I think I will be thinking about this book for a while. 

SPOILERS FROM HERE-
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I wish they had let Kyr and Yiso die together at the end. The last minute rescue took me from silently weeping to “Oh. Is that all?” and was tonally quite jarring. I think Kyr was meant to make that sacrifice, and it felt like the author didn’t have quiiiiiite the guts to make the ending as hard as it should have been.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Bullying, Genocide, Hate crime, Xenophobia, Colonisation, and War

thecriticalreader's review

adventurous dark inspiring 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

 

Context:

I borrowed Some Desperate Glory by Emily Tesh from my library through the Libby App.

 

Review:

Just to get it out of the way: Some Desperate Glory is billed as a “queer space opera,” but that’s not really what this book is. So, if that’s why you picked up the book, you might want to adjust your expectations. In fact, I would recommend letting go of a lot of expectations even as you start the book because the plot takes a giant left turn at around the 30% mark.

 

That being said, there is a lot about this book that impressed me. Tesh writes the main character, Kyr, as despicable and deeply unlikable at the beginning, but manages to give her a convincing character arc throughout the story. The side characters, too, are well-written and fascinating. The overall plot hooked me, and I found the ending section to be riveting. 

 

One of the biggest issues I have with Some Desperate Glory is the worldbuilding technological mechanism that allows the plot and character development to occur: it’s baffling—nonsensical, even. The more I try to think about how and why such technology might work, the more my brain hurts. The author even admits that it’s nonsensical in the book’s acknowledgments! Furthermore, Tesh uses this fantastical “technology” to create an unnecessary deus ex machina ending. If I didn’t like the core storyline and the characters so much, this flaw would have ruined the book for me.

 

In terms of the thematic elements of the book, I liked that the book used its (quite dark and disturbing) dystopian elements to condemn fascism, misogyny, homophobia, etc. There are a few missteps here and there—

for example, I found it impossible to root for a character, who, in a slightly different timeline, casually committed mass genocide of trillions of people

—and some lack of nuance as Tesh focuses on developing the story and characters. However, I couldn’t help but cheer on Kyr as she grows as a person and fights to save the world and the people she cares about.

 

The Run-Down: 

You will probably like Some Desperate Glory if . . . 

·      You want to read a story with flawed, complex characters

·      You like time travel/multiverse fiction

·      You want a gripping sci-fi story that keeps you on the edge of your seat 

 

You might not like Some Desperate Glory if . . .

·      You are sensitive to the triggers listed at the beginning of the book—seriously, things get dark!

·      You don’t want to read from the perspective of someone who is truly a garbage human being (at least to start)

·      You want to read about a lesbian romance (there is little to no romance in this book)

·      You hate when science fiction worldbuilding makes no sense

 

A Similar Book: 

Ender’s Game by Orson Scott Card. Similarities include:

·      A young, genetically engineered protagonist who is trained and groomed to fight in a war between humans and aliens

·      Discussions surrounding genetic engineering/eugenics, military propaganda, and genocide

 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Ableism, Genocide, Hate crime, Homophobia, Misogyny, Sexual assault, Suicide, Xenophobia, Medical trauma, Murder, and War

Moderate: Animal death, Gun violence, Rape, Pregnancy, and Injury/Injury detail