Reviews tagging 'Medical content'

Luster by Raven Leilani

89 reviews

masscrafter's review

dark emotional funny sad slow-paced

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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual violence, Violence, Abortion, Addiction, Animal death, Death of parent, Drug abuse, Fatphobia, Medical content, Miscarriage, Physical abuse, Police brutality, Racial slurs, Racism, Self harm, Suicide, and Toxic relationship

rachelg's review

dark emotional reflective medium-paced

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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Domestic abuse, Infidelity, Medical content, Miscarriage, Police brutality, Racism, and Toxic relationship

cko's review

dark emotional funny reflective tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

Wow. One of those books I read (listened to, technically) in a kind of trance-- in one sitting. It flew by. The characters and relationships were interesting and the main character's observations had a dry humor and unique perspective. The focus on painting and descriptions of color lent another layer of sensuousness to the tensions in these relationships. The slightly bizarre circumstances and watchful neighbor give the novel a slight horror vibe. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Abortion, Addiction, Alcoholism, Blood, Body horror, Death of parent, Gore, Medical content, Miscarriage, Police brutality, Racial slurs, Racism, Sexual content, Suicide, and Vomit

Moderate: Animal death

maggiekateb's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional funny reflective tense fast-paced

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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Emotional abuse, Toxic relationship, Sexual content, and Medical content

Moderate: Eating disorder

sunpuddles's review

challenging dark funny sad fast-paced

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

4.0

This book is so well-written. The descriptions are vivid and precise, surprising and relatable. I found myself laughing at a brilliant turn of phrase, a simile or metaphor - even when the subject matter was dark. That said, the character development and plot left a bit to be desired. I find myself unable to remember the protagonist name, writing this in the morning after I finish reading the book… I was hoping for more depth to the character or development of a storyline. Not every book needs to be tidy at the end, but I just thought this needed something more to recommend it than the snapshot character study it seemed. I  really loved the point of view writing style - The rapidfire descriptions, impressions and thoughts from the Edie were highly entertaining, but did not always lend itself to the best story development. In the end it was like a long short story without a truly fleshed out and memorable story.  It is definitely worth the read and I recommend it. I also thought there could be more. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Infidelity, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Racism, Sexual violence, and Violence

Moderate: Abortion, Alcoholism, Blood, Death, Drug use, Grief, Medical content, and Toxic relationship

ifersinklings's review

challenging dark emotional reflective sad tense slow-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

3.0

I have struggled with my thoughts on this book for hours since I finished it. I enjoyed the writing and the way the story was told and how it unfolded, but I just can't figure out what it was supposed to accomplish. There were so many different aspects and nuances to the story that just never felt like anything was given enough time to be fleshed out. Then it ended. It just seemed to end so abruptly without any real resolution. I also struggled with the infidelity as a central theme to this story. That is definitely a personal issue and one that I did know going into this book, but it may have also made me a little bias to the story. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Animal death, Blood, Death of parent, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Gore, Grief, Infidelity, Medical content, Miscarriage, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Stalking, Toxic relationship, Violence, and Vomit

Moderate: Abortion, Body shaming, Cursing, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Excrement, Infertility, and Police brutality

questingnotcoasting's review against another edition

dark emotional funny reflective sad medium-paced

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

3.75

I feel like I've seen this book everywhere and luckily it pretty much lived up to the hype for me. I found Leilani's writing style so interesting. It's sharp and darkly funny, featuring very long sentences. The characters don't have many on page conversations and their behaviour often felt surreal, in part because of the way it's written. It's full of insightful observations about race and class and the characters were unlikeable but fascinating.
Edie is a very frustrating character, continuously making bad decisions. The narrative is also very focused in the present and there isn't much reflection on or analysis of her past, leaving you to piece together the possible reasons behind her self-destructive behaviour. I can definitely understand the comparisons to Queenie and Fleabag but I feel like both of those characters learnt and grew more than Edie did. This is more like a glimpse into her life and I still felt worried about her by the end. I just really wanted someone to genuinely be there for her. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Medical content, Miscarriage, Physical abuse, Police brutality, Sexual content, and Toxic relationship

Moderate: Abortion, Alcoholism, Grief, Racism, Suicidal thoughts, and Violence

Minor: Animal death

adoras's review

challenging dark emotional reflective sad 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

5.0

Luster is a fascinating novel. It takes the general sort of character and premise that might feel over-done: a twenty-something Millenial-or-Gen-Z in New York City, broke and messy and making mistakes. But the plot and characters here are so specific, and the writing so deliberate and beautiful and funny that it feels entirely new and different. During the beginning especially, I feel like I highlighted at least once a page, because I was so in love with the effortless-feeling style. If the style doesn't work for you, and I can see why it might not, you won't like this book.

This left me feeling melancholy. This is one of those books I love but don't feel that I have a lot to say about, maybe because I need to let it sit with me for a while. I enjoyed going in not knowing too much, although I saw someone compare it to Fleabag and in a lot of ways I think that's perfect. For some reason, I can't quite bump my rating up to five stars, but I really enjoyed this, now want to own a physical copy, and am excited to read more by Raven Leilani.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Abortion, Alcoholism, Blood, Death, Death of parent, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Medical content, Miscarriage, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, and Toxic relationship

Moderate: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Gun violence, and Police brutality

Minor: Cancer and Mental illness

cheye13's review against another edition

challenging dark tense fast-paced

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

4.0

This is a beautifully crafted novel. Every element – stynax, diction, plotline, pacing – is perfect and wholly of the piece itself. Which is why it's practically painful to admit that I didn't like it as much as I wanted to. My disappointments can be entirely contributed to my incorrect expectations. It was much darker, heavier, more melancholy than I was necessarily in the mood for or like to read in general.

My critiques, if implimented, would have ruined the book. There was no thread of whimsy to brighten it, which was intentional. The story didn't really kick off until the mid-point, but the depth of the opening was integral. I preferred reading about Rebecca and Akila and wished Eric were less present, but there would be no Rebecca or Akila in Edie's life without Eric.

This novel portrays the tragedy of Edie's reality in the most beautiful way possible, but the portrayal is too faithful to reality for me.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood, Medical content, Mental illness, Miscarriage, Misogyny, and Suicidal thoughts

Moderate: Abortion, Animal death, Death, Death of parent, Infertility, Infidelity, Physical abuse, Police brutality, Racial slurs, Racism, Sexual content, and Suicide

Minor: Ableism, Alcoholism, Body shaming, Cancer, Car accident, Cursing, Drug abuse, Gun violence, Rape, and Vomit

whatannikareads's review

challenging dark emotional sad tense fast-paced

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

4.75

wowowowowow. so i can see why people hate this book, but i personally loved it, and i like how polarizing the book can make its audience. i was so absorbed the whole time. the writing is sharp and captivating. while none of the characters are particularly likable (except maybe akila, although imo she's not written to be obviously likable), there are some really real, relatable moments leilani incorporates to make the characters all feel tangible. and there is some really beautiful, poetic commentary of edie's world around her, despite the fact that it's mostly bleak and unforgiving. sometimes i think the book veers into lengthy descriptions (particularly during comic con) that doesn't contribute to the plot, but overall it is tight and to the point. it's a book i actually feel compelled to look through again bc there felt like there were so many little nuances and subtleties i could've missed. this could be used in classes for picking apart and analyzing for more depth. i really enjoyed this!

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Abortion, Blood, Physical abuse, and Police brutality

Moderate: Animal death, Bullying, Death, Drug use, Eating disorder, Medical content, Miscarriage, Racial slurs, Rape, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic relationship, and Vomit