Reviews tagging 'Xenophobia'

Light From Uncommon Stars by Ryka Aoki

143 reviews

alyssadorn's review against another edition

hopeful 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? It's complicated

3.75

3.75 ⭐️

This book was bizarre and cerebral and also so fun?? It has HEART. There’s so much pain and hope, despair and healing— some parts had me grinning and others had me crying. The genre mashup of fantasy (demon deals and violins that may or may not be magical) and sci fi (intergalactic war refugee and starship captain who relocates her family to a donut shop in the valley) was a really fun concept, but the worldbuilding was a bit messy, confusing, and unclear until just before halfway through — or maybe that’s when I just decided to suspend disbelief to the degree the characters did in accepting each other, alien or deals with a demon or what have you— and from there it was a fun and poignant read! 

There are subtle, intelligent moments of humor (I mean, an alien being so impressed by an Olive Garden in Cerritos or karmic acts befalling people who are transphobic to Katrina being subtly and casually mentioned??? So good); the head-hopping was really well done; and the queer experience was depicted with vulnerability and authenticity. I really enjoyed not just seeing Katrina’s growth/healing and Shizuka’s (the Queen of Hell’s) surprisingly nurturing nature, but also Astrid’s motherly tendency to feed as a way to heal and Lucia’s experience with imposter syndrome and her father’s/grandfather’s careless misogyny and the magic she brought to repairing violins.

The personification of both instrument and music in a world depicted with magic and demons makes it hard to tell if the instrument is truly alive in this book, if the music truly transports players and listeners into a memory or state of feeling together. But after a while I found myself letting go and just enjoying as Shizuka and Katrina started to affect each other’s music and memories— as Katrina tries to protect her teacher from those memories and as her teacher learns how to support Katrina in her healing and growth and creative expansion. As even an AI person finds herself diving into memory or her own truth, drawn by Katrina’s music. 

I was cheering Katrina on this entire book, and the integral hope and slight absurdity of some of the situations brought refreshing lightness to the dark themes explored and ensured the book never felt heavy. It’s a story of home, found family, familial love, legacy, food that feels like home, and healing. The characters a flawed and make mistakes but still clearly care for each other deeply. 

Definitely check the CWs (sexual assault and rape— not graphic—, physical abuse by a parent, racism, transphobia, homophobia, misgendering, dead-naming) 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Xenophobia, Racial slurs, Transphobia, and Homophobia

Moderate: War and Sexual assault

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

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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

lavloveslit's review against another edition

adventurous emotional hopeful 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? It's complicated

3.75

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Racism, Sexual assault, Bullying, Xenophobia, Homophobia, Body shaming, Transphobia, Sexual harassment, Outing, Sexual violence, and Lesbophobia

Minor: Rape and Deadnaming

sparky892's review against another edition

adventurous emotional hopeful mysterious 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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Xenophobia, Child abuse, Transphobia, Sexual violence, and Rape

spookyaz's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional hopeful mysterious reflective fast-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

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcoholism, Deadnaming, Rape, Transphobia, Xenophobia, Abandonment, Dysphoria, Sexual assault, Sexual harassment, Violence, Sexual violence, Domestic abuse, and Incest

readingpicnic's review against another edition

• Diverse cast of characters? Yes

5.0

What an incredible book! I was so nervous to read this for a while since it's sci-fi, but that's honestly not the genre of most of the story, so it wasn't hard to understand at all. The writing was incredible, the story had a very satisfying conclusion, and I loved the use of many different perspectives throughout the story, even if we didn't get to stick with some of them too often. I do wish that I had gotten to read more of Tamiko's perspective since she was very interesting and was set up as if she was going to play a major part in the plot, but that kind of fizzled out until the very end of the book when she was briefly mentioned by another character. I would have liked to stick with her perspective a little more because her obsession with Shizuka and creepy way of thinking about her was really attention-grabbing. I also wish I had gotten more of Markus' story, as I found myself questioning why he was in the story at all if he was going to be

put in a stasis and never return as a character. I wish I understood his actions and motivations a bit more before he vanished from the book. I understand that he gave more context on the Empire and the EndPlague, but his character seemed to be very expendable to the story other than that.

I really liked the trans rep in this story with Katrina, and I especially liked how she discussed transition with Shirley in her decision to not alter her body, as well as how she came to love her visibly trans body as the story went on. It didn't emphasize medical transition as necessary to being a trans woman or being trans at all, and I liked how it challenged Shirley's way of thinking of transness, even if she was trying to be helpful. I loved Katrina so much though, and she was definitely my favorite character that I was always rooting for. Shizuka is a little questionable with her actions to me, so I'm still not sure how I feel about her...but she's a complex character for sure and meant to invoke that reaction from the reader, I suppose.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Suicidal thoughts, Alcoholism, Outing, Rape, Sexual assault, Transphobia, Deadnaming, Physical abuse, Sexual violence, Child abuse, Domestic abuse, Gaslighting, Homophobia, Sexual harassment, Racism, and Xenophobia

Moderate: Racial slurs

luisaroesch's review against another edition

adventurous challenging hopeful inspiring mysterious reflective medium-paced

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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Xenophobia, Sexual harassment, Rape, Deadnaming, Transphobia, Death, Outing, Gun violence, Lesbophobia, Homophobia, and Racial slurs

fionamclary's review against another edition

adventurous emotional hopeful inspiring 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

5.0

You wouldn't think that the three storylines of this book would come together well, but Ryka Aoki has meshed them so beautifully. This book is so full of joy and hope.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Transphobia and Bullying

Moderate: Murder, Child abuse, Sexual assault, Racial slurs, Racism, Rape, Xenophobia, Suicidal thoughts, Dysphoria, and Homophobia

Minor: Self harm, Outing, War, Alcoholism, Deadnaming, and Pandemic/Epidemic

ccaz's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional hopeful 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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Transphobia, Violence, Murder, Sexual harassment, Sexual assault, and Xenophobia

Moderate: Rape

doodlesdistractions's review against another edition

adventurous emotional hopeful inspiring relaxing 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

5.0

I am still processing but I am so in love with this book!!! I cannot put it into words that do it justice.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Transphobia, Racism, Sexual assault, Xenophobia, Suicidal thoughts, War, Sexual violence, and Sexual harassment