Reviews tagging 'Toxic friendship'

Light From Uncommon Stars by Ryka Aoki

63 reviews

yggie's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional hopeful inspiring reflective sad medium-paced

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

3.0

This was such a painful book - in a good way, in a true way, but wow. I did see the hope, I did see the love, I did see the ‘growing into yourself, becoming strong and confident’ thing, but I can’t shake the pain. Don’t get me wrong, that’s a good thing.

The pain is not what made me go for just three stars. I’ve seen people complain about the switches in pov but those felt natural to me, I only got confused once and that was on me. The truth is, I got tired of reading about donuts. Donuts and chicken and duck and tea, it never ended and it didn’t add much for me. Also, Windee made me cringe every time she entered the narrative. Terrible character. 

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Deadnaming, Domestic abuse, Racial slurs, Sexual harassment, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic friendship, Transphobia, Body shaming, Bullying, Child abuse, Dysphoria, Injury/Injury detail, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Rape, Self harm, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual content, and Violence

kathleencoughlin's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional sad medium-paced

3.5

I generally enjoyed Light From Uncommon Stars. It was an interesting and rather stark mix of sci-fi and fantasy. I've rarely seen demons/hell and aliens in the same book which felt a bit dissonant to start, and I still have some questions about specifis there but I didn't find it too distracting.

Katrina is clearly traumatized by the way her family and other people have treated her in the past. It was honestly a bit hard to read at times.

After having spent some time being treated well by Shizuka, it was heartbreaking that Katrina didn't seem to feel betrayed by finding out what she'd been chosen for. She does not expect kindness for free. I hope she gets to go to therapy in the near future.

One of the most interesting and I think underexplored characters to me was Shirley. I find upacking the personhood of AI really fascinating and I think it's important philosophically to consider what makes a person a person.

It's clear Lan didn't fully process her feelings about where Shirley came from couldn't really allow herself to consider Shirley as a full person or truly her daughter. Watching Lan try to reconcile who Shirley actually was with her preconceptions about AI and her sadness about losing the original Shirley was interesting and proves that sometimes, even if you're smart, you need other people to point out what's right under your nose. I wish though, especially as a POV character, that we had seen more of how Lan actually processed that (if she did).

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Deadnaming, Racism, Transphobia, Homophobia, and Lesbophobia

Moderate: Classism, Rape, Sexual assault, Toxic friendship, Body shaming, and Outing

Minor: Grief, Miscarriage, and War

lotten4's review against another edition

emotional slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.5

The mc is a youtuber :-/

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Suicidal thoughts, Hate crime, Homophobia, Misogyny, Deadnaming, Domestic abuse, Racism, Sexual assault, Violence, Transphobia, and Toxic friendship

readerette's review against another edition

dark emotional hopeful 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

5.0

When the book started so slow and I realized how many characters there were, and with how loose of ties to one another at first, I almost decided to stop. 

But Katrina's experience as a transwoman kept me in it, as she experienced pain after pain and still learned to trust again. It was emotional to read, but beautiful. The trigger warnings are accurate, and there's enough lightness, goodness and love to balance them out.

Once I got used to the writing style (perfunctory and shifting between characters) and started to see where the story could go, I didn't want to put it down. The existential questions in this story were also refreshingly posed.

The Endplague just feels to me like civilization levels of mortal despair, and raises the question of what to do in the face of that knowledge: the same question each of us individual mortals has to answer for ourselves.

If you like sci fi/fantasy with a heart (the Becky Chambers comparisons are apt), I recommend this one. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Transphobia

Moderate: Body shaming, Bullying, Cursing, Deadnaming, Injury/Injury detail, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, and Death

Minor: Vomit, Murder, Mental illness, Outing, Racial slurs, Racism, Self harm, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic friendship, Toxic relationship, Violence, War, and Suicide

madradstarchild's review against another edition

adventurous emotional 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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual assault, Transphobia, and Child abuse

Moderate: Rape, Deadnaming, Homophobia, and Racism

Minor: Violence, Sexual harassment, Body shaming, Suicide, Sexual content, Racial slurs, Xenophobia, Cursing, Self harm, Toxic friendship, War, Misogyny, and Bullying

kennyrae89's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark mysterious tense fast-paced

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

3.0

How this book started out was a little confusing. It took me a while to figure out what was going on. It is also formatted strangely with how it jumps around between characters.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Transphobia, Toxic friendship, Sexual violence, Sexual harassment, Sexual assault, Rape, Panic attacks/disorders, and Homophobia

fallandfox's review against another edition

emotional hopeful inspiring mysterious reflective sad 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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Racial slurs, Sexual assault, Transphobia, Deadnaming, Domestic abuse, Body shaming, Cursing, Dysphoria, Emotional abuse, Hate crime, Sexual harassment, Toxic friendship, and Homophobia

val_so_'s review against another edition

emotional mysterious 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

3.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Panic attacks/disorders, Transphobia, Violence, Sexual assault, and Suicidal thoughts

Moderate: Hate crime, Murder, Sexual content, Toxic friendship, and Deadnaming

ekcd_'s review against another edition

emotional hopeful 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? It's complicated

3.0

I enjoyed readings it and it was a very fast, easy read. However, I would not buy it and would not re-read it. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Transphobia, Toxic friendship, Toxic relationship, Outing, and Dysphoria

Moderate: Sexual assault and Sexual violence

Minor: Deadnaming

sarahandmatilda's review against another edition

adventurous emotional hopeful inspiring mysterious 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

This book blew me away. It might be the one book I’ve read that most perfectly captures what it means to play, love and live music! There is a sophisticated level of detail about learning, playing, and even making violins, but the language is so beautiful that it doesn’t feel technical. 

Student violinist Katrina is a complex and incredibly lovable character. Her trauma from family abuse and transphobia is central to her experience in the book, but her musical gifts also go far beyond “talent.” Furthermore, the hard work she has to put in is extremely real and well illustrated… it is a common misconception that prodigies just rely on their natural talent!

I had thought that Shizuka’s storyline as “The Queen of Hell” would be disturbing and dark. It is a bit dark, but ultimately this is her redemption story… and even in the beginning, she is a likable character who sees the potential in Katrina and never doubts that Katrina should continue to be herself.

You might think that bringing starship captain aliens making donuts into this story doesn’t fit… but you would be wrong! There is humor in it, but it all just works together and ends up being profound. Star Trek fans will find some familiar and wonderful themes (such as the journey of a holographic being towards humanity). For those who appreciate food, the book also offers a great deal.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Transphobia, Homophobia, Child abuse, and Dysphoria

Moderate: Alcoholism, Body shaming, Racial slurs, Sexual harassment, Deadnaming, Emotional abuse, Bullying, Racism, Rape, Sexual assault, and Toxic friendship