Reviews with content warning for Homophobia - Black Water Sister

Reviews tagging 'Homophobia'

Black Water Sister by Zen Cho

135 reviews

emreads0's review against another edition

dark emotional tense medium-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? Yes

3.0

I feel like this could have been a common story that pushed the envelope but fell flat instead. The family dynamics are SPOT on as Jess, our mc, is post college in the US and helping her aging parents move back home to Malaysia with the rest of the family. Aunties, Uncles, and other extended family being overbearing and overwhelming was so accurate, it was triggering haha.

When Jess starts hearing a voice in her head, she thinks she is going crazy. It is her grandmother, Ah Ma, who is aggressive and stubborn to say the least. Jess is sent on a wild and dangerous journey to learn more about her family, fighting people and gods to find out the truth.

Jess being gay was the most frustrating part of the story, for good and bad. The author wanted to show how homophobic older generations can be, but it was used more as a plot device more than anything. We see that Jess is scared to come out because of how her family will react. It is even an issue the god, Black Water Sister, points out to Jess in a nightmare. So why the fuck is it never answered in the story? We are left to wonder about it even though it was a huge part of Jess's fears and area of possible growth.

Content Warnings

abissette's review against another edition

Go to review page

mysterious medium-paced

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

3.0

Enjoyable but inconsistent emotional engagement for me, and a few supporting characters are quite flat.

particularly the queer/coming out story within the book felt perfunctory and predictable - protagonist's girlfriend acts like a plot device, not a person

Content Warnings

alyssa2012's review against another edition

Go to review page

adventurous dark mysterious 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

3.75

Content Warnings

baguettegay's review against another edition

Go to review page

adventurous emotional funny hopeful tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
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

Content Warnings

mementomoriiv's review against another edition

Go to review page

adventurous funny medium-paced

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

4.25

Content Warnings

lilifane's review against another edition

Go to review page

challenging dark funny mysterious 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

4.0

I was in the mood to read a light-hearted YA Fantasy between two very intense books and thought this would actually be perfect. LOL! Nope.
First of all, this is definitely not YA. I don't even know why I thought it was? And then after a lighthearted and funny beginning, the story gets pretty dark and intense and violent. But also in a good way. I really liked the characters, the protagonist was very relatable, the dynamics between her and the ghost hilarious. The writing style, especially the dialogues, might need some time to get used when you're not the child of immigrants. But since I am, it felt familiar (even if the languages are totally different in my case).
Loved the atmosphere and how ghosts, spirits and gods played such a big part in the plot and every day life of the characters. Also, loved the themes that were explored in a raw and brutal way. Like having an identity crisis, being torn between your family and your own life, coming out to a traditional Chinese family, violence against women, sexism, generational trauma, unresolved hate and revenge. But there are some hard scenes towards the end, so I recommend checking trigger warnings.

Content Warnings