Reviews with content warning for Homophobia - Music from Another World

Reviews tagging 'Homophobia'

Music from Another World by Robin Talley

27 reviews

elwirax's review against another edition

emotional slow-paced

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

3.5

**3.5/5

PROS:
A true slow burn romance which I absolutely love in books

I really enjoyed the gay historical content. As someone who knows the bare bones of gay history it was great to broaden that knowledge and this book did it well.

The manner in which this was written (diary entries and letters), kinda confused me at times and I had a hard time distinguishing whose perspective I was in. However, I did think that this format made the story much more impactful and it was great seeing Sharon and Tammy bond through these letter to eachother.

CONS:
The characters were good (great bi and lesbian rep) but they weren't particular well rounded and fell flat in some aspects. For this reason I would recommend this to younger YA readers, although I know that many older readers can still get something out of this book.

The whole middle section was a bit slow to get through and while it wasn't terrible my reading experience was slightly hindered.

Some of the dialogue was too modern
which slightly threw me out of the 70s setting (was good in the sense that I could relate a bit more though).

Overall, I thought this was a fantastic book. It showcased two girls not only bonding over a shared love for punk rock but also through their own experiences and resiliance in the face of oppression. The gay history in this book was fantastic- from Harvey Milk to Anita Bryant to prop 6 to Pride marches- and I'm glad I could educate myself further on some of the most important historical moments in gay history.

That being said if not for middle section of this book and how slow it was to get through this would've been a solid 4 stars. However, I can only give it 3.5.

Content Warnings

nickoliver's review against another edition

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emotional 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? No

4.25

This was a very intense, tough read - there was a lot of homophobia, and seeing people be <i> happy </i> about gay people losing their rights was definitely not easy for me. But it was still a beautiful book! I kinda liked the format; it's an epistolary novel, so it's told completely in letters and also diary entries. What I appreciated was that the two main characters, Tammy and Sharon, put their thoughts down differently - Tammy wrote letters to Harvey Milk, Sharon wrote in her diaries -, which helped me to always be aware of who was talking. The only thing I wasn't that big a fan of was the romance. While it was sweet, it also came a little bit out of nowhere.

Content Warnings