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madalynn_owens's review
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
Moderate: Transphobia
Minor: Racism, Sexual harassment, Sexual content, War, Panic attacks/disorders, Hate crime, Emotional abuse, Child abuse, and Body shaming
fionamclary's review against another edition
- 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
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
doodlesdistractions's review against another edition
- 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
Graphic: Transphobia, Racism, Sexual assault, Xenophobia, Suicidal thoughts, War, Sexual violence, and Sexual harassment
randi_jo's review against another edition
- 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
10/10 would recommend to literally anyone.
Graphic: Rape and Transphobia
Minor: War
ceplunk's review against another edition
- 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
5.0
Moderate: Outing, Body shaming, Sexual content, Transphobia, and Deadnaming
Minor: War
clairejoanmarie's review against another edition
- Strong character development? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Graphic: Rape, Sexual violence, Sexual harassment, and Transphobia
Moderate: Sexual violence, Deadnaming, Child abuse, Emotional abuse, Violence, Sexism, Racism, and Homophobia
Minor: Deportation, Alcohol, Alcoholism, Addiction, Blood, Domestic abuse, Sexism, War, and Adult/minor relationship
touchegiantsquid's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Moderate: Racism, Dysphoria, Rape, Outing, Deadnaming, Sexual assault, Transphobia, and Homophobia
Minor: Violence and War
overthinkereading's review against another edition
4.0
Graphic: Rape, Lesbophobia, Outing, Gun violence, Transphobia, and Murder
Moderate: Sexual violence, Self harm, Child abuse, Domestic abuse, Rape, and War
Minor: Alcoholism
monstrouscosmos's review
- 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
4.5
Relationships: 8/10
Atmosphere/Setting: 10/10
Writing Style: 9/10
Plot/Intrigue: 9/10
Internal Logic: 8/10
Entertainment: 9/10
Overall: 62/70, 4.5*
sometimes a family is 2 parents, 2 kids, and a household pet. sometimes a family is a transgender runaway, The Queen of Hell and her living companion Oki, and a group of intergalactic refugees-turned-donut shop proprieters.
I think my biggest issue with the book boils down to the pacing. with 3 primary interconnecting storylines and 1-2 secondary storylines it definitely felt like none actually got the thematic exploration they deserved. specifically I would have loved to see more about the violin shop! this was also the most triggering read I've ever finished. while not necessarily a detriment never feeling like I knew when things would get very heavy very quickly definitely made it difficult to enjoy some of the more sweet and lighthearted moments.
the pros are many though. I actually appreciated the quick POV changes, they were challenging but gave a depth of understanding I appreciated. the LARGE number of neurodivergent-coded characters was also great, love to see a group of people with highly specialized interests who just want to info dump to one another. some of the character beats felt unrealistic at first, but I was quickly able to suspend disbelief when considering some of the sociocultural experiences of the characters (and, again, just coding all the characters as being neurodivergent in some way). given how explicit the writing is in other ways I would have preferred seeing more explanation of how and why characters other than Kristina react the ways they do in-the-moment, but the context clues and overarching pattern of experience was definitely there for me.
Graphic: Gun violence, Classism, Colonisation, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Sexual harassment, Toxic friendship, Transphobia, Racism, Deadnaming, Dysphoria, Gaslighting, Lesbophobia, Outing, War, Xenophobia, Emotional abuse, Murder, and Violence
Moderate: Rape
rape was on page and fade to black, harassment/violence was on page and explicit, assault covers all 3 so I consider it explicitsofiadanielle's review against another edition
- 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
I didn’t know much about the story before diving in, and I was pleasantly surprised! The way this is written reads very easily and quickly; though I was maybe a bit confused in the beginning, after a chapter or two, the paragraph/character POV started to really flow.
The ending seemed almost cinematic, in the sense that it flowed in a lovely way! Some themes pertaining to sexual violence (or just. really negative sexual experiences for Katrina) made me uncomfortable, but also, it’s worth noting that those aspects may not always be fiction, especially to queer individuals. It was great to see Katrina come into her own; her growth is certainly a highlight of this book.
Moderate: Racism, Sexual content, Emotional abuse, Sexual assault, Homophobia, Xenophobia, Child abuse, Deadnaming, and Dysphoria
Minor: Self harm, Murder, War, Lesbophobia, Miscarriage, and Drug use