Reviews tagging 'Pandemic/Epidemic'

Light from Uncommon Stars by Ryka Aoki

6 reviews

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

clarabooksit's review

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? It's complicated

4.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual harassment, Sexism, Homophobia, Lesbophobia, Child abuse, Deadnaming, Outing, Dysphoria, Sexual assault, Transphobia, Racism, Panic attacks/disorders, Rape, Emotional abuse, and Misogyny

Moderate: Sexual content, Death, Bullying, Physical abuse, Classism, Gaslighting, Murder, Suicidal thoughts, and Violence

Minor: War, Pandemic/Epidemic, and Self harm

eni_iilorak's review

adventurous emotional hopeful mysterious sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Deadnaming, Dysphoria, Outing, Physical abuse, Racism, Rape, Sexual harassment, and Transphobia

Moderate: Lesbophobia, Murder, Self harm, Bullying, Classism, and Homophobia

Minor: Cursing, Drug use, Injury/Injury detail, Miscarriage, Pandemic/Epidemic, and Suicide

jareadforfilth's review against another edition

dark hopeful inspiring lighthearted reflective sad 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

4.0

I loved this book, the writing is so enjoyable and the characters are juicy and warm! Katrina has an incredible arc through this book and there are beautiful themes of what makes a family. The sapphic romance is so sweet and wholesome, and the plot is really good as well! It’s interesting—there are incredibly soft, touching and light moments of found family and blossoming friendships amidst an almost never-ending see if racism, transphobia, hate speech etc  that are very jarring to read but also an unfortunate reality that needs to be addressed. The juxtaposition of this light hope and dark despair is masterful, and the feminism in here is also miraculous. My only qualm is that the pace itself felt rather slow, I had to switch to audio because it was just taking me forever to get through and I could only read like, a chapter at a time before putting it down. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Transphobia, Homophobia, Dysphoria, Toxic friendship, Deadnaming, Sexual assault, Racial slurs, Pandemic/Epidemic, Bullying, and Body shaming

Moderate: Physical abuse, Murder, Emotional abuse, Alcoholism, Child abuse, and Domestic abuse

ruthlessreads's review against another edition

dark hopeful mysterious sad slow-paced

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

3.5

This was pitched to me as wholesome & hopeful book and, while I did find the ending hopeful, I would not consider this book wholesome in any capacity. There's lots of traumatic stuff explored so I recommend reading the trigger warnings before starting.
 

I wanted to like this book much more than I actually did. There were parts that I really enjoyed (the relationship between Lan & Shizuka, watching Katrina grow more confident, etc.) but overall I felt that the author was trying to weave too many disparate stories together. At least 2 storylines I do not feel needed to be included at all and there's at least one POV that I think could have been much more limited. It felt like some of these storylines petered out, without impacting the story in any real way. This could have been two books that tie into the same universe, rather than one book trying to smash as much into it as possible. 

That said, I really enjoyed the relationships between all the characters and, as a trans & queer reader, there were so many parts that were emotionally impactful in ways that I especially appreciated. This book could be enjoyed by anyone though, especially given the right information before starting. If I'd had different expectations going in, I may have enjoyed it more!

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Domestic abuse, Sexual content, Child abuse, Gaslighting, Toxic friendship, Homophobia, Misogyny, Emotional abuse, Transphobia, War, Physical abuse, Drug use, Violence, and Hate crime

Moderate: Child death, Self harm, Alcohol, Death, Murder, Sexual harassment, Drug use, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Racism, Grief, and Pandemic/Epidemic

princesspunx's review against another edition

adventurous challenging emotional hopeful inspiring reflective 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

Graphic: Pandemic/Epidemic, Rape, Sexual assault, Deadnaming, Death, Domestic abuse, Homophobia, Racial slurs, Self harm, Physical abuse, Sexual harassment, Body shaming, Dysphoria, Emotional abuse, Murder, Bullying, Child abuse, Gore, Injury/Injury detail, Transphobia, and Xenophobia