Reviews tagging 'Drug use'

Light from Uncommon Stars by Ryka Aoki

17 reviews

sofiadanielle's review against another edition

adventurous funny 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

A book with many stories, themes, content; from aliens to deals with hell, from classical music to anime/video game theme songs, and many a queer story overall. 

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. 

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Content Warnings

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

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

hawk_just_hawk's review against another edition

adventurous emotional funny hopeful informative inspiring 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

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcoholism, Suicidal thoughts, Alcohol, Drug use, Physical abuse, Dysphoria, Child abuse, Cursing, Deadnaming, Violence, Bullying, Death, Rape, Racial slurs, Self harm, Sexual assault, and Transphobia

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

agilefruit's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional tense 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

4.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Drug use, Mental illness, Body shaming, Rape, and Transphobia

Moderate: Sexism, Child abuse, and Alcoholism

Minor: Racism

lorriss's review

adventurous hopeful

• Strong character development? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual content, Sexual harassment, Dysphoria, Emotional abuse, Injury/Injury detail, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Racism, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Xenophobia, Transphobia, Violence, Outing, Suicidal thoughts, and Self harm

Moderate: Homophobia, Bullying, Pedophilia, Abandonment, Misogyny, Racial slurs, Child abuse, Deadnaming, Rape, Sexism, Terminal illness, Toxic friendship, Toxic relationship, and War

Minor: Fire/Fire injury, Alcohol, Alcoholism, Blood, Cancer, Drug use, Fatphobia, Incest, Religious bigotry, and Suicide

ozeankind's review against another edition

emotional 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? Yes

3.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Transphobia, Child abuse, Dysphoria, Hate crime, Domestic abuse, and Deadnaming

Moderate: Sexual harassment, Murder, and Xenophobia

Minor: Addiction, Alcohol, and Drug use

andloveistoolong's review against another edition

adventurous emotional hopeful inspiring 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

Light from Uncommon Stars has a WILD concept. There is so much going on in here (I mean, the plot is about deals with a devil AND extraterrestrial refugees hiding out on earth), but it all worked together so well! It is by turns funny and heartbreaking, but ultimately a beautiful and kind story that's going to be staying with me for a while.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Racial slurs, Sexual assault, Dysphoria, Racism, Transphobia, and Sexual violence

Moderate: Physical abuse, Deadnaming, Injury/Injury detail, Child abuse, Cursing, Outing, Suicidal thoughts, Self harm, Violence, and War

Minor: Miscarriage, Ableism, Drug use, and Rape

goodthingsread's review against another edition

hopeful inspiring reflective 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? No

3.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Panic attacks/disorders, Transphobia, and Dysphoria

Moderate: Sexual harassment, War, Child abuse, Rape, Murder, Self harm, Sexual assault, and Deadnaming

Minor: Drug use, War, Alcoholism, Self harm, Toxic friendship, and Racial slurs

juniperhope's review against another edition

adventurous emotional hopeful reflective 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

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcoholism, Body shaming, Deadnaming, Domestic abuse, Drug use, Dysphoria, Misogyny, Outing, Physical abuse, Racism, Sexual assault, Sexual harassment, Rape, War, Addiction, Child abuse, Homophobia, Transphobia, and Violence