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ncq's review against another edition
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
4.0
Graphic: Transphobia, Deadnaming, Body shaming, Sexual assault, Toxic relationship, Bullying, Sexual violence, Rape, Sexual harassment, Violence, and Dysphoria
Moderate: Emotional abuse, Gaslighting, Toxic relationship, Xenophobia, and Homophobia
Also features sex work throughout, but without being anti-sex workgaymergirl'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: Body shaming, Emotional abuse, Sexual content, Child abuse, Sexual harassment, Transphobia, and Deadnaming
scifi_rat's review against another edition
3.5
Moderate: Emotional abuse, Racism, Sexual harassment, Rape, Transphobia, Child abuse, Deadnaming, Gaslighting, Homophobia, Violence, Bullying, Death, Domestic abuse, Dysphoria, Outing, Racial slurs, Sexual assault, and Toxic friendship
invertedsquares's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
2.75
Graphic: Sexual violence, Sexual content, Rape, Racial slurs, Body shaming, Transphobia, Racism, and Physical abuse
Moderate: Classism, Deadnaming, Domestic abuse, and Emotional abuse
winter_is_reading'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? It's complicated
5.0
To trans pain and trans triumph, to violence and violins, to classical Bartok and 8 bit Undertale. This book has me stopping, reflecting, smiling, and crying. It’s not a sad book, but the beautiful introspection had me tearing up when I least expected it.
There are heavy themes in this book. There’s a lot of transphobia and violence against trans women. There’s anti-Asian racism, sexism, flashbacks to child abuse, and mentions of sex work and rape. But again, I wouldn’t say this is a sad book. There’s a lot of triumph and beauty despite the evils of men.
I can’t recommend this book enough.
Angst: 4/5
Spice: no spice, but there’s a darling romance
Graphic: Transphobia, Racism, and Xenophobia
Moderate: Gaslighting, Racial slurs, Rape, Sexual violence, Deadnaming, Emotional abuse, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Racism, Homophobia, Lesbophobia, Child abuse, Dysphoria, and Hate crime
amvs1111'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
4.75
Moderate: Body shaming, Child abuse, Self harm, Emotional abuse, Sexual assault, Xenophobia, Deadnaming, Suicidal thoughts, Transphobia, Dysphoria, and Outing
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
k_fry'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? It's complicated
Graphic: Racism, Physical abuse, Outing, Deadnaming, Body shaming, Rape, Violence, Transphobia, Child abuse, Suicidal thoughts, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Racial slurs, Self harm, Murder, Emotional abuse, Bullying, Blood, Sexual harassment, Dysphoria, and Domestic abuse
watervixxen'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
5.0
Graphic: Physical abuse, Sexual content, Homophobia, Emotional abuse, Self harm, Sexual violence, and Hate crime
Moderate: Abandonment, Child abuse, and Deadnaming