Reviews tagging 'Hate crime'

Light from Uncommon Stars by Ryka Aoki

42 reviews

brinsay's review against another edition

adventurous emotional funny inspiring 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

This book is so good it amazes me question wether anything else I've given 5 stars is worthy in comparison. I love these characters, I love this story l, I love the big donut. 

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Content Warnings

Minor: War, Panic attacks/disorders, Hate crime, Domestic abuse, Toxic friendship, Miscarriage, Racism, Mental illness, Gun violence, Sexual assault, Rape, Transphobia, Toxic relationship, and Grief

abookwormspov's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional funny hopeful 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: War, Violence, Racial slurs, Sexual harassment, Toxic relationship, Self harm, Physical abuse, Pedophilia, Panic attacks/disorders, Transphobia, Sexual assault, Lesbophobia, Injury/Injury detail, Deadnaming, Cursing, Outing, Homophobia, Sexual violence, Xenophobia, Rape, Hate crime, Toxic friendship, Religious bigotry, Mental illness, Gun violence, Domestic abuse, Grief, Death, and Abandonment

nerdysread's review against another edition

challenging emotional informative inspiring 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? It's complicated

5.0

Wow

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual assault, Child abuse, Violence, Transphobia, Homophobia, Gun violence, and Domestic abuse

Moderate: Racism, Rape, Incest, Pedophilia, Hate crime, Emotional abuse, and Deadnaming

leanne_miron's review against another edition

adventurous emotional funny hopeful lighthearted 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: Deadnaming, Outing, Rape, Racism, Sexual harassment, Child abuse, Transphobia, and Xenophobia

Moderate: Hate crime, Bullying, Panic attacks/disorders, Homophobia, and Misogyny

queersicles's review against another edition

emotional hopeful reflective slow-paced

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

4.5

I love slow paced, slice of life books. Much of what I love about this book is about that. The book describes food with such texture and depth, it feels very comforting to step inside this world where there are clear problems but those are taken just as seriously as the character's meals. I love the relationships between these different women, power dynamics of adult-teenager, cis-trans, human-AI, and parent-outside adult giving perspective on her parenting choices were all explored. It felt like love between women was the main focus of the book. Grappling with the outside pressures of war, immigration, misogyny, racism, transphobia, etc, were battled out. No one woman was saving anyone else, they were grappling with power dynamics and how to listen and respect one anothers autonomy throughout, which was beautiful to see unspool in such a cooky little world where the devil and aliens are running around
 That all being said, I felt frustrated by the ending.

the end leaves Shizuka (the woman who was selling the souls of her students to hell for her own fame/glory) with a happy ending and a gay relationship which had depth and felt interesting and flawed, but left Katrina with no romantic relationship (which would have been fine) except her getting a Tesla and seemingly carrying on some kind of relationship with a man who literally sexually assaulted her the very first time he met her (he grabs her genitals through her dress in a backstage dressing room with a bunch of people around) which felt just.. like such a betrayal? She starts the book running from her abusive family, escapes and finds a new family to be a part of, but then the end, the book doesn't focus on her growing friendship with an AI named Wendy who I think would have been a more satisfying ending to see how their relationship was developing, and instead ties her to this rich asshole where she is (this is a presumption on my part) still in some way doing sex work in exchange for money/a Tesla from a rich asshole? It just felt like a slap in the face. </Spoiler> that unsatisfying ending detail took a lot away for me, which is why I couldn't give it 5 stars

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Transphobia, Violence, Xenophobia, Suicidal thoughts, Classism, Misogyny, Racism, Rape, Sexual assault, Body shaming, Bullying, Deadnaming, Domestic abuse, Dysphoria, Blood, Child death, Child abuse, Self harm, Sexism, Death, Hate crime, Homophobia, Outing, Racial slurs, Sexual harassment, Murder, and Physical 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

lcady23's review against another edition

emotional 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

4.75

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Bullying, Addiction, Homophobia, Deadnaming, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Self harm, Sexual harassment, Child abuse, Hate crime, Racism, Rape, and Physical abuse

tilder's review against another edition

adventurous emotional inspiring reflective 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? Yes

4.75

I really loved this read, the writing has incredible imagery and fascinating story. Each character has unexpected moments (like actual people) and have you looking for more. I learned so much more about violins. 

I think that the ending wasn’t what I wanted. I think that I was expecting either Shizuka or Katrina to evade Trenton. But not in this way, it almost felt too… easy? I think I would have preferred a conclusive death and see how it affects each character. Like Shizuka dying and Lan or Shirley becoming Katrina’s first student. It felt almost like fan service or a cop out. Either way, I really enjoyed this book and I am eager to read more 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Toxic relationship, Sexual assault, Emotional abuse, Physical abuse, Dysphoria, Deadnaming, Child abuse, Sexual violence, Homophobia, Alcoholism, Addiction, Violence, Self harm, Xenophobia, Transphobia, Suicidal thoughts, Racial slurs, Rape, Hate crime, Racism, and Gun violence

jogginglake's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional hopeful 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? It's complicated

4.5

This is a wonderful book, the descriptions are incredible and it's almost dreamlike. I say almost because there are these jarring, heavy moments that thud in the pit of your stomach and make the book really difficult to read, like when

Katrina is raped by her 'friend' Evan for rent, or is sexually assaulted by the bank manager running the big competition specifically because she's trans,

or the very frank and blunt descriptions of sex work. I don't think these things make the book worse, but they really are very jarring in a way that I think was intended, but still is unpleasant to read. I would definitely recommend this book, but I would warn that it's not nearly as light a read as you might expect from the SFF aliens running a donut store description.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Xenophobia, Dysphoria, Hate crime, Transphobia, Sexual harassment, Sexual violence, Sexual assault, Racism, and Outing

Moderate: Toxic friendship, Suicide, Self harm, Alcoholism, Child abuse, Domestic abuse, War, and Physical abuse

Minor: Adult/minor relationship, Blood, Deadnaming, Death, Gun violence, Lesbophobia, and Racial slurs

kshertz's review against another edition

adventurous emotional mysterious slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.5

I read this book for the trans rights read a thon. It was very interesting and I was interested in the trans protagonist. Her story was really good but it was mixed up in magical realism and fantasy and other people and aliens that I did not care about as much. I think it’s a better read for people who love fantasy.

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Content Warnings

Minor: Gaslighting, Hate crime, Transphobia, Blood, Body horror, Body shaming, Emotional abuse, Outing, Violence, Abandonment, Bullying, and Deadnaming