Reviews tagging 'Miscarriage'

Light from Uncommon Stars by Ryka Aoki

14 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

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

glitterdeww's review against another edition

challenging emotional funny hopeful inspiring sad 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

4.5

This book right here. <3 What a beautiful, heartfelt gem this turned out to be. I thoroughly loved it!

Light From Uncommon Stars is the kind of book where... there is just so much packed into it, that trying to explain the plot might make the reader sound a bit manic. Lol It has sci-fi elements AND modern fantasy elements. There are demons vying for the souls of classical musicians... then there are intergalactic refugees fleeing something called the Endplague. There's a broad cast of characters, and, though this flattens some of them out of necessity, they are painfully and gorgeously real. There are also some of the most mouth-watering descriptions of food I have ever read. Truly, I was hungry every time I sat down to read. Lol

This book is also the story of women: of mothers and aunts trying to keep their family together, of skilled women that reach the height of success and are then dehumanized for it, of daughters whom are purposefully neglected in favor of sons, and most importantly, this is the story of trans women, and the barrage of abuses they endure in order to survive. 

And yet, Light From Uncommon Stars tackles these serious topics with a  hopeful whimsy that I don't often experience. I cried at the end of this book because it made me feel more human, more deserving, more magical for experiencing it. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Transphobia

Moderate: Racial slurs, Rape, Sexual assault, and Sexual harassment

Minor: Child death and Miscarriage

bel017's review against another edition

adventurous

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

Excellent. 

Not like Good Omens, other than that there are two intertwining plots and a demon. Who is nothing like Crowley. Slightly more like Wayfarers, not so much because of the aliens and queer characters but the general vibe of hiding in a safe place inside a hostile universe. The plot is more Addie La Rue than either of them. I wish blurb writers would stop the comparisons. This story is fantastic on its own merits.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Transphobia and Xenophobia

Moderate: Sexual assault

Minor: Child abuse, War, Miscarriage, Self harm, and Rape

francestea's review against another edition

adventurous emotional funny hopeful informative inspiring reflective relaxing sad 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

4.0

I was expecting this story to be more fluffy and upbeat (re: doughnut slinging aliens) but it ended up surprisingly tender. It’s packed full of music and food and family stories, complex characters and family dynamics. When it’s not fun, it’s impactful and thought provoking and bizarro in a great way. I particularly loved the side stories of how the AI Shirley came to be and of Lucy Matía finding her way within her male dominated family business. Really unlike anything I’ve read before!

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Transphobia

Moderate: Child abuse, Toxic friendship, Emotional abuse, and Physical abuse

Minor: Self harm and Miscarriage

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

achlaj's review

adventurous dark emotional mysterious fast-paced

• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes

3.25

This books tried to do WAY too much. It mostly read as a YA novel, with shallow logic to advance plot points, but also tried to deal with heavy complex issues. I wanted to know more about almost every character. They were intriguing, but just felt underdeveloped. Same with the plot. Some well written detailed scenes, descriptions and interactions, but many more that were lacking depth or logical flow.  

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual content and Transphobia

Moderate: Physical abuse, Racism, Self harm, Deadnaming, and Homophobia

Minor: Miscarriage, Rape, Bullying, Sexual assault, and Child death

minervacerridwen's review against another edition

emotional funny hopeful inspiring fast-paced

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

4.5

I had heard very different opinions on this book, so I was curious to find out what I'd think of it myself. I loved the writing style from the start; it reminded me of Douglas Adams but also of anime, in certain scenes. Add to that the donuts, all the gorgeous food descriptions, the passion for music, and the messages of love and family, and this was absolutely a great book for me. However, I also feel it should have come with content warnings. A lot of absolutely horrible things happened to Katrina, and I was sad to see her suffer so. If you'd rather avoid stories that contain the queer struggle because you already see enough of that in daily life, you should probably skip this one. But it made sense for the narrative and was treated with respect, eventually keeping a careful balance between heartbreaking and humorous, with a satisfying ending and the feeling I have learned a few more things about classical music and violins.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Dysphoria, Emotional abuse, Child abuse, Physical abuse, Rape, Self harm, Domestic abuse, Transphobia, Deadnaming, Racism, and Sexual content

Moderate: Bullying, Outing, and War

Minor: Alcoholism, Child death, Miscarriage, and Murder

dealingwithdragons's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional funny hopeful 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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Xenophobia, Religious bigotry, Domestic abuse, Toxic friendship, Violence, Physical abuse, Miscarriage, Homophobia, Death, Classism, Child abuse, Trafficking, War, Transphobia, Suicide attempt, Suicidal thoughts, Sexual violence, Sexual assault, Sexual harassment, Self harm, Rape, Racism, Racial slurs, Outing, Murder, Lesbophobia, Hate crime, Dysphoria, Drug use, Deadnaming, Cultural appropriation, and Alcoholism