Reviews with content warning for Sexual assault - Light from Uncommon Stars

Reviews tagging 'Sexual assault'

Light from Uncommon Stars by Ryka Aoki

480 reviews

readingpicnic's review against another edition

Diverse cast of characters? Yes

5.0

What an incredible book! I was so nervous to read this for a while since it's sci-fi, but that's honestly not the genre of most of the story, so it wasn't hard to understand at all. The writing was incredible, the story had a very satisfying conclusion, and I loved the use of many different perspectives throughout the story, even if we didn't get to stick with some of them too often. I do wish that I had gotten to read more of Tamiko's perspective since she was very interesting and was set up as if she was going to play a major part in the plot, but that kind of fizzled out until the very end of the book when she was briefly mentioned by another character. I would have liked to stick with her perspective a little more because her obsession with Shizuka and creepy way of thinking about her was really attention-grabbing. I also wish I had gotten more of Markus' story, as I found myself questioning why he was in the story at all if he was going to be

put in a stasis and never return as a character. I wish I understood his actions and motivations a bit more before he vanished from the book. I understand that he gave more context on the Empire and the EndPlague, but his character seemed to be very expendable to the story other than that.

I really liked the trans rep in this story with Katrina, and I especially liked how she discussed transition with Shirley in her decision to not alter her body, as well as how she came to love her visibly trans body as the story went on. It didn't emphasize medical transition as necessary to being a trans woman or being trans at all, and I liked how it challenged Shirley's way of thinking of transness, even if she was trying to be helpful. I loved Katrina so much though, and she was definitely my favorite character that I was always rooting for. Shizuka is a little questionable with her actions to me, so I'm still not sure how I feel about her...but she's a complex character for sure and meant to invoke that reaction from the reader, I suppose.

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eadonn's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging dark emotional inspiring mysterious reflective sad 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

3.75

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za_'s review against another edition

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medium-paced

3.75

You met there women - a teenager who runs away from home, but naturally talented violinist, a lady who owns a donut shop and the queen of hell, highly regarded violin teacher, who has trader her soul to this devil guy in order to play violin again, after damning 7 souls.

The transgender teenager is supposed to be the seventh soul, but she can't bring herself to make the trade. Instead the QoH, with the help of the Donut lady - trick the devil. The Donut lady happens to be from outterspace. When the QoH won't give up the teenager, they trick the devil into accepting the QoH's soul instead, but then get on a space ship and outrun the devil - because really he only has control of the people on earth.

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peterparker's review against another edition

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adventurous funny hopeful inspiring mysterious 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

4.25

Pay special attention to others content warnings as this book does deal with heavy topics. They are mentioned sporadically throughout the book but are very present at the beginning.

I love science fiction and I love Supernatural so this is the perfect blend of the two. This story is pretty unique and I loved how many genres the author was trying to twist together. I've learned that I love sci-fi when it's at its most confusing. It's why I liked This is how you lose the time war. I still think you have to truly be into sci-fi to open up to this concept though.

I know this can be off-putting for some people but the ones who get it, get it. Maximalism is my aesthetic and this story understands that. It's also a really lovely queer story at it's heart. I'm not transgender myself but there are a few trips that the author falls into at the very end that I know are a bit iffy in the transgender community. [Deadnaming] Other than that I feel like the trauma lumped onto these characters is very intentional. It isn't without reason and as you progress through the story you realize why the characters (especially Katrina) were written this way.

I have many thoughts about this book that I could go on and on. Ultimately though it stuck the landing for me.

Happy endings for all the main characters I cared about!

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chloe_601's review against another edition

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hopeful medium-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? It's complicated

3.75

I enjoyed reading this book; it was fun and mostly lighthearted even though it dealt with a good deal of bigotry and hate. i think Katrina was well-written; her fears and experiences were so relatable (sometimes too relatable) and even though I never went through anything as hard as she did, I could relate to some of what she went through just trying to exist and be herself.

The book does try to take on a lot, though; it tries to do sci-fi, fantasy, a refugee family fleeing an intergalactic war, and a trans runaway who wants to play violin. I’m not sure if it worked combining the spaceship and alien technology with demons and souls. But there were a lot of parts I liked, especially the depiction of the San Gabriel Valley and the diverse cultures and people all living their lives. The place seemed to come alive.

Overall, some elements of the story didn’t quite work and wrapped up a bit too neatly, but the story itself had a lot of heart and made me feel like maybe things will be alright.

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ananthousflorist's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional hopeful inspiring reflective sad fast-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

4.0

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fionamclary's review against another edition

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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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