Reviews tagging 'Blood'

Light from Uncommon Stars by Ryka Aoki

20 reviews

ash_ton's review against another edition

adventurous dark reflective medium-paced

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

4.25

Fr should have read the content warnings for this because some of this stuff kinda bothered me, and normally reading things doesn't affect me that much. I guess it's kind of on me because obviously I have access to content warnings. Oh well. Anyways.

Complaints first, because I'm an asshole. I'm not sure I liked the different shifting POVs. I like to think I'm not an idiot, so at first I'd be a little lost on who was talking. And there were so many. Some of them just side characters. Wack.

I did really like the book though. I don't normally go for sci-fi, and I actually read this or the LGBTQIA+ book club I'm in. At first I wasn't a huge fan of it but I'm glad I stayed with it. Definitely thought provoking and an interesting story. Shirley was my favorite character. All my homies love Shirley.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood, Dysphoria, Murder, Sexual assault, Sexual harassment, Rape, Self harm, and Transphobia

Moderate: Xenophobia, Alcoholism, Deadnaming, Gun violence, Homophobia, Injury/Injury detail, Lesbophobia, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Racism, Violence, Child abuse, Death, Grief, Racial slurs, Bullying, and Emotional abuse

Minor: Suicide, Cultural appropriation, Suicidal thoughts, Deportation, Religious bigotry, Suicide attempt, and War

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

lilaceous's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional funny hopeful mysterious reflective sad medium-paced

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

4.0

characters - ⭐️

plot - ⭐️

engaging to read - ⭐️

would recommend - ⭐️

would read again - 

brought me to tears a number of times. although the narration is a bit unclear and poorly written at times (due to what seems to be editing problems), it’s a beautiful story and worth the read if you like fantasy and chosen family.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Racism, Self harm, Blood, Transphobia, Adult/minor relationship, Body shaming, Deadnaming, Misogyny, Outing, Sexual assault, Rape, Sexual harassment, Child abuse, Alcoholism, and Physical abuse

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

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

skudiklier's review

adventurous challenging emotional 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

4.5

I feel a bit torn when it comes to this book. On one hand, I was very engaged with it and wanted to keep reading to find out what would happen. I liked the mix of characters and perspectives, and even some of the surprising things (that at first felt like a mix of too many genres) ended up feeling natural and fine. 

However, I also feel like I ended the book missing some of the point. Like, there was just so much going on, and I'm not sure what my takeaways were supposed to be. Also, there was just so much transphobia that Katrina had to deal with; it was hard to read and felt like some of it wasn't totally necessary? Idk. I get that that can be real but it's not like every single trans person has to go through all of the things she did, and it just was so rough to read. Between that and the racism and violence, I would definitely recommend checking out the content warnings before reading this. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Homophobia, Racism, Outing, Racial slurs, Misogyny, Sexism, Death, Deadnaming, Lesbophobia, Transphobia, Xenophobia, Violence, and Murder

Moderate: Classism, Toxic relationship, Bullying, Child abuse, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, and Injury/Injury detail

Minor: Abandonment, Alcohol, Animal death, Blood, Body shaming, Fatphobia, War, Vomit, Child death, and Ableism

martinatan's review against another edition

adventurous emotional funny hopeful inspiring reflective 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

5.0

Everything I would want out of a queer modern fiction story. I was so delighted and moved by how authentically every single one of the main cast was written, and how Ryka Aoki does not shy away from letting the realities of living while queer/trans and Asian/mixed race play out as they do for many. The whole story represents to me the beautiful complexity of what it means to belong to multiple marginalized communities and understand others within them. I love the use of sci-fi and fantasy elements (my favorites) to explore themes of immigration and displacement, transformation, and self-actualization. I appreciated the connections between music, food, identity, and types of love that all feel essential to my own experience as an Asian American.

Chapter 35 was my favorite part of the writing in the book, but the entire novel is laced with such care and tenderness, as well as wit and charm, that by the first chapter I could tell it was something really special. Most of all I want these characters and anyone who identifies with them to be happy. Hopefully this book reaches others like me who will find much needed comfort in its story. Much love to Ryka Aoki for every word of this book!

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Homophobia and Transphobia

Moderate: Abandonment, Deadnaming, Dysphoria, Outing, Racism, Body shaming, Sexual content, Xenophobia, Domestic abuse, Rape, and Sexual assault

Minor: Blood, Child abuse, Colonisation, Drug use, Toxic friendship, Pedophilia, Adult/minor relationship, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Self harm, Alcoholism, Injury/Injury detail, Bullying, and Genocide

Explicit deadnaming of a protagonist near the end of the book by her parent

bi_n_large's review

emotional hopeful inspiring medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Violence, Gun violence, Mental illness, Suicidal thoughts, Transphobia, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual harassment, Racial slurs, Lesbophobia, Child abuse, Deadnaming, Dysphoria, Racism, and Homophobia

Moderate: Death, Sexism, Blood, War, and Child death

beforeviolets's review against another edition

dark emotional inspiring reflective sad 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

TWs:
non-consensual sexual content (two instances: onscreen, not graphic, easily skippable [p. 49-50]; incestuous, offscreen, easily skippable [p. 181]), sexual harassment/assault (onscreen, brief, [p.333]), consensual sexual content (onscreen, brief), sex work, fetishization of Asian women and trans women, violence, domestic abuse (parental, physical and emotional /spousal, mention), injury from abuse, child abuse, trauma, transphobia (internalized, external, t-slur, misgendering, deadnaming), severe dysphoria, homophobia/lesbophobia (f-slur, d-slur), racism (specifically towards East Asian individuals, g-slur, c-slur [indirectly used]), self harm (offscreen, graphic mention [p. 177-179]), blood, abusive living environment, religious bigotry, use of the r-slur, sexism, death (mention), war, gaslighting (external and internal), outing, cancer (mention), fire (brief), anxiety, vomit (mention)

This book was GOING to be a 4.5 until I read the spent the 50 pages in absolute tears. 

Light From Uncommon Stars is a gorgeous tale about learning to believe in your own worth in the face of a world that tells you that you’re worthless. It’s about the importance of a life, no matter how “damaged.” It’s about fame, motherhood, and the necessity of having a voice. 

Aoki showcases resiliency through her protagonists, all reminiscent of phoenixes rising from the ashes and being reborn into a new life, into a new home, or even into a new family.  She sends a beautiful message to readers that no matter how hard your past or how lost or isolated one might feel, there is always hope in a friendly smile, a kind word, or a helping hand. All of the characters have a history of so much pain and fear and despite all of that, they are able to save themselves, often with the help of others, and stand up for their own happiness or the happiness of their loved ones.

But I think my favorite part of this book is how it constantly and beautifully illustrates the the transportive and the transformative magic of something loved, whether it be a piece of music, a video game, or even a donut. The way something, when made with care and passion, can feel like home. Though the story itself is ouchie, the message and the overall tone is one of comfort, like someone is sitting you down with a nice cup of tea and giving you a warm hug, one you didn’t even know you needed.

Gorgeous melodic writing, powerful and brilliant characters, the incredible ability to seamlessly switch POVs mid chapter or even mid paragraph, this story is one to be cherished and celebrated. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Violence, Transphobia, Racism, Child abuse, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Physical abuse, Dysphoria, Homophobia, Self harm, Deadnaming, Racial slurs, Lesbophobia, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Rape, Incest, Sexual content, Sexism, Gun violence, Religious bigotry, Death, War, Gaslighting, Outing, and Blood

Minor: Cancer, Fire/Fire injury, and Vomit

troisha's review against another edition

adventurous emotional hopeful 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

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Racism and Transphobia

Moderate: Child abuse, Chronic illness, Deadnaming, Death, Domestic abuse, Dysphoria, Homophobia, Misogyny, Murder, Outing, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Violence, and Xenophobia

Minor: Ableism, Alcoholism, Blood, Bullying, Cancer, Fire/Fire injury, Gore, Hate crime, Incest, Pedophilia, Religious bigotry, Self harm, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Terminal illness, and War