Reviews tagging 'Gaslighting'

Light from Uncommon Stars by Ryka Aoki

25 reviews

ka_ke's review against another edition

It starts off fine, the individual character perspectives are kept to individual chapters, but then around 25% of the book, perspectives change characters half way through scenes/paragraphs. 

I also think this book would benefit from a content warning in the beginning regarding the fmc’s body dysmorphia, suicidal thoughts, sex work etc. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Transphobia, Body horror, Body shaming, Bullying, Child abuse, Cursing, Dysphoria, Gaslighting, Mental illness, Misogyny, Panic attacks/disorders, Trafficking, Sexual assault, Self harm, Suicidal thoughts, and Toxic friendship

Moderate: Addiction, Deadnaming, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Abandonment, and Adult/minor relationship

Minor: Sexual violence, Violence, Outing, Pedophilia, Racism, Sexual content, Racial slurs, War, and Xenophobia

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

parkersicle's review against another edition

adventurous emotional inspiring mysterious 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

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Dysphoria, Sexual assault, Transphobia, and Rape

Minor: Deadnaming, Outing, Domestic abuse, Gaslighting, Sexual content, Body shaming, and Bullying

corriejn's review

adventurous emotional hopeful 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

Uncategorizable, and wonderful.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Transphobia, Racial slurs, and Racism

Moderate: Self harm, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual harassment, Xenophobia, Violence, Outing, Injury/Injury detail, Gaslighting, Bullying, Sexual content, Suicide, Domestic abuse, Child abuse, Sexual violence, and Emotional abuse

Minor: War and Deadnaming

augustar14's review

challenging emotional mysterious 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

4.5

One of the first books I've read that shifts character perspectives amongst many characters but not at chapters. Just, whenever it needs to happen. That took some adjusting but once I figured it out, I really began to enjoy how immersive it was.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Transphobia, Sexual harassment, Dysphoria, and Sexual assault

Moderate: Classism, Cultural appropriation, Rape, Cursing, Body shaming, and War

Minor: Toxic relationship, Sexual content, Deadnaming, Alcoholism, Toxic friendship, Child abuse, Gaslighting, Gun violence, and Misogyny

Internalized transphobia as well as external. Abusive family (escapes from). Alcoholic, violent, transphobic father and mother who makes excuses for him. So called friend who "suggests" she pay for rent in sex. Sex cam work with transphobic comments. Bad hookup for money. Other moments of sexual harassment, verbal and physical, past and present. Two characters killed with an alien blaster gun in another character's fit of rage at seeing something that ended up being not true. Somewhat graphic descriptions of their feelings and their deaths. Mother deadnames main character in one scene.

surelyinthefountain's review

emotional hopeful medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix

3.25

Sometimes, I like to check out a book that is being touted as really great that I suspect is going to be triggering. And hey, yeah, this is absolutely a book to take the triggers seriously on.
There's nothing really wrong with published fiction originating in fanfic, but man, sometimes you can really tell that something came out of there. If you were on tumblr in the early to mid 2010s, way too much of this book is way too familiar. It's kind of a shame, because the writing that is very grounded in a place and a community -- i.e. the Asian American community in the San Gabriel Valley -- are so good. I do appreciate the portrayal of um...let's just say a certain kind of white queer person lol; it's painfully accurate. But man, the central romance in the book just reeks of "you've come into this fanfic already shipping this (possibly genderbent) pairing, so you don't need help becoming invested in it within the fic itself," because I found it very hard to become invested in it. Plot's not for me, either. And a personal thing, but I don't love when Asian American authors give the "wow I don't get why this Asian person doesn't have solidarity with Asian people of a different ethnicity" line. Do I agree that solidarity would be nice? I mean, yeah obviously, but people don't work like that; it's so fucking reductive to not acknowledge that Asian countries have history with each other too lol.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body shaming, Dysphoria, Outing, Child abuse, Transphobia, and Emotional abuse

Moderate: Homophobia, Rape, Suicidal thoughts, Deadnaming, Sexual assault, Domestic abuse, Gaslighting, and Sexual violence

fl0tsam's review

challenging dark emotional hopeful inspiring sad tense slow-paced

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Deadnaming, Homophobia, Sexual assault, Domestic abuse, Dysphoria, Gaslighting, Lesbophobia, Outing, Physical abuse, Racism, and Misogyny

Moderate: Violence, Alcoholism, and Rape

mewchellie's review against another edition

adventurous funny medium-paced

• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Self harm, Sexual assault, Sexual harassment, Transphobia, Toxic relationship, Body shaming, Deadnaming, Gaslighting, Homophobia, Hate crime, Outing, Sexism, Alcoholism, Bullying, Mental illness, Physical abuse, and Sexual violence

silentquercus's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional hopeful inspiring lighthearted relaxing 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? Yes

4.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Transphobia, Domestic abuse, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Racism, Body shaming, Bullying, Dysphoria, Emotional abuse, Homophobia, Physical abuse, Panic attacks/disorders, and Racial slurs

Moderate: Racial slurs, Racism, Domestic abuse, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Suicidal thoughts, Deadnaming, Body shaming, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Sexual harassment, Terminal illness, Vomit, War, Alcoholism, Child abuse, Cursing, Grief, Homophobia, Dysphoria, Emotional abuse, Gaslighting, Misogyny, and Panic attacks/disorders

just_one_more_paige's review against another edition

adventurous emotional hopeful 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? No

5.0

 

This book was marketed as aliens/space and violins and donuts and queer and bargains with demons, honestly, there's nothing there I don't love (or, in the case of the demon-bargains, I at least love reading about them - the demon was my favorite part of The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue, as you know). So. This was promptly added to my TBR list and here is its moment! 

 

Shizuka Satomi is known as the Queen of Hell, having made a deal with a demon, she must now trade seven souls (violin prodigy souls) to save her own. Katrina Nguyen is a young transgender girl, a runaway, whose violin playing in a park caught Satomi's ear. Satomi only needs to deliver one more soul and Katrina is willing to trade almost anything for a safe home and, in this case, a chance to learn under Satomi's tutelage. It's a perfect match. Except for an interstellar refugee, Lan Tran, whose donut shop and eyes full of stars, along with Katrina's unorthodox musical choices, cause Satomi to realize that maybe there is another option, and the lives of these three women (plus, a few wonderful additional female side characters) become intertwined in a way that just might thwart fate. 

 

This was a much more lyrical, slower-paced story, than I had expected. For some reason, I had a fast-paced space adventure story in mind, but instead got an earth-based reflective music and self-discovery journey story, that was so much more soul-touching (pun intended) than I had been prepared for. In the best way. I will say that, if you plan to listen to the audiobook, I would recommend having the physical copy around as reference, because it felt a bit jumpy to listen to. The style of writing is lots of short sections and there is not a clear indicator for the transitions in the audio. So, with the character in focus changing that often, I found that, if my attention wandered even a little, I would lose track of the thread of who we were following. It got easier as I got to know the characters better, but wanted to give a heads up. 

 

On to the story itself. First, it’s just one of the most unique setups for a story that I’ve ever read: a soul-stealing demon agreement with violin prodigies, a trans runaway looking for a better future, an intergalactic family running a donut shop…like, what?! Who thinks to put those things together? I love it! And past that, this is one of the most quietly tender and compassionate novels I’ve ever read. There is no shying away from how terrible the world, and people, can be – no disingenuity on that front – but past that, the softness and warmth I felt from most of the main characters’ interactions with each other was unmatched. Honestly, even past the main characters, to the rest of the phenomenal supporting female cast, like Shizuka’s housekeeper Astrid, Lan’s Auntie Floresta and daughter Shirley, and the violin-repairer Lucy…there was such a depth of feminine support, facing myriad challenges: being a trans women, being a woman in a male-dominated field, being a refugee, being an AI woman. The levels of acceptance here spread both wide and deep, fully intertwined, with gorgeous recognition of the ways that moving through the difficult reality of survival can become a skill and a benefit, giving something beautiful to the person just like any other skill or trait (though with its attendant self-consciousness and concern as well, in equal measure, like everything else in the world). Honestly, Aoki writes with such lovely insight into the human condition and it, like I said, warmed the soul of this reader.    

 

I also must mention the profound reverence in the writing for the things that make a person feel safe and whole. Specifically, there is a heartfelt highlighting of the immeasurable and undefinable things that make music (violin) and food (primarily donuts) something special. The appeal to the senses, the way music and food can make you truly feel through sound and taste, was written with a precision and appreciation that I’ve rarely seen. The way Aoki is able to convey the power and pull of (especially) music through words is…stunning. One of the best parts of this overall wonderful novel. 

There was so much heart in the pages of this book. I am having a hard time expressing how much it meant to me, and I am not trans, not a musician, not a baker/cook, not a (literal) alien refugee. But I have feelings, and Aoki wrote a story that is impossible to not connect with emotionally. If you want to read something that fully embodies the sense/feeling of belonging, this is it. 

 

“But Hell favored people who recognized their brilliance, who believed they deserved success, would have success, were it not for a flaw, a disadvantage they could never overcome. […] What made each of them right for Hell was their need for a lie, a façade so powerful, so intoxicating, that they could believe it themselves.” 

 

“But now there was understanding. And with understanding, all things were possible.” 

 

“Tomorrow is tomorrow. Over there is over there. And here and now is not a bad place and time to be, especially when so much of the unknown is beautiful.” 

 

“One does not play memories of music; one plays music itself. And lifetimes, from beginning to end, are as sheet of music, ready to be played.” 

 

“It’s more than my hands It’s my body. Everything it’s been through, everything it’s felt. It’s all part of the way I play. Sure, it’s not perfect, but it’s mine. That’s good, isn’t it?” 

 

“…what matters is not the body, but who inhabits it.” 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body shaming, Outing, Dysphoria, Transphobia, Deadnaming, and Emotional abuse

Moderate: Physical abuse, Rape, Gaslighting, Sexual content, and Bullying

Minor: Murder, Domestic abuse, and Death