Reviews tagging 'Ableism'

Orpheus Girl by Brynne Rebele-Henry

3 reviews

alilovesbooks4170's review

dark emotional sad medium-paced

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Toxic relationship, Homophobia, Xenophobia, Transphobia, Emotional abuse, Biphobia, Ableism, Suicide attempt, Lesbophobia, and Forced institutionalization

isco1428's review

challenging dark emotional hopeful reflective sad tense fast-paced

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

1.25

This book felt way too fast paced for its own good. I think the book would have benefited tremendously from another 100-200 pages and a solid editor. The characters were almost a hit for me but we get so little time with the majority of them that they end up falling flat 99% of the time. There is also a very strange attempt at a redemption arc for one character and, in my opinion, it felt superficial. What is motivating and driving these characters? We’re meant to cheer them on purely on principle but what makes their stories any different than others? The characters end up feeling like an amalgamation of tropes with homogenized backgrounds. Overall, the book ends up feeling one note — like darting toward the finish line only to just…stop. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Deadnaming, Lesbophobia, Mental illness, Injury/Injury detail, Outing, Biphobia, Homophobia, Self harm, Suicide attempt, Transphobia, Religious bigotry, Car accident, Forced institutionalization, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Abandonment, and Ableism

starship_olympus's review against another edition

dark emotional sad slow-paced

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

1.0

I just grabbed this from the LGBTQ+ section at my library because if there's anything to do with Orpheus and Eurydice in any form of media I'm there for it. 

But the writing style wasn't really for me, and I wasn't invested in the story. I almost DNF but I had a few hours free so I kinda just skimmed the book stopping to read every few pages. 
I can definitely see why this book could be loved by some, if it had been my cup of tea I would've been all over the prose, the characters, their differences and their love. I did want a 'happy' ending (as happy as an ending of this book could be)

and I am glad we got it, with the girls and some kids escaping the camp, and the camp (most likely?) being brought down

but the journey there wasn't for me. 

I know Orpheus is a tragedy, and there was tragedy here. It's not a book for the faint of heart, or an easy read. Even just skimming it I had an emotional reaction to what was going on. I think it could be a wonderful and visceral and beautiful novella. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Emotional abuse, Forced institutionalization, Gaslighting, Hate crime, Outing, Self harm, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Medical trauma, Misogyny, Religious bigotry, Sexism, Suicide attempt, Body shaming, Child abuse, Confinement, Domestic abuse, Dysphoria, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Biphobia, Bullying, Homophobia, Medical content, Mental illness, Lesbophobia, Suicide, Torture, Transphobia, Acephobia/Arophobia, and Deadnaming

Moderate: Abandonment, Ableism, Addiction, Alcohol, and Bullying

Minor: Car accident, Cursing, Death, and Death of parent