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teniamonet's review
- 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
“You were supposed to be my second chance”
This was such a heart wrenching and emotional listen that left me with a heavy feeling in my chest. Orpheus Girl is supposed to be a modern retelling of the story of Orpheus and Eurydice. I don’t think there’s any real comparison here but Raya’s obsession with Greek mythology was definitely a way for her to cope with her life.
“You know, the thing about family is that you can choose it. And I choose you.”
Graphic: Lesbophobia, Transphobia, Religious bigotry, Homophobia, Outing, Abandonment, Emotional abuse, and Child abuse
Moderate: Self harm, Suicide attempt, Car accident, and Deadnaming
karywashere's review
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
Graphic: Child abuse
qcupquake's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
4.75
4.75/5
- wow. just wow.
- MAJOR TW for homophobia and transphobia bc oh my god
- i went into this thinking it wasn't gonna be that bad but as a queer kid with religious truama, that hit HARD.
- although i'm not a lesbian, i could definitely relate raya's experiences with hiding and religion to my own experiences such as being afraid of fire and brimstone.
- very quick read (although i procrastinated a lot)
- definitely not for the faint of heart bc this is gut-wrenching
- something is stopping me from making this 5 stars but i don't know what
- overall an amazing and heartbreaking book
Graphic: Injury/Injury detail, Torture, Religious bigotry, Homophobia, Transphobia, Child abuse, Lesbophobia, and Emotional abuse
Moderate: Deadnaming, Abandonment, Car accident, and Suicide attempt
Minor: Vomit
angel_kiiss's review against another edition
- 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
Graphic: Emotional abuse, Forced institutionalization, Homophobia, Outing, Suicide, Medical trauma, Biphobia, Lesbophobia, Torture, Transphobia, Child death, Child abuse, and Deadnaming
Moderate: Car accident
leah_dawn's review
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0
Graphic: Forced institutionalization, Homophobia, Hate crime, Outing, Self harm, Suicide attempt, Torture, Deadnaming, Physical abuse, Transphobia, Emotional abuse, Gaslighting, Religious bigotry, Suicide, Violence, Suicidal thoughts, Injury/Injury detail, Child abuse, and Lesbophobia
genevieve_eggleston's review
- 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
Graphic: Mental illness, Transphobia, Gaslighting, Injury/Injury detail, Religious bigotry, Torture, Abandonment, Lesbophobia, Blood, Forced institutionalization, Outing, Physical abuse, Car accident, Emotional abuse, Gore, Grief, and Homophobia
Moderate: Misogyny, Self harm, Violence, Deadnaming, Medical content, Sexual content, Eating disorder, Dysphoria, Panic attacks/disorders, Suicidal thoughts, Vomit, Hate crime, Bullying, Suicide attempt, Cursing, and Sexism
Minor: Domestic abuse, Pregnancy, and Child abuse
perfect_escape's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A
5.0
Graphic: Transphobia, Homophobia, Violence, Lesbophobia, and Religious bigotry
Moderate: Deadnaming, Suicide attempt, Child abuse, and Bullying
aocean's review against another edition
3.0
Graphic: Homophobia, Child abuse, and Religious bigotry
eurydice_books_09's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Graphic: Abandonment, Torture, Deadnaming, Homophobia, Blood, Child abuse, Car accident, Emotional abuse, Gaslighting, Vomit, Transphobia, Self harm, Religious bigotry, Suicide attempt, Physical abuse, Outing, Mental illness, and Lesbophobia
onebook_more's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.0
I'll be honest if this wasn't a 176-page novella, I would have DNF after about 100 pages. The plot did pick up in the middle and at times I was quite engaged in it but I did not enjoy the writing, which I found to be often repetitive and overly descriptive. I felt as if none of the characters, especially the protagonist, were very well developed and it left the narrative lacking a cohesive voice. Overall, I wouldn't describe this as a retelling, if anything it is gently inspired by Orpheus and Eurydice and if I didn't know it was a retelling I probably wouldn't have guessed, were it not for the occasional reference that felt forced or shoe-horned in.
Overall, this book is just not well-written enough for how desperately sad and triggering it is. While this is considered YA, I would not recommend this to any queer youth as the depictions of homophobia and transphobia are brutal While I am not blind to the fact that conversion camps exist, I am not sure it's something I would recommend to any young person trying to figure out their identity.
Graphic: Suicide attempt, Transphobia, Child abuse, and Homophobia