Reviews tagging 'Forced institutionalization'

Orpheus Girl by Brynne Rebele-Henry

40 reviews

rorireads_'s review against another edition

dark emotional sad fast-paced

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

3.0

As a book, Orpheus Girl is engineered to make queer people cry. And, I’ll admit, I did. 

I appreciated a lot of things about this book. The length meant it was quick to get through, and I fully believe I couldn’t have read any more. 

The writing was exquisite. I connected with down-to-earth Raya and her simple narration style. A story like this being encased within purple prose would have only deterred me, and covered up the incredibly important subject matter. 

However, this book presented this very black and white idea of queerness- gay, trans, or lesbian. And the one and only trans character we meet is a ‘scapegoat’ (I use that VERY LOOSELY) and is used to further the characters into their journeys.

All of the characters, in the time we knew them, felt very boiled down to their identities, which, in a way may be the point, but… I don’t know but characterisation could have been handled better.

All in all, Orpheus Girl is a deeply impactful story, and one that is wholly necessary. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Outing, Transphobia, Lesbophobia, Emotional abuse, Suicide attempt, Deadnaming, Forced institutionalization, Homophobia, and Medical trauma

Moderate: Abandonment

angel_kiiss's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional sad fast-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? It's complicated

4.0

super disturbing but with a happy ending (question mark?)

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Emotional abuse, Forced institutionalization, Homophobia, Outing, Suicide, Medical trauma, Biphobia, Lesbophobia, Torture, Transphobia, Child death, Child abuse, and Deadnaming

Moderate: Car accident

trashboatwinter's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional sad 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? It's complicated

3.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Homophobia, Lesbophobia, Suicide attempt, Car accident, Forced institutionalization, Outing, Physical abuse, Self harm, Transphobia, and Deadnaming

leah_dawn's review

challenging dark emotional sad 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? No

5.0

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Content Warnings

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

challenging emotional hopeful inspiring reflective sad tense fast-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

4.0

This was an extremely intriguing novel. It definitely delves into sensitive subject matter and deals with severe homophobia, so approach it with caution if that’s triggering for you, but it’s also eye opening and inspirational.

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Content Warnings

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

irasobrietate's review against another edition

challenging emotional sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Religious bigotry, Car accident, Forced institutionalization, Medical content, Outing, Gaslighting, Homophobia, Injury/Injury detail, Confinement, and Torture

Moderate: Car accident, Bullying, Eating disorder, Suicide, Suicide attempt, and Transphobia

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

innastholiel's review against another edition

dark emotional sad medium-paced

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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Homophobia, Transphobia, Forced institutionalization, Lesbophobia, and Religious bigotry

Moderate: Suicide attempt, Car accident, Deadnaming, Abandonment, and Blood

Minor: Confinement, Outing, Self harm, Vomit, and Sexual content

itsbumley's review against another edition

challenging emotional hopeful sad medium-paced

• 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? It's complicated

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Outing, Religious bigotry, Self harm, Lesbophobia, Mental illness, Forced institutionalization, Grief, Hate crime, Deadnaming, Transphobia, Injury/Injury detail, Medical trauma, Suicide attempt, Car accident, Gaslighting, Homophobia, Suicidal thoughts, and Physical abuse

breanneporter's review against another edition

dark sad fast-paced

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

3.0

This is a dark one. The prose style was interesting and I liked that it was set in the early aughts, but the subject matter was horribly dark and hard to read. The author’s disclaimer at the beginning said that the book was about hope, but I didn’t find a ton of hope in these pages, at least not any hope that wasn’t immediately dashed. It was a quick read, I finished in one sitting, under two hours, but I don’t imagine I’ll read it again. I also didn’t love the redemption arc for one of the story’s villains. There wasn’t enough to redeem her. Overall, extremely depressing. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Forced institutionalization, Suicide attempt, Homophobia, Deadnaming, Emotional abuse, Lesbophobia, and Transphobia