Reviews tagging 'Blood'

Orpheus Girl by Brynne Rebele-Henry

18 reviews

apollo0325's review against another edition

dark emotional sad fast-paced

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

4.5

With every action they make to take away your rights, they adopt  an air of phony shame, as if they actually cared about the consequences of their beliefs.

This book was absolutely heart-wrenching, and the fact it was/is the reality of queer kids is even worse. Despite the best efforts, people still think queers are an illness, something that can be ‘cured’ when this is who we are. So many drape their homophobia with religion too.

This book is H E A V Y and even so, it’s an understatement. It’s important but difficult and necessary to have queer books centered on subject matter like this. Every queer story doesn’t end in a happily ever after.

Framing it within Greek mythology adds another layer of interest and way to connect to Raya’s journey. It also felt like a coping mechanism for Raya which is a common trend among queers (shout out to my PJO queers, ayyy).

My only critique of this book is the lack of understanding of time passing. It feels like SO MUCH has happened but then Raya mentions being dropped off four days ago? It felt a bit unclear. Then again, this may have been an intentional choice by the author to show even Raya has no concept of time and self in the latter half of the book.

Lastly, I implore anyone wanting to read this book to PLEASE LOOK AT TRIGGER WARNINGS. This book does not fuck around. For real.

“You know, the thing about family is that you can choose it. And I choose you.”

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Blood, Biphobia, Sexual harassment, Abandonment, Torture, Violence, Hate crime, Dysphoria, Suicide attempt, Vomit, Transphobia, Suicidal thoughts, Self harm, Physical abuse, Outing, Medical trauma, Forced institutionalization, Lesbophobia, Injury/Injury detail, Homophobia, Deadnaming, Emotional abuse, and Confinement

Note for sexual harassment tag: the kids forced to go to the conversion camp are also forced to watch content of boys kissing boys or girls kissing girls or near sexual experiences between the same sexes. Nothing is explicitly detailed but it is mentioned. I didn’t know which tag to choose so I chose that one.

thatchickengirl23's review

dark emotional hopeful sad tense

• Diverse cast of characters? Yes

2.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Outing, Homophobia, Forced institutionalization, Emotional abuse, Religious bigotry, Lesbophobia, and Transphobia

Moderate: Physical abuse, Suicide attempt, Car accident, Suicide, Self harm, Abandonment, Medical content, Medical trauma, Torture, Blood, and Deadnaming

maisiemoo's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional informative reflective sad tense fast-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

This was the heaviest book I’ve ever read and I think it’s going to take a while to leave me.

This book succeeds in portraying the horrifying reality of conversion therapy and made me feel so appreciative of the support network I’ve had since coming out, because not everyone is that fortunate.

I really thought that there would be more parallels to mythology in terms of the plot. I felt like the metaphors could have been taken further, but that’s just my personal opinion.

At some points I found Raya’s recollection of her childhood quite repetitive. I felt like, although she was telling different stories, they all ended with the same point about her grandmother not wanting her and her feeling inadequate. Personally, I found these snippets of her past didn’t really add much to the narrative.

I wasn’t a huge fan of the writing style of the author, but I found the overall plot very hard-hitting. It was a difficult read, and I’d urge people to take care when reading.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Injury/Injury detail, Vomit, Abandonment, Biphobia, Blood, Body horror, Deadnaming, Emotional abuse, Hate crime, Lesbophobia, Bullying, Forced institutionalization, Homophobia, Outing, Religious bigotry, Self harm, Torture, Transphobia, and Violence

biggreensnek's review

challenging dark emotional sad 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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Physical abuse, Abandonment, Hate crime, Homophobia, Lesbophobia, Transphobia, Emotional abuse, and Outing

Moderate: Bullying and Sexual content

Minor: Suicidal thoughts, Dysphoria, Alcohol, Blood, Suicide attempt, Addiction, Alcoholism, Car accident, Deadnaming, Vomit, and Self harm

_meganno's review against another edition

emotional hopeful sad slow-paced

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

2.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Lesbophobia and Homophobia

Moderate: Injury/Injury detail, Blood, Transphobia, and Vomit

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

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

eurydice_books_09's review against another edition

challenging emotional hopeful reflective sad fast-paced

• 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

very good book! I read this because of the Greek mythology references and I’m not disappointed! this book is very deep and emotional though so big trigger warning on that. 

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Content Warnings

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

sisters26's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional reflective sad tense slow-paced

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

4.5

one of the most heartbreaking book I've ever had to read. 

A book about conversion therapy, that sentence alone tells you everything you need to know. It has really graphic lgbtq+ phobia and is definitely a painful (& heartbreaking) read. it may be a short novel but the impact it has is for me much longer. I think it shows very well the dark side of ignorance and how it can lead people to violence and hatred. Places like that shouldn't even exist, not only are these useless (sexuality and gender identity are not a choice) but they are really harmful, they can lead to people hurting themselves or far worse. That's also why I think this book is important because it clearly show without filters the harm that's caused by those places. We're talking about torturing teenagers for who they love or what they identify as. As heartbreaking as it is, I also sensed a bit of hopefulness from the characters that choose to support each other in those difficult condition. 

On the artistic level, I loved the writing style of the author and how she referenced the myth of Orpheus throughout the book with the metaphor of the wings. I saw people naming it as "annoying" but I liked it, because for me it represents the "personality" of the main character. They may have cut her wings but she never stopped trying to fly.

If you plan to read it PLEASE do check the trigger warnings beforehand because it's really a lot to take.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Deadnaming, Homophobia, Lesbophobia, Outing, Religious bigotry, and Transphobia

Moderate: Emotional abuse, Physical abuse, Car accident, Suicide attempt, and Violence

Minor: Self harm, Vomit, Abandonment, and Blood

emcp's review against another edition

dark sad fast-paced

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

2.5

I’m always sad to give negative reviews to queer love stories, but I really struggled to get through this very short book. The characters all feel one-dimensional; Raya and Sarah’s relationship has no depth. It’s a lot of telling and very little showing — even the link to the myth of Orpheus was tenuous and had to be explained repeatedly throughout the story. Take these content warnings seriously, because 90% of this book is just pain and torture, and the ending can only barely be described as “happy.” 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Dysphoria, Homophobia, Physical abuse, Transphobia, Violence, Blood, Car accident, Deadnaming, Emotional abuse, Forced institutionalization, Lesbophobia, Gaslighting, Self harm, Hate crime, Outing, and Religious bigotry