Reviews tagging 'Religious bigotry'

Ziggy, Stardust and Me by James Brandon

6 reviews

the_true_monroe's review against another edition

funny hopeful inspiring reflective sad 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? No

4.25

This book was intense, sad (yet funny), and beautiful. I think despite how much was accomplished and complete/ resolved (and by complete/ resolved, I don’t mean ‘all is well and good’ but ‘okay, that answers that’) I felt there were many other characters I wanted to hear from again. I just feel like there were abrupt ‘tie-offs’ to a few side characters.  

I think the variety of reactions to Jonathan and Web’s stories allows most queer people to relate on some level but it is really interesting to view with the historical and cultural lenses which are more specific to the characters, location and time period. 

I have recently come to love queer historical fiction and books like this are why.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcoholism, Body shaming, Bullying, Hate crime, Homophobia, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Self harm, Sexual violence, Torture, Violence, Police brutality, Religious bigotry, Medical trauma, Death of parent, Murder, and Fire/Fire injury

Moderate: Child abuse, Chronic illness, Drug use, Genocide, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Pedophilia, Suicide, Medical content, Grief, Stalking, Outing, Gaslighting, Abandonment, War, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism

Minor: Suicidal thoughts and Cultural appropriation

eloise_vi's review against another edition

challenging emotional hopeful reflective 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? Yes

4.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcoholism, Bullying, Homophobia, Racial slurs, Racism, and Medical trauma

Moderate: Child abuse, Sexual assault, Police brutality, Grief, Religious bigotry, Death of parent, and Colonisation

pissyking's review

dark emotional hopeful reflective sad 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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Homophobia, Racial slurs, Racism, and Religious bigotry

careinthelibrary's review against another edition

emotional hopeful 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? Yes

3.5

This came recommended to me by a coworker. I really liked the historical setting which lent itself to a lot of the issues and topics covered by the author.
The main character was likeable and I loved the addition of pop culture and music references. 
I'm not Indigenous or Two-Spirit so I can't speak to whether the representation will ring true and authentic to folks who are, but I think the author tried to be inclusive and respectful of their experiences without stepping on toes and depicting it too intimately.
It's a sweet love story with lots of dark content but a hopeful ending. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Bullying, Child abuse, Homophobia, Panic attacks/disorders, Pedophilia, Racial slurs, Racism, Sexual violence, Forced institutionalization, Medical content, Medical trauma, and Death of parent

Moderate: Alcoholism, Grief, Religious bigotry, Pregnancy, Alcohol, and Colonisation

Minor: Police brutality and War

conversion "therapy"

kellysbookverse's review

challenging emotional hopeful sad 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? Yes

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Homophobia, Racism, Torture, Violence, and Religious bigotry

Moderate: Suicidal thoughts, Death of parent, and War

Minor: Addiction

sarahcherie's review

emotional medium-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

2.0

I feel like one of the few who do not like this book. On the one hand, we have representation for Indigenous people, Black people, and gay people, which is always nice to see.

However, this book does fall victim to the "the bad guy is also secretly gay" trope TWICE, with Scott and Hal, and I think that trope can be very damaging.

And even though dealing with racism and homophobia was a major theme in this book, I couldn't help but feel like slurs and ignorance were thrown around TOO much, to the point where reading it no longer left a bad taste in my mouth, but just made me roll my eyes and skip ahead. I also was not particularly fond of the writing style or the pacing, as it took me forever to get into the book, and then it seemed that things started happening too quickly, especially at the end.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Homophobia, Racism, and Medical trauma

Moderate: Alcoholism, Bullying, Hate crime, Racial slurs, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, and Outing

Minor: Cursing, Religious bigotry, and Death of parent