Reviews tagging 'Domestic abuse'

An Unkindness of Ghosts by Rivers Solomon

24 reviews

armontheroad's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious reflective sad tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

Rivers Solomon always delivers with faer books!! This dark space opera is a great commentary on our society. I cared for all of our main characters so much! I will say this book is not for the faint of heart. AN UNKINDNESS OF GHOSTS is very graphic and triggering. I have listed all the content warnings I could remember down below! 

CWs: Here are a few that StoryGraph doesn't have options to list: Execution and misgendering

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Suicidal thoughts, Sexual content, Abortion, Death of parent, Suicide, Death, Child death, Rape, Racism, Grief, Medical trauma, Medical content, Slavery, Sexual assault, Excrement, Misogyny, Self harm, Police brutality, Sexual harassment, Sexual violence, Racial slurs, Sexism, and Domestic abuse

lolajh's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional mysterious 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

5.0

A black autistic intersex nonbinary lesbian main character, Aster, in space! Aster’s childhood best friend is Giselle, whose character arc was heartbreaking and traumatic and so raw and real that she and Aster became my favourite characters. Giselle had some minor chapters in her point of view that I wish we got more of because of how interesting of a character she was.

There was also kind of a lead up to what I thought would be a romance or attraction between both Aster and Giselle which didn’t happen, but was understandable due to Giselle’s mental state at the time. Instead Aster romances with Theo, the space ship’s surgeon, who I always saw as more of a parental figure to Aster than a romance, but it developed anyway. Both Theo and Aster are genderqueer; Rivers described online as Aster being nonbinary and Theo a trans woman, which was nice to see and I still very much liked Theo’s character and their experiences and discussions of gender, HOWEVER, there was a sex scene between Aster and Theo in which Aster asks for them to not penetrate her but also not saying what they could do, but Theo goes down on her anyway. So I think there was a mistranslation of proper consent being done here, which is what let down Theo’s character for me, especially after Aster had already had experiences with sexual assault and rape, it really surprised me that Theo would not be so caring and thorough to ask consent of her properly before doing anything. Before that happened as well they do kiss her face and lips without Aster’s consent, dominating over her and overall it seeming like an unbalanced power dynamic that shouldn’t have happened and then Aster continuing to romance them afterwards.

 

Throughout the story Aster uncovers the mysteries of her mother’s death and the blackouts occurring currently on the ship all whilst dealing with trauma and systemic racism and standing up to it more than anyone had done before. Aster is such a strong and admirable character and I loved her progressions of exploring her gender. Will be visiting more of Rivers’ books.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Death, Suicide attempt, Hate crime, Homophobia, Lesbophobia, Medical content, Mental illness, Racism, Rape, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Violence, Xenophobia, Blood, Child abuse, Death of parent, Domestic abuse, Gore, Grief, Religious bigotry, Torture, Ableism, Murder, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Sexism, and Suicide

nytephoenyx's review against another edition

dark emotional tense medium-paced

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

4.25

My favorite thing about Rivers Solomon’s An Unkindness of Ghosts is its easy inclusivity. Never does this book feel like its trying for token characters or to write a specifically “race” or “LGBTQIAP+” book. The individuals aboard the Matilda are who they are and I think that’s beautiful and it deserves top billing in this review.

While I cannot speak to the overall accuracy of this representation based on personal experiences, it flowed very well and read as quite genuine and normal in every way, which I loved. We have Theo, who is mixed and struggles with religion vs. desire. Giselle is Black. She faces her trauma every day. And Aster? Aster is also Black, neurodivergent, and certainly LGTBQIAP+ though I couldn’t pin down nonbinary vs. gender fluid vs. asexual… but you know what? It doesn’t matter. Aster was a little of all of these and so beautifully defied labels (though Aster does use the she/her pronouns, which Solomon shares early in the book). Even minor characters like Flick are given all their dignity and we know their pronouns are they/them.

An Unkindness of Ghosts tells the story of four different people, to my reckoning. Aster is our front-and-center protagonist, but we also learn Theo’s and Giselle’s stories, and Aster’s mother Lune Grey. All these characters are BIPOC and they are all oppressed in this worldship that so closely parallels the antebellum South. Each one struggles to navigate a system that is so strongly set against them. They fight on different levels and through different professions and pursuits. This book is painful to read – the violence, the torture, the sexual abuse. Solomon doesn’t shy away from sharing the worst of Matilda in full detail, and nor should they. Although An Unkindness of Ghosts is a dystopian science fiction… is it? The largest divergence between this book and our own history is the location: a ship, in space.

The writing is stunning, but reader, please proceed with caution. While I think it’s an important book and everyone should be aware of it, read it, and feel the pain of our history of slavery laid out so bluntly before us… it’s not going to be a safe read for everyone. Please please review the content warnings on my blog and on The StoryGraph before starting this book to steel yourself for the content to follow.

An Unkindness of Ghosts was immersive from the first moments, and aside from the astounding plot and character building, the world itself burst alive from the page. There is so much hurt in this novel, but the moments of beauty are there too, although much fewer. The dance of all the elements woven together seamlessly make An Unkindness of Ghosts a particularly impressive novel. My one disappointment was the non-excitement of the very ending. The book was running full speediest moments before, and the end fell a little flat for me.

I dearly recommend this book to anyone. It has some heavy adult moments so may be more of a longterm TBR item for younger teen readers. As an adult, this story made me ache and I will certainly be reading Solomon’s next book, Sorrowland.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood, Body shaming, Bullying, Child death, Classism, Death, Death of parent, Fire/Fire injury, Grief, Gun violence, Hate crime, Injury/Injury detail, Medical content, Misogyny, Murder, Police brutality, Racism, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual harassment, Sexual violence, Slavery, Suicidal thoughts, Torture, Violence, and Homophobia

Moderate: Ableism, Domestic abuse, and Emotional abuse

Minor: Abandonment, Abortion, Alcohol, Pedophilia, and Religious bigotry

akblair's review against another edition

challenging dark mysterious tense medium-paced

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

3.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Abortion, Blood, Body horror, Confinement, Cursing, Death, Domestic abuse, Gore, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Medical content, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Police brutality, Racism, Rape, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Self harm, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Slavery, Suicide attempt, and Torture

Moderate: Alcohol, Child death, Death of parent, Fire/Fire injury, Homophobia, Lesbophobia, Medical trauma, Pregnancy, Sexual content, and Slavery

evilwizard's review against another edition

dark emotional sad tense fast-paced

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

5.0

This story is very, very dark, but also incredibly well-written and compelling. It provides a fresh take on both the dystopian genre and the sci-fi genre as a whole, mixing in historical elements (and symbolically representing, in my opinion, the frightening way that the past can become the future in regards to oppression). The characters narrating the story are all very complex and have interesting stories to tell. I can't really say I "enjoyed" it, but it was an excellent book and I absolutely would recommend it to anyone who can stomach the content.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood, Child abuse, Child death, Colonisation, Confinement, Death, Genocide, Hate crime, Injury/Injury detail, Medical content, Physical abuse, Police brutality, Racism, Slavery, Suicide, Torture, Violence, and Xenophobia

Moderate: Abandonment, Ableism, Abortion, Bullying, Death of parent, Domestic abuse, Grief, Misogyny, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, and Transphobia

Minor: Cursing, Emotional abuse, Excrement, and Homophobia

blockieran's review against another edition

adventurous 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? Yes

5.0

About 40 pages in I was close to quitting because it's very triggering. Fortunately I didn't. The story captured me and wouldn't let me go resulting in two nights spent reading instead of sleeping.

The representation is everything I want in one book. Labels aren't explicitly stated (mostly because they don't exist in this world) but there is a black queer intersex character who seems to be autistic and a trans character with OCD and they own my heart. I want to keep reading forever because it hurts to leave them behind.

Be warned: I thought this was mainly an adventure story with discrimination as a background setting. It's very much in your face though.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Abandonment, Ableism, Abortion, Blood, Body horror, Body shaming, Bullying, Cancer, Child abuse, Child death, Chronic illness, Confinement, Cursing, Death, Death of parent, Domestic abuse, Dysphoria, Emotional abuse, Fatphobia, Fire/Fire injury, Gore, Grief, Gun violence, Hate crime, Homophobia, Infertility, Injury/Injury detail, Lesbophobia, Medical content, Medical trauma, Mental illness, Miscarriage, Misogyny, Murder, Panic attacks/disorders, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Police brutality, Pregnancy, Racial slurs, Racism, Rape, Religious bigotry, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Self harm, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual harassment, Sexual violence, Slavery, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Suicide attempt, Terminal illness, Torture, Toxic friendship, Toxic relationship, Transphobia, Violence, and Vomit

Minor: Alcohol, Cancer, and Drug use

darkmattersoybean's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional hopeful 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? Yes

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Abortion, Adult/minor relationship, Alcohol, Biphobia, Blood, Body shaming, Child abuse, Child death, Chronic illness, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Forced institutionalization, Genocide, Homophobia, Lesbophobia, Medical content, Medical trauma, Mental illness, Murder, Racism, Rape, Sexual content, Slavery, Suicide attempt, Suicidal thoughts, Torture, Toxic friendship, Transphobia, Vomit, and Violence

teo_rodas's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious sad tense 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? It's complicated

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Ableism, Abandonment, Blood, Child abuse, Child death, Confinement, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Gore, Grief, Homophobia, Incest, Lesbophobia, Medical content, Mental illness, Misogyny, Murder, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Police brutality, Racism, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual harassment, Sexual violence, Slavery, Suicide, Torture, Transphobia, Violence, and Vomit

dragon_girlj's review against another edition

dark medium-paced

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

4.0

This book is very well written. It shifts point of view between characters and the author has written such distinct voices for the characters that you know who is speaking. This book focuses on dark and mature themes including abuse and rape. Definitely not a light hearted read, but the dark topics are tackled well, and the plot and characters are engaging.  

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Rape, Racism, and Transphobia

Minor: Self harm, Violence, Suicidal thoughts, Panic attacks/disorders, Misogyny, Mental illness, Homophobia, Domestic abuse, Death, and Child death

beckycarter97's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense medium-paced

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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Violence, Death, Torture, Police brutality, Panic attacks/disorders, Mental illness, and Medical content

Moderate: Rape, Racism, Physical abuse, Domestic abuse, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Transphobia, Homophobia, and Vomit

Minor: Suicide