Reviews tagging 'Ableism'

An Unkindness of Ghosts by Rivers Solomon

57 reviews

discarded_dust_jacket's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious 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? It's complicated

4.0

This is one of those books that I close after finishing and stare off into the middle distance for a solid ten minutes, just… processing.

I feel like I should have a bunch of really thoughtful reactions to this story, since there’s obviously so much going on thematically, but more than anything I just feel like my brain is stuck on the buffering screen, lol.

I loved the premise—an enormous space vessel acting as a sort of Noah’s ark, harboring a human population fleeing earth in search of the proverbial promised land. I appreciated the autistic, intersex, trans/non-binary, and asexual representation, as well as the allegorical interpretation of the antebellum south.

I struggled a little bit with some of the dense “science-y” terminology and just ended up skimming a lot of it, assuming I’d be able to get the gist. I had a similar issue when I tried to visualize some of the things described (in particular, the fields where lowerdeck workers harvest crops). The only other thing that threw me off sometimes was the quick jumps around through time, and not being able to sure when a “flashback” is being described and at what point have we jumped to the present again.

Other than that I really enjoyed this book, especially the second half. It’s beautifully-written, and the characters are nuanced and richly crafted.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death of parent, Murder, Racism, Religious bigotry, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Violence, Injury/Injury detail, Medical content, Physical abuse, Slavery, Torture, Toxic friendship, Ableism, Blood, Body shaming, Bullying, Child death, Classism, Confinement, Death, Grief, Mental illness, and Suicide attempt

Moderate: Rape, Homophobia, and Sexual violence

Minor: Fire/Fire injury, Vomit, Abortion, and Gun violence

jdianm's review against another edition

adventurous tense medium-paced

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

4.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, Injury/Injury detail, Transphobia, Violence, Sexual violence, Sexual assault, Vomit, Medical trauma, Fire/Fire injury, Ableism, Colonisation, Sexual harassment, Self harm, Murder, Blood, Confinement, Death, Torture, Rape, Racism, Physical abuse, Dysphoria, Suicide attempt, Medical content, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , and Police brutality

Minor: Death of parent, Abortion, Gun violence, and Domestic abuse

readingthroughinfinity's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark sad tense 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

Gosh, this was good. I keep saying that I don't read much sci-fi these days and then picking up sci-fi books and being blown away by them, so maybe that needs to change. Dark, tense, and violent, with a brilliant main character, this was completely compelling from start to finish. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Rape, Physical abuse, Classism, and Child death

Moderate: Homophobia, Injury/Injury detail, Ableism, Child abuse, Emotional abuse, Medical content, Murder, Physical abuse, Police brutality, Racism, Sexual violence, and Violence

Minor: Death of parent and Abortion

dragon_s_hoard's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional sad tense 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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Fire/Fire injury, Hate crime, Police brutality, Pregnancy, Slavery, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic relationship, Transphobia, Abortion, Adult/minor relationship, Body shaming, Cancer, Chronic illness, Dysphoria, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Genocide, Homophobia, Injury/Injury detail, Medical content, Miscarriage, Misogyny, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Racism, Rape, Suicide attempt, Torture, War, Self harm, Sexual assault, Toxic friendship, Violence, Vomit, Classism, Death of parent, Drug use, Infertility, Abandonment, Ableism, Confinement, Lesbophobia, Murder, Racial slurs, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Sexual harassment, Sexual violence, Child abuse, Child death, Colonisation, Gaslighting, Grief, Mental illness, Sexism, Stalking, and Terminal illness

sarkenobi's review against another edition

challenging dark sad tense medium-paced

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

2.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Emotional abuse, Injury/Injury detail, Kidnapping, Medical content, Mental illness, Police brutality, Sexism, Sexual harassment, Torture, Xenophobia, Ableism, Classism, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Violence, Abandonment, Blood, Body horror, Body shaming, Racism, Rape, Self harm, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Confinement, Death, Hate crime, Lesbophobia, Misogyny, Murder, Sexual violence, Toxic friendship, Dysphoria, Gore, Homophobia, and Medical trauma

Moderate: Abortion, Grief, Religious bigotry, Suicide, Death of parent, Drug use, Fire/Fire injury, Pregnancy, Suicide attempt, Addiction, Chronic illness, Cursing, Drug abuse, Outing, Panic attacks/disorders, Suicidal thoughts, Child death, and Miscarriage

Minor: Child abuse, Pandemic/Epidemic, and Vomit

auteaandtales's review against another edition

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Rape, Racism, Ableism, Transphobia, Sexual violence, Murder, Injury/Injury detail, Hate crime, Confinement, Child abuse, Sexual assault, Torture, Physical abuse, Misogyny, Violence, Suicide, Slavery, Gore, Death, and Colonisation

Moderate: Abortion and Pregnancy

krispkreme2021's review against another edition

dark emotional 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? N/A

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Mental illness, Racism, Classism, and Violence

Moderate: Ableism and Death of parent

Minor: Injury/Injury detail

oworthyfool's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional funny hopeful mysterious reflective sad tense medium-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

Rivers Solomon weaves a deft tale of oppression, family, and ultimately hope in the face of human evil. A timely story of how society turns on the less fortunate and intentionally marginalized, the focus nonetheless is of Aster struggling to make sense of her mother's death, the day of her own birth. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Bullying, Injury/Injury detail, Medical content, Police brutality, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Medical trauma, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Self harm, Sexism, Suicide attempt, Ableism, Xenophobia, Mental illness, Misogyny, Vomit, Dysphoria, Slavery, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic friendship, Violence, Child abuse, Classism, Murder, Religious bigotry, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Colonisation, Confinement, Genocide, Grief, Gun violence, Racism, Sexual harassment, Abandonment, Blood, Body horror, Child death, Cursing, Death, Death of parent, Emotional abuse, and Hate crime

Moderate: Abortion, Abandonment, Fire/Fire injury, and Excrement

necromandy's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional mysterious sad medium-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? Yes

5.0

best book I have ever read. changed my life in three hours. I will remember this book like no other book I have ever read, that is a promise. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Torture, Violence, Xenophobia, Abortion, Ableism, Death, Homophobia, Toxic friendship, Child death, Death of parent, Grief, Police brutality, Racial slurs, Rape, Self harm, Suicide attempt, Medical content, Mental illness, Racism, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , and Sexual assault

Moderate: Gun violence, Fire/Fire injury, Dysphoria, Cursing, Confinement, Classism, Blood, Pregnancy, Lesbophobia, and Infertility

orion's review against another edition

dark emotional hopeful inspiring reflective sad tense slow-paced

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

4.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Hate crime, Blood, Child death, Police brutality, Racism, Ableism, Bullying, Lesbophobia, Homophobia, Physical abuse, Sexism, Suicide attempt, Violence, Emotional abuse, Murder, Rape, Self harm, War, Classism, Death, Injury/Injury detail, Mental illness, Sexual assault, Slavery, and Suicidal thoughts

Moderate: Toxic friendship, Transphobia, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Death, Grief, Medical content, Torture, and Sexual harassment

Minor: Death of parent and Cursing