Reviews tagging 'Pedophilia'

An Unkindness of Ghosts by Rivers Solomon

26 reviews

solenodon's review against another edition

challenging emotional tense medium-paced

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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Toxic relationship, Torture, Injury/Injury detail, Police brutality, Sexism, Sexual assault, Abortion, Child death, Death, Murder, Physical abuse, Medical trauma, Child abuse, Colonisation, Medical content, Racism, Religious bigotry, Misogyny, Ableism, Classism, Confinement, Death of parent, Grief, Rape, Sexual harassment, Sexual violence, Slavery, Violence, Body shaming, Mental illness, Self harm, Transphobia, and Gaslighting

Moderate: Excrement, Fire/Fire injury, Racial slurs, Gore, Homophobia, Pedophilia, Suicidal thoughts, and Lesbophobia

Minor: Alcohol

jessthanthree's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional mysterious reflective 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? Yes

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual violence, Sexual assault, Police brutality, Mental illness, Racism, Injury/Injury detail, Transphobia, Confinement, Classism, Sexual harassment, Self harm, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Child death, Violence, Suicide, Slavery, Murder, Physical abuse, Medical content, Torture, Suicidal thoughts, and Rape

Moderate: Bullying, Body shaming, Chronic illness, Gore, Sexism, Religious bigotry, Homophobia, and Gun violence

Minor: Abortion, Pedophilia, Incest, and Fire/Fire injury

smrj's review against another edition

challenging dark 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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Physical abuse, Child abuse, Gun violence, Medical content, Mental illness, Medical trauma, Abortion, and Blood

Moderate: Pedophilia

moot's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional sad tense slow-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

5.0

This is an important book. Thw best and most interesting MC I've read in a while. But please read the content warnings. It's a challenging read

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Racial slurs, Xenophobia, Sexual violence, Sexual assault, Police brutality, Racism, Physical abuse, and Pedophilia

Moderate: Pregnancy and Abortion

multiplyoctopi's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional reflective tense medium-paced

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

4.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Medical content, Violence, Classism, Death, Injury/Injury detail, Physical abuse, Racism, Religious bigotry, and Slavery

Moderate: Pedophilia, Rape, Sexual harassment, Sexual violence, Colonisation, Homophobia, Police brutality, Racial slurs, Self harm, Blood, Child death, Death of parent, Torture, and Suicide attempt

Minor: Child abuse, Chronic illness, Confinement, Cursing, Drug use, Vomit, Dysphoria, Grief, Medical trauma, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, Ableism, and Abortion

burnt_milk's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional sad tense medium-paced

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

4.5

Horrifying and incredibly written.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Ableism, Gore, Suicide, Self harm, Child death, Transphobia, Suicide attempt, Racism, Physical abuse, Pedophilia, Medical trauma, Abortion, Slavery, Sexual violence, Rape, Pregnancy, Injury/Injury detail, Homophobia, Death, and Colonisation

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

megalai_jadis's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional mysterious medium-paced

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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Abortion, Body shaming, Body horror, Child abuse, Child death, Chronic illness, Colonisation, Confinement, Death, Fire/Fire injury, Gun violence, Homophobia, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Pedophilia, Rape, Racism, Religious bigotry, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual harassment, Sexual violence, Slavery, Suicide attempt, and Transphobia

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

peannlewis's review against another edition

challenging dark reflective sad tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• 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

Difficult but engaging read. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Racism, Abandonment, Abortion, Ableism, Blood, Body shaming, Bullying, Child abuse, Child death, Colonisation, Confinement, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Gaslighting, Grief, Gun violence, Homophobia, Hate crime, Lesbophobia, Medical content, Medical trauma, Mental illness, Misogyny, Sexism, Sexual harassment, Slavery, Suicide attempt, and Torture

Moderate: Dysphoria, Incest, Murder, Pedophilia, Pregnancy, Religious bigotry, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Self harm, Sexual violence, Sexual harassment, Sexual content, Sexual assault, Suicidal thoughts, and Transphobia