Reviews tagging 'Homophobia'

Teach the Torches to Burn: A Romeo & Juliet Remix by Caleb Roehrig

8 reviews

mirandyli's review

emotional lighthearted sad tense medium-paced

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

4.0

A cute retelling of Romeo and Juliet, where Romeo is in love with Valentine and is in a lavender marriage with Juliet.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Abandonment, Murder, Blood, Classism, Injury/Injury detail, Alcohol, Death of parent, Grief, Homophobia, Infidelity, Death, Emotional abuse, Sexism, Toxic friendship, and Violence

jess_always_reading's review against another edition

adventurous emotional hopeful fast-paced

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

4.5

This was a great story! A queer remix of Romeo and Juliet, it still deviates enough from the story to be unexpected and intriguing. I absolutely loved many of the characters and it featured a slightly rose-tinted depiction of acceptance and love which is really nice to read as a queer person (it can't all be angst and blatant homophobia). Also, I feel that Roehrig did a great job of writing characters who are both teenagers and adultified because of the historical context in which they live. 

This book is perfect for when you want to just curl up and enjoy a story without needing to put too much thought into it. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Violence, Classism, Blood, and Death

Moderate: Homophobia

micaelacccc's review against another edition

emotional medium-paced

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

3.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexism, Emotional abuse, Blood, Classism, Homophobia, Miscarriage, Injury/Injury detail, and Death

kayladaila's review

emotional hopeful reflective medium-paced

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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Misogyny, Murder, Death, and Grief

Minor: Infidelity, Acephobia/Arophobia, Violence, and Homophobia

caidyn's review

emotional medium-paced

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

4.0

This was such a cute read. I was wondering how the book would handle Romeo and Juliet, so I loved that it was different than expected. Also loved the unexpected ace (and maybe aro) inclusion!

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death

Moderate: Acephobia/Arophobia, Grief, and Homophobia

readingwithkaitlyn's review against another edition

hopeful medium-paced

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

3.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Classism, Misogyny, Injury/Injury detail, Murder, Death, and Violence

Moderate: Alcohol and Blood

Minor: Grief, Sexual assault, Medical trauma, Abandonment, Toxic relationship, Pregnancy, Animal death, Sexual harassment, Homophobia, Excrement, Sexual content, Sexism, Emotional abuse, Acephobia/Arophobia, Death of parent, Infidelity, and Vomit

betweentheshelves's review against another edition

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? It's complicated

4.5

Admittedly, I haven't read all of the Remixed Classics series (of which there are a lot now!), but the ones I have read have been great! This one is no exception! It captures the essence of the original play while putting a new spin on it. Honestly, making Romeo gay works so well for the story, and I loved the way this changed his relationship with Juliet. 

The romance, of course, is fantastic, even though it includes insta-love (which is not my favorite). But you kind of have to include it if you're staying true to the original story. Of course, there's tragedy, but not quite the tragedy we get in the original play. There's more hope in this one! All in all, I just really enjoyed this gay spin on the classic Romeo and Juliet.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Violence, and Homophobia

Moderate: Alcohol, Injury/Injury detail, and Vomit

Minor: Classism, Acephobia/Arophobia, and Sexual harassment

ezwolf's review

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? It's complicated

5.0

This book gave me a lot of emotions and it was fantastic and I loved every moment of it. Romeo was a bit of a disaster, but I loved him for it and Valentine is just so sweet. Juliet is honestly so relatable for me too.

One of the most important things I loved was that on top of our main character and love interest being gay we are also given some good asexual and aromantic representation! There was also a great discussion with Romeo and Juliet about how even though Romeo is limited by his lot in life, Juliet is even more limited as a woman with little to no agency in their society and it forces Romeo to consider from someone else's perspective. 

This is the second book I've read in the Remixed Classics series (A Clash of Steel was the first) and I cannot wait to read more of them. Most Ardently by Gabe Cole Novoa will be next!

For those of you who are like me who see that this is a retelling of a story the main characters die and are worried about Romeo and Valentine I want to assure you that we are given a queer happily ever after.

Thank you to NetGalley for making this available in exchange for an honest review! 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood, Death, Grief, Homophobia, Injury/Injury detail, Misogyny, Murder, Sexism, and Violence

Moderate: Alcohol

Minor: Acephobia/Arophobia, Classism, and Sexual harassment