Reviews with content warning for Medical trauma - Orpheus Girl

Reviews tagging 'Medical trauma'

Orpheus Girl by Brynne Rebele-Henry

21 reviews

apollo0325's review

dark emotional sad fast-paced

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

4.5

With every action they make to take away your rights, they adopt an air of phony shame, as if they actually cared about the consequences of their beliefs.

This book was absolutely heart-wrenching, and the fact it was/is the reality of queer kids is even worse. Despite the best efforts, people still think queers are an illness, something that can be ‘cured’ when this is who we are. So many drape their homophobia with religion too.

This book is H E A V Y and even so, it’s an understatement. It’s important but difficult and necessary to have queer books centered on subject matter like this. Every queer story doesn’t end in a happily ever after.

Framing it within Greek mythology adds another layer of interest and way to connect to Raya’s journey. It also felt like a coping mechanism for Raya which is a common trend among queers (shout out to my PJO queers, ayyy).

My only critique of this book is the lack of understanding of time passing. It feels like SO MUCH has happened but then Raya mentions being dropped off four days ago? It felt a bit unclear. Then again, this may have been an intentional choice by the author to show even Raya has no concept of time and self in the latter half of the book.

Lastly, I implore anyone wanting to read this book to PLEASE LOOK AT TRIGGER WARNINGS. This book does not fuck around. For real.

“You know, the thing about family is that you can choose it. And I choose you.”

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ellefrost64's review against another edition

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medium-paced

3.0

I'm sure this is a good book somewhere. I split it into half because it did get too heavy for one sitting. It's not really anything similar to Orpheus and Eurydice.

Char is fucking awful I don't care she has enough trauma to kill a horse (ha), that's not an excuse to turn around and administer electro shock treatment. Like if anyone deserves to get their ass beaten it's her and hyde, but especially her. Also agree with another reviewer like why did the one singular trans character have to have the suicide attempt in graphic detail? I'm not sure. I know this book is true to life in places like this but goddamn it is just one onslaught of trauma after another and it's exhausting. And the wings try to be moments of lightness among it all but it didn't work for me.

. I hope this book helps someone, but it just made me exhausted and mad.

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thatchickengirl23's review against another edition

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dark emotional hopeful sad tense

Diverse cast of characters? Yes

2.75

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rubadubindabathtub's review

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challenging dark hopeful sad medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix

4.0

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rorireads_'s review against another edition

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dark emotional sad fast-paced

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

3.0

As a book, Orpheus Girl is engineered to make queer people cry. And, I’ll admit, I did.

I appreciated a lot of things about this book. The length meant it was quick to get through, and I fully believe I couldn’t have read any more.

The writing was exquisite. I connected with down-to-earth Raya and her simple narration style. A story like this being encased within purple prose would have only deterred me, and covered up the incredibly important subject matter.

However, this book presented this very black and white idea of queerness- gay, trans, or lesbian. And the one and only trans character we meet is a ‘scapegoat’ (I use that VERY LOOSELY) and is used to further the characters into their journeys.

All of the characters, in the time we knew them, felt very boiled down to their identities, which, in a way may be the point, but… I don’t know but characterisation could have been handled better.

All in all, Orpheus Girl is a deeply impactful story, and one that is wholly necessary.

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asiamd's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional reflective sad tense fast-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

4.0

This book was short but I feel it did a great job of depicting the horrors of conversion therapy while also giving the readers hope for the main characters. I also loved the voice of the main character because it felt like I was with her experiencing these things with her and rooting for her to not give up.

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