Reviews tagging 'Abandonment'

Orpheus Girl by Brynne Rebele-Henry

28 reviews

gothic_moss's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional sad 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? No

4.75

This book was absolutely crushing. It's horrible to know that in 2024, conversion therapy is still legal in 3 U.S states (including texas), and is still practiced in many states that have banned it. Conversion therapy is something I never knew much about, and often didn't look into because the idea of it was so gross and disturbing. Reading 'Orpheus Girl' was a great way for me to gain perspective on the practice, and it's impact on LGBT+ youth.
As a queer person, I found this book very similar to my experiences. The way themes of identity and girlhood were tackled felt very genuine and raw, which I resonated with a lot. My one critique is that a lot of the characters were based upon stereotypes, but they weren't upsetting or rude. 
Loved the character index at the end as well! I love a good mythology re-telling!
(Check TW before reading!!!)

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Homophobia, Emotional abuse, Forced institutionalization, Religious bigotry, Medical content, Outing, Deadnaming, and Transphobia

Moderate: Vomit and Torture

Minor: Suicide attempt and Abandonment

teniamonet's review against another edition

dark emotional sad tense 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? It's complicated

4.5

“You were supposed to be my second chance”

This was such a heart wrenching and emotional listen that left me with a heavy feeling in my chest. Orpheus Girl is supposed to be a modern retelling of the story of Orpheus and Eurydice. I don’t think there’s any real comparison here but Raya’s obsession with Greek mythology was definitely a way for her to cope with her life. 

A great listen and I loved the story. While this was fictional, this is a reality for a lot of queer kids. I would recommend this to others to read, but would warn them it can be extremely heavy and triggering.

The “treatments” were so inhumane and I had to stop listening at times. The fact that Raya was completely losing herself down to the connection she was trying to keep to the mother who abandoned her.

Timeline does get a little funky, but I attribute that to the fact that Raya is the narrator and through being at this conversion camp and all the treatments she loses herself and her grasp on reality. 

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

Cried at the end of this.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Lesbophobia, Transphobia, Religious bigotry, Homophobia, Outing, Abandonment, Emotional abuse, and Child abuse

Moderate: Self harm, Suicide attempt, Car accident, and Deadnaming

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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Content Warnings

Moderate: Blood, Biphobia, Sexual harassment, Abandonment, Torture, Violence, Hate crime, Dysphoria, Suicide attempt, Vomit, Transphobia, Suicidal thoughts, Self harm, Physical abuse, Outing, Medical trauma, Forced institutionalization, Lesbophobia, Injury/Injury detail, Homophobia, Deadnaming, Emotional abuse, and Confinement

Note for sexual harassment tag: the kids forced to go to the conversion camp are also forced to watch content of boys kissing boys or girls kissing girls or near sexual experiences between the same sexes. Nothing is explicitly detailed but it is mentioned. I didn’t know which tag to choose so I chose that one.

thatchickengirl23's review against another edition

dark emotional hopeful sad tense

• Diverse cast of characters? Yes

2.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Outing, Homophobia, Forced institutionalization, Emotional abuse, Religious bigotry, Lesbophobia, and Transphobia

Moderate: Physical abuse, Suicide attempt, Car accident, Suicide, Self harm, Abandonment, Medical content, Medical trauma, Torture, Blood, and Deadnaming

maisiemoo's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional informative reflective sad tense fast-paced

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

3.25

This was the heaviest book I’ve ever read and I think it’s going to take a while to leave me.

This book succeeds in portraying the horrifying reality of conversion therapy and made me feel so appreciative of the support network I’ve had since coming out, because not everyone is that fortunate.

I really thought that there would be more parallels to mythology in terms of the plot. I felt like the metaphors could have been taken further, but that’s just my personal opinion.

At some points I found Raya’s recollection of her childhood quite repetitive. I felt like, although she was telling different stories, they all ended with the same point about her grandmother not wanting her and her feeling inadequate. Personally, I found these snippets of her past didn’t really add much to the narrative.

I wasn’t a huge fan of the writing style of the author, but I found the overall plot very hard-hitting. It was a difficult read, and I’d urge people to take care when reading.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Injury/Injury detail, Vomit, Abandonment, Biphobia, Blood, Body horror, Deadnaming, Emotional abuse, Hate crime, Lesbophobia, Bullying, Forced institutionalization, Homophobia, Outing, Religious bigotry, Self harm, Torture, Transphobia, and Violence

biggreensnek's review against another edition

challenging 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? No

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Physical abuse, Abandonment, Hate crime, Homophobia, Lesbophobia, Transphobia, Emotional abuse, and Outing

Moderate: Bullying and Sexual content

Minor: Suicidal thoughts, Dysphoria, Alcohol, Blood, Suicide attempt, Addiction, Alcoholism, Car accident, Deadnaming, Vomit, and Self harm

danileah07's review against another edition

dark slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character

2.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Forced institutionalization, Lesbophobia, and Physical abuse

Moderate: Transphobia, Abandonment, Deadnaming, and Suicide attempt

Minor: Suicidal thoughts and Vomit

rorireads_'s review against another edition

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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Content Warnings

Graphic: Outing, Transphobia, Lesbophobia, Emotional abuse, Suicide attempt, Deadnaming, Forced institutionalization, Homophobia, and Medical trauma

Moderate: Abandonment

asiamd's review against another edition

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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Content Warnings

Graphic: Emotional abuse, Gaslighting, Abandonment, Torture, Homophobia, Lesbophobia, Medical trauma, Deadnaming, Outing, Panic attacks/disorders, and Transphobia

Moderate: Alcohol, Bullying, and Suicide attempt

qcupquake's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional tense fast-paced

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

4.75

Orpheus Girl
4.75/5

- wow. just wow.
- MAJOR TW for homophobia and transphobia bc oh my god
- i went into this thinking it wasn't gonna be that bad but as a queer kid with religious truama, that hit HARD.
- although i'm not a lesbian, i could definitely relate raya's experiences with hiding and religion to my own experiences such as being afraid of fire and brimstone.
- very quick read (although i procrastinated a lot)
- definitely not for the faint of heart bc this is gut-wrenching

- i hope sarah and raya got to new york and found a new life. they deserve it

- something is stopping me from making this 5 stars but i don't know what
- overall an amazing and heartbreaking book

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Injury/Injury detail, Torture, Religious bigotry, Homophobia, Transphobia, Child abuse, Lesbophobia, and Emotional abuse

Moderate: Deadnaming, Abandonment, Car accident, and Suicide attempt

Minor: Vomit