Reviews tagging 'Sexism'

Raybearer by Jordan Ifueko

47 reviews

melliedm's review against another edition

adventurous emotional hopeful medium-paced

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

4.75

“Do not ask how many people you will save. Ask, To what world will you save them? What world[…]is worth surviving in?”

An excellent anti-imperialist YA fantasy. Easily the best YA I’ve read in a long time. I had started to think maybe I no longer enjoyed YA, but it turns out I was just waiting for a book like this.

Tarisai was born for one purpose, and one purpose alone: to kill the emperor’s son, and end the imperial line. To do so, she will first have to love him and enter his trusted circle. But are our children just malleable tools for our machinations, or people capable of seeing different futures? 

This book manages to avoid some of the most overdone tropes in the genre whilst using others with absolute grace. The characters are varied and well-written, each with their own ideals and desires. The plot feels intentional and the results hard-won, and not a given simply because “it’s gotta have a beginning middle and end”

My only problem with this book, and the reason for the docking of .25 stars, is the weird as heck relationship between two side characters. I won’t spoil much, but one of the characters is established to be around 20 at the beginning of the book, when the main character is around 12. The other side character is described to be about the same age as the main character. So when the main character is 16, we have a 24 year old side character developing a romance with a 16 year old side character? What? Did I misread something? Did I misunderstand the timeline? It made me extremely uncomfortable. But it’s such a small part of the book and something I could ignore with relative ease, so I don’t think this one strange aspect detracts from the rest of the book’s beauty.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Misogyny, Colonisation, Abandonment, Xenophobia, and Sexism

Moderate: Child abuse, Emotional abuse, War, Police brutality, Fire/Fire injury, Murder, and Confinement

Minor: Adult/minor relationship and Suicidal thoughts

thecatconstellation's review

adventurous dark emotional hopeful inspiring tense medium-paced

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

4.75

This book deserves way more hype. The story is original and engaging. Steeped in beautiful imagery and detailed mythology, this is a story of the drive for justice.

My only critique is that the council members are supposedly so meaningful to Tar, but only a few of them are fleshed out beyond the most basic level. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Fire/Fire injury, Death, Child abuse, Violence, Sexism, and Misogyny

Moderate: War, Suicidal thoughts, Domestic abuse, Injury/Injury detail, Grief, Emotional abuse, Classism, Blood, Child death, Xenophobia, Confinement, Rape, Murder, Death of parent, and Colonisation

Minor: Slavery, Alcohol, and Sexual content

fleur____'s review

adventurous emotional inspiring 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

4.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Emotional abuse, Colonisation, Death of parent, Misogyny, Abandonment, Fire/Fire injury, Violence, and Sexism

Moderate: Child abuse, Domestic abuse, Gaslighting, Blood, Physical abuse, and Bullying

Minor: Slavery, Alcohol, Excrement, Xenophobia, Body horror, Classism, and Vomit

talonsontypewriters's review

adventurous emotional hopeful fast-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

2.5

Yet another book with 80%+ 4-5 star ratings that I ended up being disappointed by, so maybe the issue is really just that I'm a hater :/ Loved the ideas and themes, but the characters (especially the more minor ones, had trouble keeping track of the background council members) didn't feel fleshed-out enough, the worldbuilding is conveyed mostly in blocky exposition dumps, and the pacing in general feels... odd, with a lot of unnecessary jumps in time and awkward transitions. Lots of potential in theory, but didn't quite live up to it in execution for me.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Violence, Fire/Fire injury, Misogyny, Gaslighting, Sexism, Abandonment, and Emotional abuse

Moderate: Colonisation, Confinement, Grief, Death, Death of parent, Bullying, Murder, Xenophobia, and Classism

Minor: Slavery, Vomit, Incest, Rape, Sexual content, Acephobia/Arophobia, Domestic abuse, Suicidal thoughts, Pedophilia, and Suicide

Relationship between characters with unspecified ages but presumably one around 15-17 and the other at least in his 20s. Crush/romantic undertones (no actual relationship) between characters later revealed to be related.

linblythe_pub22's review against another edition

adventurous emotional hopeful medium-paced

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

3.5

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Death, Death of parent, Abandonment, Misogyny, Sexual content, Violence, Murder, and Sexism

Minor: Fire/Fire injury, Injury/Injury detail, Child death, Vomit, Xenophobia, Blood, and War

forgottuesday's review against another edition

adventurous emotional hopeful 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? It's complicated

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexism, Abandonment, Child abuse, Panic attacks/disorders, Torture, Gaslighting, Physical abuse, Violence, Death of parent, Emotional abuse, Grief, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , and Mental illness

Moderate: Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Toxic relationship, Abandonment, War, Suicidal thoughts, and Murder

ashlikes's review against another edition

adventurous 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: Xenophobia, Violence, Child abuse, Injury/Injury detail, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, Death of parent, Gaslighting, Emotional abuse, Grief, Blood, Toxic relationship, Death, Misogyny, and Sexism

Moderate: Confinement, Colonisation, Sexual content, Panic attacks/disorders, Abandonment, Domestic abuse, and Physical abuse

Minor: Stalking, Child death, Suicidal thoughts, Sexual assault, Pregnancy, Slavery, Medical content, Kidnapping, Sexual violence, Rape, and Vomit

takarakei's review against another edition

adventurous 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

The worldbuilding was so rich, unique and well developed. There's a lot of folklore and oral storytelling that happens within the story which I love. Like stories within stories to explain the history and traditions. Court politics, found family, complex characters. Really a fantastic YA fantasy and I'd recommend it to anyone who loves that genre!

audiobook was also well narrated (I did a mix)

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Emotional abuse, Death, Abandonment, Child abuse, and Fire/Fire injury

Moderate: Death of parent, Blood, Sexism, Violence, and Misogyny

Minor: Sexual assault, Animal death, and Rape

eni_iilorak's review against another edition

adventurous emotional hopeful inspiring mysterious 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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Fire/Fire injury, Grief, Misogyny, Murder, Sexism, Child abuse, Child death, Death, Death of parent, Emotional abuse, Abandonment, Toxic friendship, and Violence

Moderate: Injury/Injury detail, Kidnapping, Religious bigotry, Confinement, Physical abuse, Police brutality, Domestic abuse, Bullying, Classism, and Medical content

Minor: Acephobia/Arophobia, Alcohol, Rape, and Slavery

mariebrunelm's review against another edition

adventurous emotional 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? N/A

4.75

Hidden between the walls of a fortress none but its inhabitants can see, Tarisai grows up longing for her mother's love. But The Lady is often on the road and her visits home are short. She is however determined for her daughter to carve a future worthy of her, and so she sends her to the capital with the mission to kill a boy while taking part in a competition. Tarisai soon discovers that the series of trials held in the company of the prince will determine the members of his council. She is supposed to take part like the others. But as soon as she meets the prince, a terrible urge to kill rises in her. She has found her mother's target.

Ready for a breathless adventure alongside very loveable characters in an Africa-inspired land? Raybearer was more YA than the adult novel I'd expected, but I didn't have time to wonder about that as I was swept away and held on the edge of my seat by Jordan Ifueko. The novel kept a fast rhythm, as fast as the drums that keep beating in the background of Tarisai's whereabouts, but it never lost sight of its characters and their emotional journeys. I loved the cast and the lush world-building, and if the last revelations were a bit too hasty to leave me time to process them, they all sounded right and made the pieces click together. 

Rep: polyamourous characters, asexual character.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Fire/Fire injury, Toxic relationship, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Sexism

Minor: Murder and Child death