Reviews with content warning for Transphobia - Hidden Pictures: A Novel

Reviews tagging 'Transphobia'

Hidden Pictures: A Novel by Jason Rekulak

136 reviews

ckepic's review against another edition

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mysterious tense fast-paced

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

3.25

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biblio_creep's review against another edition

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The first half of it was going along pretty well, and then things took several turns.

From the jump there is a lot of mention about the main character being Christian, and the two other adult main characters being atheist. We are banged over the head with it on several occasions. It just feels icky, like you're getting reminded that atheists are bad people subtly, over and over. And wouldn’t you know, the Christian ends up to be the hero and the Atheists are bad people. Of course.

Then, we get a plot point/twist using gender identity that I found to be very problematic. In short, it's transphobic. And, it's full of right-wing dog whistles.

Additionally, it's not even well written. There are many other plot points that are introduced and then not mentioned again until the very end, and didn’t even need to be there. And, a lot of confusing or stupid decisions by characters. Just a trope filled mess.

My advice is to not waste your time.

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mal_reads_books's review against another edition

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dark mysterious tense fast-paced

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

2.5

The story was gripping and suspenseful, full of red herrings that actually tricked and surprised me. I loved how the drawings were included so that I felt immersed in the story. Overall, it's one of the better thrillers I've read.

However, it gave me weird vibes at times.

The "male gaze" experiment at the beginning was weird and didn't relate to the rest of the story.

The anti-religious parents were stereotypical liberals who don't even say "bless you" or celebrate Christmas. They have discussions with the child about private parts and exposing oneself, even buying a graphic sex book for the child. The main character is Christian and saves the child from the parents

, who kidnapped the child and forced the child to change gender. The child transitions back to a girl and the main character goes "I knew [the child] was a girl all along."

. Reviewers have debated whether this book is transphobic. On a surface level, it may not seem so. Given this was published last year and alludes to right-wing views on the matter, I feel the author was making a statement supporting these ideas.

There were also fatphobic statements like "she ballooned to a size eight", which is not even fat. The main character criticized her mom for being fat and unhelpful, but all is well when she loses weight.

Other issues include one-dimensional stereotypical characters such the crazy right-wing neighbor and the main character's landscaper Latino friend, and how technology turns children into zombies.

To an extent, I enjoyed the book. I liked its originality with the drawings. Unfortunately, it got heavy-handed with the political and religious ideology, especially toward the end.

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prettyflyforascienceguy's review against another edition

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3.0

On the surface level, it’s a fine thriller that is hard to put down. However, there is fatphobia and transphobia in the book. It basically felt like “Morally Just Christian FMC overcomes her battle with temptation and must save child from evil Atheist parents” it was a little heavy handed at times. Any time the FMC and Charlotte had a disagreement, it was always “Charlotte glanced disapprovingly at my cross necklace” and “she won’t believe me because she’s an atheist.”

I almost wish there was no ghost element to the story. It would have been much more unnerving if there wasn’t a supernatural explanation for the occurrences.

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rentserenity's review against another edition

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0.25

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kyrstin_p1989's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging dark emotional mysterious reflective tense fast-paced

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

4.5

This was so good, I couldn’t put it down. There were so many things that happened that I did not expect in the least. It was a wild ride, especially the last 100 pages or so. This book goes to show that you never know the lengths someone will go to protect their own interests and cover up their own lies and deceit.

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