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Reviews tagging 'Violence'
Fèms magnifiques et dangereuses: Mémoires affabulées d'une fille trans by Kai Cheng Thom
63 reviews
caprivoyant's review against another edition
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
If you're following me, you probably know I'm not a technical reviewer. I'll let you know how a book made me feel, and what hit home for me, and this book hit home in a way I wasn't expecting. I was hoping for something funny, entertaining, and sweet. This book is all of those things! Yay!
The bit I didn't expect is that the exact thing I needed to hear (needed camaraderie around) in my real life would be in this book too.
I'm a big sister that had to be a little too much of a big sister when I was too young, if you catch my drift. So the letters from our protagonist to her little sister were like listening to my thoughts to my siblings too. It's hard to break the pattern of being caretaking older sister, so one of the letters from big sister to little just hit me right in the feels. It was something like:
The bit I didn't expect is that the exact thing I needed to hear (needed camaraderie around) in my real life would be in this book too.
I'm a big sister that had to be a little too much of a big sister when I was too young, if you catch my drift. So the letters from our protagonist to her little sister were like listening to my thoughts to my siblings too. It's hard to break the pattern of being caretaking older sister, so one of the letters from big sister to little just hit me right in the feels. It was something like:
"What we both really need is for me to stop taking care of you and to start taking better care of me."
So we can each learn how to take care of ourselves. (This bit is paraphrased, the struggles of listening to an audiobook).
Anyway! I loved that. It's what I needed to hear exactly when I needed to hear it. 💕
A few other sweet/fun quotes from this one that I don't want to forget, so I'm dropping them at the bottom of this review:
Anyway! I loved that. It's what I needed to hear exactly when I needed to hear it. 💕
A few other sweet/fun quotes from this one that I don't want to forget, so I'm dropping them at the bottom of this review:
"If learning to take care of yourself means you need to smoke cigarettes and punch snotty white girls, well, I probably shouldn't endorse that or anything, but I'm not going to rag on you about it either."
"Books are like this magical window that you can open no matter where you are. And you fall into a different place that's better than the one you're trapped in."
Content Warnings
Moderate: Self harm, Transphobia, and Violence
simple_alien's review against another edition
emotional
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
Magical and bada**. A must read.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Hate crime, Self harm, and Violence
Moderate: Sexual violence, Transphobia, Murder, Homophobia, Racism, Suicide, Panic attacks/disorders, Drug use, Drug abuse, Death, Addiction, Body shaming, Body horror, and Blood
shaunashares's review against another edition
dark
emotional
hopeful
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Violence, Transphobia, and Homophobia
Moderate: Police brutality and Sexual assault
crinspire's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
mysterious
reflective
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
5.0
Content Warnings
Moderate: Blood, Death, Gun violence, Hate crime, Homophobia, Murder, Police brutality, Self harm, Transphobia, and Violence
plantbasedbride's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
funny
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
What an entrancing memoir, unlike anything I’ve ever read. Dark, imaginative, fast paced, thoughtful, and, in equal measure, harrowing and joyful, Fierce Femmes and Notorious Liars explores the experience of a young Asian trans girl stepping into womanhood through a fantastical lens of colourful metaphor. A story of sisterhood and transformation.
Kai Cheng Thom has found a unique literary voice through which to share her lived experience, and I am endlessly grateful that she has chosen to share it with the world. Thom’s work is poetic yet blunt, dreamlike yet firmly rooted in reality.
“Little cocoon apartment, I love how you rattle and shake in the wind. You are mine like nothing has ever been before. Someday you'll tear open, and I'll fly out with the wings I have grown inside you. Still shimmering. Still wet.”
I highly recommend!
Kai Cheng Thom has found a unique literary voice through which to share her lived experience, and I am endlessly grateful that she has chosen to share it with the world. Thom’s work is poetic yet blunt, dreamlike yet firmly rooted in reality.
“Little cocoon apartment, I love how you rattle and shake in the wind. You are mine like nothing has ever been before. Someday you'll tear open, and I'll fly out with the wings I have grown inside you. Still shimmering. Still wet.”
I highly recommend!
Content Warnings
Moderate: Self harm, Sexual violence, Violence, Sexual assault, Death, and Medical content
melsuke's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
reflective
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Transphobia and Police brutality
Moderate: Murder and Violence
diana_blackmoon's review against another edition
emotional
informative
reflective
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- 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
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Transphobia and Police brutality
Moderate: Violence, Sexual content, Self harm, and Drug use
Minor: Gun violence and Child abuse
stephaniekane's review against another edition
dark
hopeful
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.5
This is a very generous four stars because to be honest I did not *love* the experience of reading this book BUT I did find myself internally screaming, "THIS IS A PLAY. THIS JUST NEEDS TO BE A PLAY." And that's saying something cause 90% of the time when I read books I am adapting it in my head to either a film or a prestige mini series, rarely a play. So if any non-profit new play development oriented theatre company wants to throw some money at this property and commission the writer to adapt her work, employ an all trans/GNC cast and creative team, and make some theatrical magic, please do it! All I ask is a special thanks for the idea in the program .
Fierce Femmes and Notorious Liars: A Dangerous Trans Girl's Confabulous Memoir by Kai Cheng Thom is, first and foremost, not a memoir, and I don't appreciate being misled by the title. Putting that initial annoyance aside, Thom has created a mythical world filled with poetic language and poetic justice, flowing in between prose, poetry, dialogue, and epistolary segments (in the play the epistolary segments would be direct address, I have the whole thing planned out). With locations like the City of Gloom and the Street of Miracles, it takes place everywhere and nowhere, providing a universality and allowing the reader to insert their city (or an imaginary city of their choice) in the places she describes. At times, this felt a little juvenile because so much inspiration is derived from the tropes of fairytales, and I do feel like the reading level of the book is most appropriate for YA readers, although it does deal with mature subject matter, such as self harm, sexual assault, and the ongoing systemic injustice that is the murder of trans women of color.
At the end of the day, this is a book by and for trans girls, specifically trans girls of color, and that's incredible and honestly off the top of my head I don't think I've read anything by a trans writer before in my life, and that's embarrassing for me and for the literary world, but this is my first step to remedying that gap. Thom writes the most badass, beautiful, and complex trans characters, and I (a cis woman), felt so connected to the narrator's desire to create her own narrative, break out of the box society has put her in, and just figure out who she is. It is a coming of age story, after all. So, while the book wasn't for me, I still appreciate it for what it is and what it can be.
Fierce Femmes and Notorious Liars: A Dangerous Trans Girl's Confabulous Memoir by Kai Cheng Thom is, first and foremost, not a memoir, and I don't appreciate being misled by the title. Putting that initial annoyance aside, Thom has created a mythical world filled with poetic language and poetic justice, flowing in between prose, poetry, dialogue, and epistolary segments (in the play the epistolary segments would be direct address, I have the whole thing planned out). With locations like the City of Gloom and the Street of Miracles, it takes place everywhere and nowhere, providing a universality and allowing the reader to insert their city (or an imaginary city of their choice) in the places she describes. At times, this felt a little juvenile because so much inspiration is derived from the tropes of fairytales, and I do feel like the reading level of the book is most appropriate for YA readers, although it does deal with mature subject matter, such as self harm, sexual assault, and the ongoing systemic injustice that is the murder of trans women of color.
At the end of the day, this is a book by and for trans girls, specifically trans girls of color, and that's incredible and honestly off the top of my head I don't think I've read anything by a trans writer before in my life, and that's embarrassing for me and for the literary world, but this is my first step to remedying that gap. Thom writes the most badass, beautiful, and complex trans characters, and I (a cis woman), felt so connected to the narrator's desire to create her own narrative, break out of the box society has put her in, and just figure out who she is. It is a coming of age story, after all. So, while the book wasn't for me, I still appreciate it for what it is and what it can be.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Transphobia and Violence
Minor: Self harm and Sexual assault
claudibonini's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
sad
fast-paced
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
I didn't expect this book to grip me quite in the way it did. I was blown away by the ability of the author to bring us on such a dark coming-of-age journey but still keep the writing seemingly lighthearted. A journey that includes self-harm, heartache, finding others and in this process, finding ourselves. I felt like the dichotomy between the cover design, the chapter titles, and the actual content of the book was purposeful and brilliant. I cried when the main character contemplates the difference between hunger and love...beautiful, and visceral.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Self harm, Violence, and Sexual assault
tay_mackenziemac's review against another edition
dark
emotional
hopeful
medium-paced
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
Oh wow. I am so deeply thankful for this book. Kai Cheng Thom writes such incredible prose dripping with meaning. This book felt like I was constantly trying to keep up in the best way. This is a love letter to herself and the trans women in her life and it’s so serenely beautiful and heartbreaking all in one.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Self harm and Transphobia
Moderate: Violence
Minor: Sexual violence