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Reviews tagging 'Colonisation'
Reclaim the Stars: 17 Tales Across Realms & Space by Zoraida Córdova
4 reviews
meaghanelizabook's review
adventurous
dark
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
lighthearted
mysterious
reflective
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
3.75
This was a great selection of tales from the Latin American diaspora. All were unique in their own way, and though some weren't as good as others, the collection was worth reading!
Individual ratings:
-"Reign of Diamonds" by Anna-Marie McLemore - 4/5 stars
-"Flecha" by Daniel José Older - 3/5 stars
-"The First Day of Us" by David Bowles - 4/5 stars
-"The Tin Man" by Lilliam Rivera - 3/5 stars
-"This Is Our Manifesto" by Mark Oshiro - 5/5 stars
-"Creatures of Kings" by Circe Moskowitz - 3.5/5 stars
-"Eterno" by J. C. Cervantes - 5/5 stars
-"White Water, Blue Ocean" by Linda Raquel Nieves Pérez - 3/5 stars
-"Leyenda" by Romina Garber - 4/5 stars
-"Color-Coded" by Maya Motayne - 3/5 stars
-"Magical Offerings" by Nina Moreno - 3.5/5 stars
-"Rogue Enchantments" by Isabel Ibañez - 4.5/5 stars
-"Sumaiko y La Sirena" by Vita Ayala - 5/5 stars
-"River People" by Yamile Saied Méndez - 4/5 stars
-"Moonglow" by Sara Faring - 2/5 stars
-"Killing El Chivo" by Claribel A. Ortega - 2.5/5 stars
-"Tame the Wicked Night" by Zoraida Córdova - 4.5/5 stars
Individual ratings:
-"Reign of Diamonds" by Anna-Marie McLemore - 4/5 stars
-"Flecha" by Daniel José Older - 3/5 stars
-"The First Day of Us" by David Bowles - 4/5 stars
-"The Tin Man" by Lilliam Rivera - 3/5 stars
-"This Is Our Manifesto" by Mark Oshiro - 5/5 stars
-"Creatures of Kings" by Circe Moskowitz - 3.5/5 stars
-"Eterno" by J. C. Cervantes - 5/5 stars
-"White Water, Blue Ocean" by Linda Raquel Nieves Pérez - 3/5 stars
-"Leyenda" by Romina Garber - 4/5 stars
-"Color-Coded" by Maya Motayne - 3/5 stars
-"Magical Offerings" by Nina Moreno - 3.5/5 stars
-"Rogue Enchantments" by Isabel Ibañez - 4.5/5 stars
-"Sumaiko y La Sirena" by Vita Ayala - 5/5 stars
-"River People" by Yamile Saied Méndez - 4/5 stars
-"Moonglow" by Sara Faring - 2/5 stars
-"Killing El Chivo" by Claribel A. Ortega - 2.5/5 stars
-"Tame the Wicked Night" by Zoraida Córdova - 4.5/5 stars
Content Warnings
Graphic: Blood, Murder, Emotional abuse, Deportation, Gore, War, Colonisation, Cultural appropriation, Injury/Injury detail, Body horror, Violence, Death, Domestic abuse, Grief, Pregnancy, and Sexual content
Moderate: Death of parent
kalira's review
adventurous
emotional
hopeful
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
This collection of stories is utterly fascinating and absolutely delightful, from the very first story (magical space princesses! in love or perhaps at war, or both?) to the very last (cursed gods, mysterious gifts, darkness and love and being true to oneself).
I enjoyed the whole thing (all three sections - in the stars, in our world lit with magic, and in various new worlds) and was quite pleased that most of the stories have a hopeful if not actually happy ending, with even the more sorrowful ones not exactly an unhappy conclusion.
I enjoyed the whole thing (all three sections - in the stars, in our world lit with magic, and in various new worlds) and was quite pleased that most of the stories have a hopeful if not actually happy ending, with even the more sorrowful ones not exactly an unhappy conclusion.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Death, Grief, Pregnancy, Sexism, Violence, Abortion, Blood, Bullying, Classism, Colonisation, Sexual harassment, Body horror, and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Slavery, War, and Deadnaming
desjas's review
adventurous
dark
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
mysterious
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? N/A
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.5
Content Warnings
Minor: Death, Animal death, Blood, Colonisation, Death of parent, Pregnancy, and War
rensreading's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
mysterious
sad
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
each and every single story in this was so profound and scratched the latinx magical realism itch i’ve had for quite a while.
the story that had me shaking as i read was “this is our manifesto” by mark oshiro. i took a small break halfway through it and came back with goosebumps raising up and down my arms again. it was THAT good. even in space, racism and classism still exist. in this story though, we are only in space due to those reasons. children in space jail for simply standing up for what is right, for supporting those who would not bite their tongues, for being a person of color at the wrong place and wrong time. in the long run, it isn’t quite different from what has been happening in real life. this is our manifesto served as a reminder that even the places we might sometimes wish to escape to won’t be as forgiving or free as we imagine.
there were so many different writing styles and i loved that. each author had their own voice that entranced me from the start and getting to read about so many queer brown people in space and our world with just a dash of magic was something i could not begin to explain correctly. not every ending was what i wished it to be and i did find it strange that there wasn’t even one achillean love story included here, but these are very minor concerns. it was very obvious that short stories are not what many of these authors are used to and yet that didn’t ruin anything about the book as a whole either.
mostly, this book served to remind me that we latinx people hold plenty of magic in ourselves and in the land we once respected before we assimilated. magical realism is not just a genre for some of us but a way of thinking. many of us grew up on folk lore and medicine from our abuelitas y tias y ancestros and never once questioned why. its always felt the most natural and that seems to be for a reason. whatever the reason might be, this book only further enables the mystical world view we were raised to have.
i need to run out and get a physical copy of this book for myself since it was definitely a 5 star read for me (:
the story that had me shaking as i read was “this is our manifesto” by mark oshiro. i took a small break halfway through it and came back with goosebumps raising up and down my arms again. it was THAT good. even in space, racism and classism still exist. in this story though, we are only in space due to those reasons. children in space jail for simply standing up for what is right, for supporting those who would not bite their tongues, for being a person of color at the wrong place and wrong time. in the long run, it isn’t quite different from what has been happening in real life. this is our manifesto served as a reminder that even the places we might sometimes wish to escape to won’t be as forgiving or free as we imagine.
there were so many different writing styles and i loved that. each author had their own voice that entranced me from the start and getting to read about so many queer brown people in space and our world with just a dash of magic was something i could not begin to explain correctly. not every ending was what i wished it to be and i did find it strange that there wasn’t even one achillean love story included here, but these are very minor concerns. it was very obvious that short stories are not what many of these authors are used to and yet that didn’t ruin anything about the book as a whole either.
mostly, this book served to remind me that we latinx people hold plenty of magic in ourselves and in the land we once respected before we assimilated. magical realism is not just a genre for some of us but a way of thinking. many of us grew up on folk lore and medicine from our abuelitas y tias y ancestros and never once questioned why. its always felt the most natural and that seems to be for a reason. whatever the reason might be, this book only further enables the mystical world view we were raised to have.
i need to run out and get a physical copy of this book for myself since it was definitely a 5 star read for me (:
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child death, Classism, Confinement, Death, Deadnaming, Grief, Homophobia, Police brutality, Transphobia, Death of parent, Injury/Injury detail, Abortion, Blood, Body horror, Child abuse, Cursing, Emotional abuse, Gore, Lesbophobia, Misogyny, Murder, Physical abuse, Violence, Sexual harassment, and Sexism
Moderate: Abandonment, Medical trauma, Car accident, Pregnancy, Colonisation, Infidelity, and Gaslighting
Minor: Religious bigotry, Slavery, Pedophilia, Toxic relationship, and Adult/minor relationship
this is a collection of stories so a LOT happens. definitely tread this carefully! as for the pedophilia and adult/minor relationship: i actually don’t know if this one is 100% true or not because the mc never mentions her age but
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