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emilo's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
2024:
I do really like this book a lot, it’s probably one of my like most favourite ones and i did almost cry.
i do like bernardine evaristo a lot but she did kinda fumble the trans rep. like using characters deadnames, not understanding why we don’t differentiate between medically and non medically transitioned people, not like completely getting trans women and i dunno i would have liked her to write about more about the intersection of race and being trans, which she didn’t really get. that said for a cis woman she really *got* the feelings of a non binary/trans masc experience, and you can tell she did her research.
but i think that it would have helped if one of the other main characters was a trans woman because like it would have been good to see more of the diversity of womanhood. and then it’s like why include morgan? like they are only included in this book because they are afab. and they clearly have a difficult relationship to being assigned female at birth and it was hard for them.
also!! in the dedication of lgbti but not lgbtiaq is wild. like cmon mate. asexuals and aromantics and agender people exist. it’s silly to do the rest of the letters and just forget us. also womyn is transphobic.
that said!!! this book ends on a conclusion of inclusion with amma encouraging domique to be more inclusive in her feminism and in her lesbian festivals.
i do rlly like this book and like again clearly the author put a lot of research in esp if she’s not queer herself.
also!!! why r they all in england??? like scotland is sm fun
anyway i love this book a lot
Minor: Bullying, Child abuse, Child death, Deadnaming, Drug use, Miscarriage, Racial slurs, Racism, Rape, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic relationship, Transphobia, Violence, Islamophobia, Pregnancy, Lesbophobia, Abandonment, Alcohol, Sexual harassment, Colonisation, Dysphoria, and Classism
skudiklier's review against another edition
- 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? Yes
4.75
Graphic: Domestic abuse, Infidelity, Misogyny, Racism, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Toxic relationship, Transphobia, Xenophobia, Lesbophobia, and Classism
Moderate: Ableism, Body shaming, Racial slurs, Suicidal thoughts, Islamophobia, Grief, Pregnancy, Abandonment, and Alcohol
emilymckay's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Moderate: Child death, Infidelity, Mental illness, Miscarriage, Racial slurs, Racism, Rape, Sexual assault, and Toxic relationship
Minor: Alcoholism, Animal death, Cancer, Physical abuse, and Abandonment
mme_carton's review against another edition
- 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? Yes
4.0
Graphic: Alcoholism, Body shaming, Bullying, Child abuse, Child death, Cursing, Deadnaming, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Fatphobia, Homophobia, Infidelity, Mental illness, Miscarriage, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Terminal illness, Toxic relationship, Transphobia, Violence, Xenophobia, Islamophobia, Grief, Religious bigotry, Death of parent, Pregnancy, Lesbophobia, Gaslighting, Abandonment, Alcohol, Sexual harassment, and Classism
Moderate: Self harm, Slavery, Excrement, and War
Minor: Cancer, Eating disorder, and Infertility
orlagal's review against another edition
- 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
Graphic: Body shaming, Child death, Cursing, Deadnaming, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Homophobia, Infertility, Infidelity, Mental illness, Miscarriage, Misogyny, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Slavery, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic relationship, Transphobia, Forced institutionalization, Xenophobia, Police brutality, Medical content, Trafficking, Grief, Death of parent, Pregnancy, Lesbophobia, Outing, Cultural appropriation, Gaslighting, Toxic friendship, Abandonment, Sexual harassment, Dysphoria, and Classism
parasolcrafter's review against another edition
- 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? Yes
5.0
Graphic: Biphobia, Body shaming, Bullying, Cursing, Deadnaming, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Homophobia, Infidelity, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Sexism, Sexual content, Transphobia, Grief, Alcohol, Colonisation, and Classism
Moderate: Death, Death of parent, and Abandonment
hiraeth_'s review against another edition
- 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? Yes
4.5
Moderate: Deadnaming, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Homophobia, Infidelity, Miscarriage, Misogyny, Racial slurs, Racism, Rape, Sexism, Sexual violence, Toxic relationship, Pregnancy, Gaslighting, Alcohol, Sexual harassment, and Classism
anapthine's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
Graphic: Bullying, Child abuse, Child death, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Hate crime, Homophobia, Infertility, Infidelity, Mental illness, Miscarriage, Misogyny, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Racism, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic relationship, Transphobia, Violence, Xenophobia, Grief, Pregnancy, Lesbophobia, Gaslighting, Toxic friendship, Sexual harassment, and Colonisation
Moderate: Cursing, Drug abuse, Racial slurs, Slavery, Violence, Death of parent, Cultural appropriation, and Abandonment
Minor: Addiction, Alcoholism, Biphobia, Blood, Murder, and Alcohol
hollybearhouck's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
Moderate: Racial slurs and Rape
Minor: Drug use, Transphobia, and Abandonment
sam_crl's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Something that I had to learn the hard way is that this isn’t a book that you can just read easily as an escape from reality.
It has taken me two months to read it and I knew from the beginning that this was going to be a book that will make me think about its content way after I have finished it. It deals with topics that are not very easy to read about, but at the same time Bernardine Evaristo builds up such complex characters with so many hidden secrets that you are simply mesmerized. It was a constant struggle between not wanting to put it down and needing to do exactly that to take a moment to breathe.
Of course, I am White and the book deals with People of Color, which means that I have a very different approach and viewpoints to its content (starting with the fact that I have never experienced racism myself), but I genuinely think that this is a book that should be read by everyone. I’d even say it should be a mandatory school book, but I do not believe I‘ll ever see the day when those aren‘t books written by White men.
In conclusion, I loved this book with every part of my being and I will now annoy the sh*t out of my friends to read it as well.
Graphic: Homophobia, Miscarriage, Misogyny, Racial slurs, Racism, Rape, Sexual assault, Suicidal thoughts, Transphobia, and Violence