Reviews tagging 'Lesbophobia'

Orpheus Girl by Brynne Rebele-Henry

58 reviews

emcp's review

dark sad fast-paced

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

2.5

I’m always sad to give negative reviews to queer love stories, but I really struggled to get through this very short book. The characters all feel one-dimensional; Raya and Sarah’s relationship has no depth. It’s a lot of telling and very little showing — even the link to the myth of Orpheus was tenuous and had to be explained repeatedly throughout the story. Take these content warnings seriously, because 90% of this book is just pain and torture, and the ending can only barely be described as “happy.” 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Dysphoria, Homophobia, Physical abuse, Transphobia, Violence, Blood, Car accident, Deadnaming, Emotional abuse, Forced institutionalization, Lesbophobia, Gaslighting, Self harm, Hate crime, Outing, and Religious bigotry

starship_olympus's review

dark emotional sad slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

1.0

I just grabbed this from the LGBTQ+ section at my library because if there's anything to do with Orpheus and Eurydice in any form of media I'm there for it. 

But the writing style wasn't really for me, and I wasn't invested in the story. I almost DNF but I had a few hours free so I kinda just skimmed the book stopping to read every few pages. 
I can definitely see why this book could be loved by some, if it had been my cup of tea I would've been all over the prose, the characters, their differences and their love. I did want a 'happy' ending (as happy as an ending of this book could be)

and I am glad we got it, with the girls and some kids escaping the camp, and the camp (most likely?) being brought down

but the journey there wasn't for me. 

I know Orpheus is a tragedy, and there was tragedy here. It's not a book for the faint of heart, or an easy read. Even just skimming it I had an emotional reaction to what was going on. I think it could be a wonderful and visceral and beautiful novella. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Emotional abuse, Forced institutionalization, Gaslighting, Hate crime, Outing, Self harm, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Medical trauma, Misogyny, Religious bigotry, Sexism, Suicide attempt, Body shaming, Child abuse, Confinement, Domestic abuse, Dysphoria, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Biphobia, Bullying, Homophobia, Medical content, Mental illness, Lesbophobia, Suicide, Torture, Transphobia, Acephobia/Arophobia, and Deadnaming

Moderate: Abandonment, Ableism, Addiction, Alcohol, and Bullying

Minor: Car accident, Cursing, Death, and Death of parent

elainegriff's review

challenging dark emotional 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

4.0

heartbreaking and terrifying, especially to read now with the anti lgbtq+ policy being enacted recently

I love love the queer girl trope of childhood best friends to lovers, We Are Okay is another good one for that

the prose was pretty but repetitive at times and I think some of the graphic scenes could have been written with more care

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Outing, Homophobia, Lesbophobia, Child abuse, and Deadnaming

Moderate: Car accident and Suicide attempt

There’s also graphic depictions of electric shock treatment

daniboiii's review

3.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Biphobia, Homophobia, Injury/Injury detail, Lesbophobia, Transphobia, Car accident, Cursing, Deadnaming, Drug use, Forced institutionalization, Physical abuse, Suicide attempt, and Self harm

rjstellar's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional hopeful informative inspiring sad tense fast-paced

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

5.0

Orpheus Girl is the story of Raya, a freshly sixteen year old girl, being sent to a conversion camp when she's caught with her childhood best friend, Sarah. They're sent to the same camp, and Raya imagines them in an old Greek myth--the lovers Orpheus and Eurydice--and the story follows the horrible things they go through as they try to walk out of Hell. 

I'm a young lesbian, so this was a really REALLY difficult read for me. I cried in a way I have not in several months, and I have never taken this long to recover from any book. not to mention I'm also in love with the musical Hadestown, and regularly do exactly what Raya did and picture myself as Orpheus, walking out of tough situations. So obviously this was extremely personal.
it was really good, which is why I gave it five stars, but I severely underestimated the toll this book would take. I liked Raya's voice and the way in which it was written, and appreciated that it was relatively fast paced and didn't linger anywhere too long. especially in certain parts. I loved the intercut backstory and the way we get exposition randomly, rather than entire sections being flashback or explanation.
 though, I'm not about to write a review without giving my warnings. so, two disclaimers: one, like I said, the premise was very personal to me, so what was extremely difficult to read for me may be a lot easier to handle for someone else. it's not easy by any means, but it may not be as hard for you as it was me. HOWEVER, disclaimer two: please, please, PLEASE do not underestimate this book and take the trigger warnings into serious consideration. they are there for a reason. this isn't a dystopian story that someone made up--things like this actually happened, and that makes it all the more difficult. 
still, I do not regret reading this. this makes me endlessly grateful for my parents and how lucky I've otherwise been thus far. and I've noticed I feel much more emboldened and confident--proud, you could say--after reading this, and believing that even the worst hell can end and you can be okay. so, tl;dr, this book is genuinely haunting but, in the end, all the better for it. approach it with caution!!

My favorite quotes: "Maybe I was wrong about my wings. I think that maybe the myth about Orpheus isn't about losing your love: it is about learning how not to look back."
(page 157) "'You know, the thing about family is that you can choose it. And I choose you.'"

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Deadnaming, Homophobia, Lesbophobia, Child abuse, Outing, Physical abuse, Religious bigotry, Emotional abuse, Medical trauma, Violence, Suicide attempt, Torture, Confinement, and Transphobia

eve_ross_artist's review

dark emotional hopeful sad tense medium-paced

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

3.5

I really liked the plot concept. It was great! I would have just liked to see a little more analogies to greek mythology then there had been. It was a phenomenal story! I have to admit even with the warnings of intense subject matter (ie. conversion therapy, etc) I did find the whole ending and duration of Raya and Sarah’s stay at the camp a bit morbid and extremely sad. I really felt awful for what these characters were going through and I think that’s why I particularly enjoyed this story. I do not recommend the book to anyone who doesn’t think they can possibly deal with the mature themes that are present. I really loved it. Thank you Brynne Rebele-Henry for this great book!

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Homophobia, Torture, Lesbophobia, and Hate crime

Moderate: Religious bigotry and Outing

Minor: Transphobia

morepeachyogurt's review

dark emotional hopeful sad tense fast-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

oh god oh god oh wow. this book is so hauntingly beautiful, the love between the characters is something you can feel through the pages this book made me insane! 

“I realized it didn’t have to be holy for something to be beautiful, and that’s how I knew I could love you.”

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Homophobia, Lesbophobia, Child abuse, and Religious bigotry

Moderate: Transphobia and Deadnaming

Minor: Abandonment

juliane_reads's review against another edition

dark emotional hopeful inspiring sad fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• 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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Outing, Dysphoria, Suicide attempt, Transphobia, Car accident, Biphobia, Religious bigotry, Lesbophobia, Homophobia, and Deadnaming

ryanshmyan's review against another edition

dark emotional sad medium-paced

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

3.5

This book was enticing because it is short and LGBT. I wanted it to be great but the writing style (stream-of-consciousness) left me confused and wanting more. I’m sure this writing style is appealing to other people but I found it lackluster. The concept was good and you will definitely root for the success of the main characters. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Forced institutionalization, Grief, Outing, Suicide attempt, Torture, Transphobia, Homophobia, Car accident, Deadnaming, Lesbophobia, Medical trauma, Mental illness, Religious bigotry, and Self harm

snoutsiru's review

dark emotional inspiring reflective sad 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

Really good for such a short book. The pacing was incredible, even tho it got a bit predictable towards the end. Definitely one of my new favorite sapphic reads.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Abandonment, Homophobia, Suicide, Transphobia, Emotional abuse, Lesbophobia, Outing, Forced institutionalization, Child abuse, and Religious bigotry

Moderate: Deadnaming

Minor: Dysphoria