Reviews with content warning for Suicidal thoughts - Das Licht ungewöhnlicher Sterne

Reviews tagging 'Suicidal thoughts'

Das Licht ungewöhnlicher Sterne by Ryka Aoki

124 reviews

brynalexa's review against another edition

adventurous emotional hopeful informative 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? No

3.25

I couldn’t tell if the perspective switches in the middle of a conversation was brilliant or lazy. The mysterious way the author inserted little bits of information you need to fill the time and meaning gaps was exciting and had me guessing what the end would be. Because of that the ending fell short, although it involved many expected twists. Great characters!

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cnapple's review against another edition

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dark emotional hopeful medium-paced

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

3.5

Beautiful prose, rich characters and relationships, big ideas and a strong thesis. Falls somewhat flat in execution. The author didn't quite manage to sell her vision, relying to much on imagery and emotional impact.

Read this if you love poetic ruminations on food, culture, esoteric violin composers and the tragedy of societies impact on the marginalized. Avoid this if you're looking for a book that convincingly delivers any of the plot hooks in the dust jacket synopsis. Like Becky Chambers this is a narrative that relies heavily on vibes, and that's ok, sometimes good vibes are what you need in a novel. But be advised, while the overall tone is hopeful, the journey to that point contains some really grim and visceral scenes involving the experience of one of the main characters. If extreme homo/transphobia and sexual assault are not for you, neither may this novel be.

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readingpicnic's review against another edition

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Diverse cast of characters? Yes

5.0

What an incredible book! I was so nervous to read this for a while since it's sci-fi, but that's honestly not the genre of most of the story, so it wasn't hard to understand at all. The writing was incredible, the story had a very satisfying conclusion, and I loved the use of many different perspectives throughout the story, even if we didn't get to stick with some of them too often. I do wish that I had gotten to read more of Tamiko's perspective since she was very interesting and was set up as if she was going to play a major part in the plot, but that kind of fizzled out until the very end of the book when she was briefly mentioned by another character. I would have liked to stick with her perspective a little more because her obsession with Shizuka and creepy way of thinking about her was really attention-grabbing. I also wish I had gotten more of Markus' story, as I found myself questioning why he was in the story at all if he was going to be

put in a stasis and never return as a character. I wish I understood his actions and motivations a bit more before he vanished from the book. I understand that he gave more context on the Empire and the EndPlague, but his character seemed to be very expendable to the story other than that.

I really liked the trans rep in this story with Katrina, and I especially liked how she discussed transition with Shirley in her decision to not alter her body, as well as how she came to love her visibly trans body as the story went on. It didn't emphasize medical transition as necessary to being a trans woman or being trans at all, and I liked how it challenged Shirley's way of thinking of transness, even if she was trying to be helpful. I loved Katrina so much though, and she was definitely my favorite character that I was always rooting for. Shizuka is a little questionable with her actions to me, so I'm still not sure how I feel about her...but she's a complex character for sure and meant to invoke that reaction from the reader, I suppose.

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ananthousflorist's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional hopeful inspiring reflective sad 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

4.0

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fionamclary's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional hopeful inspiring reflective slow-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

You wouldn't think that the three storylines of this book would come together well, but Ryka Aoki has meshed them so beautifully. This book is so full of joy and hope.

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