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A review by forestfloor
Light from Uncommon Stars by Ryka Aoki
adventurous
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.0
A read I really enjoyed, with a lot of creativity and complexity to the plot. However, I found that the complexity came across as hurried and almost chaotic. Katrina rising out of her situation to stardom, Shizuka's souls harvesting to make good on a deal with the devil, and Lan Tran and crew taking refuge from an intergalactic war by disguising themselves as doughnut shop owners could all very easily been enough plot for their own books. The interaction between these three stories is what made this read so great, but executing that density of plot in the space of the pages fell a little short for me.
I also had qualms about the portrayal of Katrina's trans identity. I don't want to dismiss the authentic perspective Aoki writes from, a lot of it was very real. However, being trans myself, I found it painful to read how much of her identity is routed in self-hatred, rather than conviction in her gender. Constantly through the story, in a variety of scenarios, she responds immediately with self hatred and internalised transphobia. I started to struggle to resonate with her because of how constant and immediate it was: I would have potentially been more convinced by her character if there was more of a downward spiral in her thoughts to arrive there. I also found myself getting distracted from the plot because I was wishing she would have moments of gender euphoria. I spent a lot of my time reading wishing she would catch a glimpse of herself and see herself as she is.
I also had qualms about the portrayal of Katrina's trans identity. I don't want to dismiss the authentic perspective Aoki writes from, a lot of it was very real. However, being trans myself, I found it painful to read how much of her identity is routed in self-hatred, rather than conviction in her gender. Constantly through the story, in a variety of scenarios, she responds immediately with self hatred and internalised transphobia. I started to struggle to resonate with her because of how constant and immediate it was: I would have potentially been more convinced by her character if there was more of a downward spiral in her thoughts to arrive there. I also found myself getting distracted from the plot because I was wishing she would have moments of gender euphoria. I spent a lot of my time reading wishing she would catch a glimpse of herself and see herself as she is.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Transphobia and Racism