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clockworkstars's reviews
555 reviews
The Luis Ortega Survival Club by Sonora Reyes
emotional
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
5.0
I have ended my review of the author's debut, “The lesbiana's Guide to Catholic School”, saying how I hoped that I would like the author's other books as much as their first one, and well let me just say that Sonora Reyes has done it again. In “The Luis Ortega Survival Club”, we are following Ari, an autistic selectively mute teenage girl, as she flees away from a party. And something is wrong, something is off. The subjects of this book are not easy ones, and this book isn't necessarily an easy book either, but it managed to address its themes in a way that is suitable for young readers and that is incredibly powerful. In this book, we are gonna be talking about rape, rape culture, bullying, but also about finding a community, a family, friendship and trusting back people after living through traumas.
Because community is what the cast of this book was. With a cast of mostly POC, queer and/or neurodivergent people, Sonora Reyes writes as Ari founds back her community, people who listen to her, and who understand her. The author did an incredible job depicting those characters, making all of them deeply human, with lovable things as well as flaws. I adored reading about their friendships, as they formed that survival club and tried to make Luis pay for what he did. Of the “main cast”, I think that my favourites were Angel and Shawny, but I truly believe that Ari is an amazing main character, and I adored following her point of view across this novel. I really wished that we had seen a bit more of Nina though, as I liked that character a lot! As for the relationship, I adored their friend group and how much they were all supportive of one another, and I have found the queer romance adorable.
As for the author's first book, the pacing and the writing style of this one were really good, and it was a pure wonder to get into this book and spend a few hours next to the cast. So I would say that this has heavy subjects, but it treats them well, giving a really lovely book in the end, which I definitely recommend.
CW: rape (off-page); rape culture; bullying; victim blaming; slut shaming; sexual assault (a slap on the butt, on-page)
Because community is what the cast of this book was. With a cast of mostly POC, queer and/or neurodivergent people, Sonora Reyes writes as Ari founds back her community, people who listen to her, and who understand her. The author did an incredible job depicting those characters, making all of them deeply human, with lovable things as well as flaws. I adored reading about their friendships, as they formed that survival club and tried to make Luis pay for what he did. Of the “main cast”, I think that my favourites were Angel and Shawny, but I truly believe that Ari is an amazing main character, and I adored following her point of view across this novel. I really wished that we had seen a bit more of Nina though, as I liked that character a lot! As for the relationship, I adored their friend group and how much they were all supportive of one another, and I have found the queer romance adorable.
As for the author's first book, the pacing and the writing style of this one were really good, and it was a pure wonder to get into this book and spend a few hours next to the cast. So I would say that this has heavy subjects, but it treats them well, giving a really lovely book in the end, which I definitely recommend.
CW: rape (off-page); rape culture; bullying; victim blaming; slut shaming; sexual assault (a slap on the butt, on-page)
Heartstopper Tome 5 by Alice Oseman
emotional
funny
lighthearted
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
I technically have read this on Webtoon already so this is a reread? Anyway, not my favourite part of the story but it's cute
L'Atelier des Sorciers, Tome 13 by Kamome Shirahama
challenging
dark
4.75
Begging this author to not end on a cliffhanger for once 😭
Just Lizzie by Karen Wilfrid
4.0
Really great coming of age and ace representation and I liked that it didn’t focus on just queerness but also other thematics (trauma and friendship for example :)
Content Warnings
Moderate: Stalking and Acephobia/Arophobia
Fine: A Comic About Gender by Rhea Ewing
informative
inspiring
slow-paced
3.5
Interesting but a bit too messy and slow?
Make Room for Love by Darcy Liao
medium-paced
3.25
At the start I thought it was going too fast but then it went too slow😭.
I liked the characters tho <3
I liked the characters tho <3
On a Sunbeam by Tillie Walden
adventurous
emotional
funny
mysterious
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? It's complicated
5.0
Somehow this comic ended up being everything I wanted it to be, and the bar was high as I had a lot of expectations about it. I had several friends and mutuals telling me that this book was good, so I *knew* that it was going to be great, but it ended up being everything, and I think that I should have seen that coming because now I am obsessed with them.
Firstly, we enter this book so easily. Tillie Walden manages to take our hand and take us to her universe, and once we are there well, we do not really want to leave any more. It was really immersive, and this universe is absolutely fascinating and full of details. I struggled to put the book down, I didn't want to leave those pages for even an hour. We are welcomed in this book with splendid art and gorgeous colours, Walden's style being so beautiful that it plays a huge role in keeping us trapped in her book.
For some reason, I was not aware that this book had a found family, but I think that if I had had that detail before, I think that I would have read it years ago. I am a sucker for this trope, and here it was so well done. Found family living in space in a big spaceship who looks like a fish and working to restore old space buildings, all that in a world with no men and only queer women and emby people? Yeah, I'm totally in.
Story-wise this was amazing, I loved following two timelines and switching between them (that is something that I often like in media) and even though the first half was a bit slow, I found the pacing just perfect (which is rare enough than to be noted!). And the characters!! Elliot is probably my favourite one, but we all know that I loved every one of them. In fact, I cannot think of a single thing I didn't like in this book, it was just… perfect. So I definitely recommend it, especially if you like space, found family and gorgeous art styles.
Firstly, we enter this book so easily. Tillie Walden manages to take our hand and take us to her universe, and once we are there well, we do not really want to leave any more. It was really immersive, and this universe is absolutely fascinating and full of details. I struggled to put the book down, I didn't want to leave those pages for even an hour. We are welcomed in this book with splendid art and gorgeous colours, Walden's style being so beautiful that it plays a huge role in keeping us trapped in her book.
For some reason, I was not aware that this book had a found family, but I think that if I had had that detail before, I think that I would have read it years ago. I am a sucker for this trope, and here it was so well done. Found family living in space in a big spaceship who looks like a fish and working to restore old space buildings, all that in a world with no men and only queer women and emby people? Yeah, I'm totally in.
Story-wise this was amazing, I loved following two timelines and switching between them (that is something that I often like in media) and even though the first half was a bit slow, I found the pacing just perfect (which is rare enough than to be noted!). And the characters!! Elliot is probably my favourite one, but we all know that I loved every one of them. In fact, I cannot think of a single thing I didn't like in this book, it was just… perfect. So I definitely recommend it, especially if you like space, found family and gorgeous art styles.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Transphobia
Moderate: Violence
Minor: Death of parent
The Wedding People by Alison Espach
Did not finish book. Stopped at 15%.
Did not finish book. Stopped at 15%.
It is not my type of book and I have found it to be way too slow.
TW (so far): suicidal thoughts, adultery, miscarriage.
TW (so far): suicidal thoughts, adultery, miscarriage.