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solenekeleroux's reviews
112 reviews
- 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
Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Animal death, Death, Gore, Misogyny, Pedophilia, Racism, Blood, and Religious bigotry
Moderate: Rape, Sexual assault, and Torture
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
Graphic: Addiction, Drug abuse, Emotional abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, Death of parent, Gaslighting, Abandonment, and Colonisation
Moderate: Homophobia and Outing
- 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
I loved the character of Katrina, it was beautiful to see her learning to feel safe, to feel at home and to find family again. Big trigger warning at the beginning for abuse and sexual assault though, that was tough to read and also probably very true to the experience of many trans women of color. I loved how she is seen by Shizuka immediately for who she is. And also the building sisterhood between Katrina and the sentient IA / Lan's daughter was gorgeous, how they somehow relate in their identity quests.
To me it's a story about being seen, learning to listen to another person's soul, another person's song with the whole music metaphor. The descriptions of the emotions of music and the stories that it bring up for each person are so unique and beautiful.
I also loved the doghnut shop starship family shenanigans, discovering this mixed asian neighbourhood, all the delicious food. And the whole queen of hell storyline was amazing, with the demon who is basically every cis white man with power capitalizing on the villainization of a powerful asian woman.
There's so much in this book, I can't believe it and somehow it works perfectly.
Graphic: Body shaming, Child abuse, Emotional abuse, Homophobia, Physical abuse, Racism, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Transphobia, and Dysphoria
Moderate: Deadnaming
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
I loved Ophelia's experience of crushing on a girl and her whole bi-confusion, it felt very realistic and relatable, it reminded me so much of my own high school experience. I absolutely loved the building friendships, and how she discovers that queerness is in fact all around her. I'm especially fond of the biromantic ace rep, and that character.
What I found less realistic was how for the first part of the book she is fully confused and messy like a teenager and when she starts to figure herself out, suddenly she has it all figured out, a quick trip to the LGBT+ centre and she's fully mature, realized, able to apologize to her friends and be a grown up about everything, that was just too fast in my opinion and it took away from what could have been a more interesting ending.
Also, and maybe that's just personal, but you can't give me that many hints at love triangles and not give me any polyamory. That would have made the ending so much more interesting, and I honestly thought that's where it was going instead of all the prom things that felt very like what we've seen on TV shows a thousand times before.
Moderate: Biphobia, Homophobia, Racism, and Lesbophobia
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.0
Graphic: Death, Gore, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Sexism, Torture, and Violence
Moderate: Child abuse, Rape, and Sexual assault
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
Graphic: Death, Emotional abuse, Gore, Hate crime, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Slavery, Suicide, Torture, Violence, Suicide attempt, and Murder
- 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
Graphic: Death, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Emotional abuse, Misogyny, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Murder, and Sexual harassment
Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Pedophilia, and Stalking
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.25
5.0
Graphic: Racism, Rape, Sexual assault, Torture, and Colonisation