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sannesbooks's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Graphic: Racism and Classism
its_hanya's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
Graphic: Miscarriage, Misogyny, Racism, Blood, Police brutality, and Abortion
Moderate: Drug abuse, Death of parent, and Classism
Minor: Abandonment
yosistachrista's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
4.0
Graphic: Miscarriage, Physical abuse, Suicidal thoughts, Police brutality, Death of parent, and Classism
Moderate: Drug abuse, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, Car accident, Abortion, and Death of parent
dixiecarroll's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0
Graphic: Death, Drug abuse, Hate crime, Infidelity, Miscarriage, Racial slurs, Racism, Blood, Police brutality, Medical content, Abortion, Pregnancy, Cultural appropriation, and Classism
alisonfaith426's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
5.0
Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Body horror, Cursing, Drug use, Eating disorder, Infidelity, Mental illness, Miscarriage, Physical abuse, Sexual content, Blood, Medical content, Death of parent, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism
Moderate: Suicidal thoughts, Toxic relationship, Abortion, Pregnancy, and Alcohol
Minor: Animal death and Car accident
heisiiri's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
I think my main issue with this book was that it's one of those books that are quite depressing and grim, yet it still doesn't hit the feels enough. Like this isn't the kind of book I would cry over. The main character and narrator Edie seems to hold a certain emotional distance to everything that happens in her life, which can be an interesting character trait, but sometimes it also means that the scenes don't really impact the emotions of the reader either. It's a style choice that can really work for some readers, but it wasn't my cup of tea.
The best parts of this book are definitely the relationships between the female characters. I enjoyed the complexity and depth of Akila and Edie's relationship, and some of the scenes between Edie and Rebecca were great as well.
Moderate: Domestic abuse, Mental illness, Miscarriage, Racism, and Police brutality
Minor: Alcoholism, Eating disorder, Misogyny, Suicide, Death of parent, and Classism
codecat's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Graphic: Mental illness and Miscarriage
Moderate: Eating disorder, Gore, Racial slurs, Racism, and Classism
Minor: Alcoholism, Animal death, and Abortion
avocadotoastbee's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
Edie, a 23-year-old black woman living and finding her way in New York, tries to fill the void left by her loneliness with sex.
The title "Luster" makes sense in this regard. However, the novel wasn't just about sex and lust. For most of the time, the novel depicts the pain and anguish of each character.
Edie: loneliness, loss of her job and apartment, living with her (much older) lover's family, daddy issues, childhood trauma
Rebecca: marital problems, dealing with her husband's younger lover, not wanting to be a mother but having a child
Eric: substance abuse, marital problems, infertility
Akila: childhood trauma, abandonment issues due to multiple adoptive families, the only black kid in the neighborhood, disordered eating
In some ways I hated all the characters and didn't find them likable, but I could also identify with small parts of each character.
While I loved how Raven Leilani described the dynamics between the characters and Edie's thought processes, I didn't like how stuffed with "internet wisdom" the book was. It felt to me like Leilani was trying to sprinkle a little self-help book vibe into the story.
Also, the power dynamic that results from the massive age difference in Edie and Eric's relationship wasn't romanticized, but it also wasn't portrayed for what it really is. Throughout the book, everyone blamed Edie, but really Edie is a victim of Eric.
At least by the end of the novel, Edie admits this.
"He is the most obvious thing that has ever happened to me, and all around the city it is happening to other silly, half-formed women excited by men who've simply met the prerequisite of living a little more life, a terribly unspecial thing that is just what happens when you keep on getting up and brushing your teeth and going to work and ignoring the whisper that comes to you at night and tells you it would be easier to be dead."
Overall, Luster was a good debut novel that deals with important issues and the life experiences of young black women. I can't wait to see where Raven Leilani is going.
Graphic: Infidelity, Mental illness, Miscarriage, Racism, and Death of parent
Moderate: Animal death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Eating disorder, Infertility, Toxic relationship, Blood, Police brutality, Abortion, Abandonment, and Classism
laurataylor's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.5
Graphic: Animal death, Body shaming, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Infidelity, Miscarriage, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Blood, Police brutality, Medical content, Car accident, Abortion, Alcohol, and Classism
laurenkimoto's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
Moderate: Addiction, Animal death, Body shaming, Drug use, Eating disorder, Gun violence, Miscarriage, Racism, Self harm, Toxic relationship, Blood, Police brutality, Medical content, Abortion, Death of parent, Gaslighting, Alcohol, and Classism