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lprongs'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: Body horror, Child death, Racism, Sexism, Islamophobia, Grief, Death of parent, and Dysphoria
Moderate: Transphobia and Colonisation
Minor: Sexual assault and Sexual content
zombiezami's review
4.5
Graphic: Animal death, Death, Misogyny, Sexism, Violence, Xenophobia, Blood, Medical content, Grief, Medical trauma, Death of parent, Pregnancy, Fire/Fire injury, Gaslighting, Dysphoria, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Bullying, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Transphobia, Police brutality, and Sexual harassment
Minor: Dementia, Mass/school shootings, Colonisation, and War
Colorismdisplacedcactus's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
Graphic: Blood and Dysphoria
Moderate: Animal death, Homophobia, Racism, Sexism, Transphobia, Islamophobia, and Death of parent
The main character is frequently misgendered, since he is not "out" for most of the book, but his deadname never appears on the page. Most of the transphobia is of the "I don't get it" sort from clueless but loving family members, rather than acts of hate and violence. The story also deals with the displacement of immigrant communities to make way for "progress" in the form of infrastructure that "has" to run through their neighborhoods.madzie's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0
My favorite part of this book was how Joukhadar explores transness, gender, and queerness with beautiful insights and understandings. He boldly tells stories of how queer people have always existed and will always exist despite being silenced or staying silent for protection. With a large cast of queer characters, I love how the book deals with how other people see queerness and how it is a fight to be one’s authentic self. The nuances of how queerness is viewed in society and then in smaller relationships with friends and family is masterfully detailed as Joukhadar demonstrates how people can react to it, thinking that you owe them something, but how we have to journey to accept that we only owe it to ourselves to be authentically us. Then, Joukhadar takes this a step further to connect to the intersectionality of oppression and what the majority of society believes those they have put under them should be. Despite this, Joukhadar reminds his readers of hope and the courage of fighting for oneself, one's identity, and what one believes in. In the end, he highlights lessons, purposes, and identities that are highly important for us to consider and carry with us in our lives.
Other deep and profound themes are handled wonderfully in this novel, exploring grief and moving on, as well as how humans continue to affect one another, the appreciativeness of what we take for granted, and the beautiful connection of humanity to nature, reminding us that nothing ever truly fits into a box. All of these interact with each other to show us how magnificent life can be and how we become who we are.
I could go on and on about this novel, but the bottom line is: read it; it's stunning.
Graphic: Death, Homophobia, Transphobia, Islamophobia, Grief, Death of parent, and Dysphoria
Moderate: Hate crime, Sexism, and Fire/Fire injury
Minor: Sexual content
puttingwingsonwords's review
- 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
Graphic: Death, Grief, Death of parent, Fire/Fire injury, and Dysphoria
Moderate: Animal death, Hate crime, Misogyny, Racism, Sexism, Transphobia, Xenophobia, Blood, Islamophobia, and Medical content
Minor: Pregnancy and Sexual harassment
laurareads87's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Graphic: Animal death, Death, Hate crime, Homophobia, Misogyny, Racism, Sexism, Transphobia, Blood, Islamophobia, Medical content, Grief, Death of parent, Pregnancy, Lesbophobia, and Fire/Fire injury
Moderate: Sexual assault and Sexual violence
Minor: War