Reviews tagging 'Gun violence'

Bianca Torre Is Afraid of Everything by Justine Pucella Winans

11 reviews

jacemchale's review

adventurous emotional funny mysterious tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

When I finished this book I did "clutch it to [my] chest and think... finally, a book for the anxious queers with a sense of humor" and I loved every second of this book. I especially think that if I had found this book when I was closer to Bianca's age it would've hit even closer to home.
Bianca Torre is afraid of everything, and there's nothing more relatable. We never stop being afraid of everything, it's about continuing on despite the circumstances, and this book manages to impart that message while also being hilarious. This book is great for a range of ages, and queer fearful adults can also get a lot catharsis out of this book.
The humor, the topics (birds, theatre, anime, lesbian sheep, etc), the mystery, are all so engaging.

I'm really overjoyed that I found this book that my library recommended in a "blind date with a book" as having "a surprising amount of birds". There was a surprising amount of birds, but also it brought me a lot of unexpected joy to read something like this.
This book found the right reader ❤️

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Gun violence, Panic attacks/disorders, Violence, Stalking, Murder, and Injury/Injury detail

Minor: Drug use, Racism, Suicide, and Vomit

bottleofink's review against another edition

adventurous hopeful lighthearted mysterious medium-paced

• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Gun violence, Blood, and Vomit

aceofknives's review

adventurous funny mysterious medium-paced

• 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

Super cute YA story of nonbinary discovery set against a murderous brid cult mystery. Friendship, found family, and acceptance. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Gun violence, Blood, Kidnapping, Stalking, Murder, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Deadnaming

Minor: Drug use

tbd24's review

adventurous dark funny lighthearted mysterious tense medium-paced

• 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

loved this book! funny, surprisingly dark, very realistic. I have not yet read a YA coming out book that is also about other things that doesn’t sound clunky and shoehorned and like the author is afraid of getting cancelled lmao but this book pulls it off! Bianca is a very believable teenager with severe anxiety and on their way to personal self discovery when they witness a murder and are forced to do something about it. I literally laughed out loud at a handful of lines, and call me crazy but i was so delighted when Bianca and Anderson just skip school and smoke weed. We need more teen books about teens who act like teens. Anyway, yes, big fan, I found this book purely through happenstance and I loved every second of it 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Death, Blood, and Murder

Minor: Drug use, Gore, Gun violence, Homophobia, Racism, Suicide, Police brutality, and Stalking

gxbi's review

adventurous dark emotional funny lighthearted mysterious fast-paced

• 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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Panic attacks/disorders, Blood, Kidnapping, Murder, Dysphoria, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Ableism, Bullying, Gun violence, Violence, Xenophobia, Mass/school shootings, and Stalking

kell_xavi's review

emotional funny mysterious

3.0

Strong debut novel. Engaging, smart, snappy, with strong characters and well-written relationships. A few moments in the gender exploration were explanatory in a clunky way, but I related to much of the queer beginning too. It was nice to see it easily incorporated and accepted in the narrative. I liked the soft romance, the caring friendship waiting to get stronger, the siblings and parents and supportive friends. I didn’t connect to the writing of the mom, whose comments seemed insensitive to me—I wasn’t sure what the desired effect was. There are a lot of funny and entertaining moments throughout though, a good mystery that supplies uncomplicated hints along the way, and—if not in the emotions and mental processes around panic and social anxiety—a sense of anxiety as a presence; and courage gaining on it.

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Gun violence, Panic attacks/disorders, Murder, and Gaslighting

emily_mh's review

hopeful mysterious medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.5

Unfortunately I wasn’t super engaged or captivated by this one because of the writing style. The author treats the reader as if they can’t think for themselves; for example, they’ll over-explain a joke, include unnecessary commentary, etc. It just felt too clumsy. Because of the writing style, the overall book was so bloated. Scenes went on for too long and there were scenes that didn’t need to be there at all. It could have been way more investigation-focussed. 

The character development in the MC Bianca was well done, however. The anxiety rep was thorough and it was cool seeing them facing their fears. I also liked seeing them build up their little social spider web of support - very sweet. I do wish Anderson had been given more of an arc; there was room for it regarding his shame around anime but this didn’t go anywhere meaningful. 

I thought the romance was cute! It really encapsulated the shyness of young love, and didn’t distract from the story which was appreciated. I also loved how many times the word lesbian was used. 

But despite these positives, it always came back to the writing style which I never clicked with. 

Rep: lesbian nonbinary MC w anxiety, pansexual Chinese-American LI, queer Black SC, Black trans SC, Black bisexual nonbinary minor character

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Kidnapping, Stalking, and Murder

Moderate: Cursing, Gun violence, and Violence

Minor: Ableism, Animal death, Cancer, Drug use, Gore, Homophobia, Infidelity, Misogyny, Panic attacks/disorders, Racism, Sexual content, Suicide, Transphobia, Blood, Vomit, Fire/Fire injury, and Alcohol

Moderate: fainting Minor: menstruation, divorce, internalised misogyny

citrus_seasalt's review

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Panic attacks/disorders, Violence, and Murder

Moderate: Gun violence, Blood, and Dysphoria

Minor: Drug use and Suicide

shelvesofivy's review

funny hopeful mysterious fast-paced

• 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 think I'm obsessed. 
Bianca had me laughing out loud from the very first page, crying happy tears a few times in the middle, and laughing some more all throughout. 
As for the mystery aspect, I definitely predicted the main big bads, but it never retracted from the experience. There was just the right balance of danger and goofiness. 
The characters are where it shines though!! Bianca is an incredible pov character, from their humor, to their love for the people around them, to their very real fears, and to overcoming them while still being afraid ♡ 
I'm a self-proclaimed crybaby with books, and the moments of friendship and found family had me in tears ♡

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Blood, and Murder

Moderate: Animal death, Panic attacks/disorders, and Kidnapping

Minor: Drug use, Gun violence, Torture, Transphobia, Vomit, and Stalking

stephmcoakley's review against another edition

challenging dark mysterious tense fast-paced

• 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

4.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Biphobia, Drug use, Gore, Gun violence, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Suicide, Torture, Violence, Blood, Kidnapping, Murder, Gaslighting, and Injury/Injury detail