Reviews tagging 'Gun violence'

Junker Seven by Olive J. Kelley

9 reviews

the_vegan_bookworm's review

adventurous hopeful inspiring reflective 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

4.5

This was such a fun read! I loved the representation of a disabled and Autistic non-binary lesbian as our protagonist, and the hopefulness of taking on fascist politicians, corrupt businesses, violent police and far right agitators all at once. I think that this spoke of trans resilience and the ways we can create the revolution in a way that warmed my heart. I also felt the autism rep was great as an Autistic person.

Looking forward to the second book!

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Ableism, Death, Gun violence, Panic attacks/disorders, Blood, Medical content, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Deadnaming

Minor: Child death, Sexual content, and Car accident

bookish_hollyx's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional hopeful reflective sad tense medium-paced

4.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Ableism, Child death, Death, Gore, Gun violence, Homophobia, Transphobia, Violence, Blood, Police brutality, War, and Injury/Injury detail

izzyrbell's review

adventurous challenging emotional hopeful 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? It's complicated

4.0

Junker Seven is a very promising debut book! Its characters are highly loveable and revolution-inciting, making it easy to root for them along their fugitive romp through the stars. 

The only major faults with this book were editorial in nature (some misspellings and clunky phrasings), but given that this is an indie published debut without the enormous resources of a traditionally published book, I'm willing to let those slide (especially since the story itself is great!)

Overall, this is a world I want to continue sinking my teeth into and a story I can't wait for the next installment of!

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, Death, Gun violence, Transphobia, Violence, Blood, Mass/school shootings, and Car accident

Moderate: Deadnaming, Homophobia, Kidnapping, Death of parent, Lesbophobia, and Injury/Injury detail

madscientistcat's review against another edition

adventurous dark hopeful 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? No

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Gun violence, Transphobia, Violence, Grief, Mass/school shootings, and Murder

Moderate: Deadnaming, Hate crime, Police brutality, and Injury/Injury detail

fizzy_reads's review

adventurous dark emotional hopeful inspiring mysterious sad tense fast-paced

• 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

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Content Warnings

Minor: Deadnaming, Death, Genocide, Gun violence, Hate crime, Homophobia, Transphobia, Violence, Blood, Police brutality, Grief, Car accident, Gaslighting, Dysphoria, and Injury/Injury detail

beccathejenks's review against another edition

adventurous emotional hopeful inspiring 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

4.0

Good, solid debut! Can't wait for the next one!

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Gun violence, Homophobia, Transphobia, and Violence

readingthething's review

adventurous emotional reflective sad 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

3.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, Gun violence, Transphobia, Violence, Death of parent, and War

Minor: Sexual content

irisestacansado's review

adventurous hopeful inspiring 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

5.0

Olive Kelley has debuted with an outstanding story of a disabled, autistic, nonbinary lesbian, in space. Taking contemporary issues of climate change, transphobia, homophobia, etc. and transporting them into the distant future shows us a glimpse into both our present and an alternative sci-fi future while maintaining a level of hope. Kelley challenges complacency, intentional or not, and highlights the intersections of marginalization and the ways people experience them, from

Juno explicitly saying she's in a place of privilege because she has more money and is white to Junker/Castro saying they had the privilege of an upper middle class upbringing before their crash.

Every page of this book has something to further the characters and/or plot, leaving you always saying "Just *one* more page," even when you're in class or supposed to be going to bed or whatever else gets in the way of reading. While Junker starts with some serious flaws in this novel, they remain loveable from the start. I appreciate, as well, that Kelley doesn't insta-fix Junker - their changes come gradually and are not fully resolved by the end of the novel, because change is constant.

This is ultimately an uplifting novel, but balances well with the realities of end-stage, accepted bigotry. Death is given the space it needs, but doesn't drown out the hope and capacity this story's universe has for better. Junker Seven is the first of a duology, and I can't wait to read the next part.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Deadnaming, Death, Gun violence, Transphobia, Police brutality, Outing, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Ableism

Minor: Child death, Homophobia, and Sexual harassment

jesssal's review

adventurous emotional inspiring 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

Junker Seven is a futuristic take on today’s fight for trans rights wrapped up in an inspiring love story.

If you’re just dipping your toes into sci-fi, the world-building is similar enough to our own world (while still being unique), so it is easy to follow. The environments really come to life and are easy to envision, being a nice realistic futuristic touch.

The two main characters, Juno and Castor, are both fleshed out excellently, to the point where they felt like real people; Castor’s character development especially stands out. Their romance is also very sweet to witness unfold, and their progression from hesitant allies to lovers was done in a way that felt very natural and believable.

A huge thank you to Olive, the author, for the ARC! When I first saw this on Twitter being comped to The Mandalorian and Star Wars: Rebels, I knew immediately that I wanted to read it - and as a fan of both of those shows, I was not disappointed.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Gun violence and Transphobia

Moderate: Sexual content

Minor: Child death