Reviews tagging 'Ableism'

Sistersong by Lucy Holland

20 reviews

becksusername's review against another edition

adventurous emotional hopeful medium-paced

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

4.75

---

Content Warnings

Moderate: Ableism, Animal death, Deadnaming, Sexism, Transphobia, Blood, Death of parent, Pregnancy, Fire/Fire injury, Colonisation, and War

mooshake's review

adventurous dark emotional mysterious sad tense medium-paced

• 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

5.0

listen there were problems with how much plot importance keyne was given in comparison to riva and sinne but it's 1 a.m. and i’ve been lying in bed for the past 20 minutes silently crying over the ending so.... ..¯\_(ツ)_/¯

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Ableism, Deadnaming, Gore, Transphobia, Fire/Fire injury, and War

Moderate: Death, Blood, Medical content, Colonisation, and Dysphoria

Minor: Pregnancy

totallyshelfaware's review against another edition

adventurous emotional medium-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

4.5

Sistersong was absolutely gorgeous and haunting — it's been a week since I read this and I still can't stop thinking about it.

I love books that explore the repercussions of Christian missionaries trying to erase the faith and beliefs native to the land and this one handled the conflict between old traditions and the spread of new ones very well. 

The magic and landscape felt really rich and vibrant, and I was immediately invested in the characters, their hopes, and their struggles. Every bond is suffused with so much hope and tension, wildly swinging between the two, and it organically nudges the plot along.

I'm a big believer that the seeds of what could be potential plot twists should be sprinkled into the narrative ahead of time, and the exquisite dread of figuring things out before the characters did only helped me enjoy the pay-off even more.

Overall, I definitely recommend picking up Sistersong, especially if you like retellings!

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Gore, and Transphobia

Moderate: Ableism, Misogyny, and War

nicnevin's review against another edition

adventurous challenging mysterious tense medium-paced

• 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

4.0

Interesting story about ancient Britons holding off against the Saxons. I worked out the twist with a character pretty early on and the two sisters sides of tge story interested me far less than the one of Keyne

(Constantine).

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Ableism, Animal death, Body horror, Body shaming, Bullying, Chronic illness, Deadnaming, Death, Gore, Hate crime, Homophobia, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Sexual content, Toxic relationship, Transphobia, Violence, Xenophobia, Blood, Police brutality, Medical content, Grief, Religious bigotry, Death of parent, Murder, Pregnancy, Fire/Fire injury, Outing, Toxic friendship, Alcohol, Dysphoria, War, and Injury/Injury detail

hannaheiserman's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional hopeful inspiring medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.75

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Gore, Blood, Grief, and Fire/Fire injury

Moderate: Death, Transphobia, Death of parent, Pregnancy, Dysphoria, and War

Minor: Ableism and Deadnaming

eegekay's review

adventurous emotional slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Death and Transphobia

Moderate: Ableism and Deadnaming

foxonabook's review against another edition

adventurous emotional mysterious sad fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

I’m not a stranger to retellings, but this is the first retelling I’ve read that’s not about a Greek myth and is instead inspired by a folk ballad. It’s actually the first book I’ve read that’s set in the early days of Britain’s history, at a time when the Romans are no longer ruling over the country, the Saxons are conquering over the Celtic tribes and Christianity is spreading across Europe. Personally, I couldn’t have read this book at a better time because it coincided with my own revision of Britain’s early history. Anyway, moving on to the actual review…

Sistersong is the story of three sisters, Keyne, Sinne and Riva, daughters of the King of Dumnonia who once heralded so much magical power, but now it seems that the gods and magic have forsaken Dumnonia and its people just as the threat of a Saxon invasion looms ever nearer.

The story unfolds across each sister’s point of view, allowing us to better understand the sisters’ relationship with one another and with the world around them. The bond between the three feels very realistic in terms of the teasing, jealousy, heated arguments and, most importantly, unwavering love. Not all three are equally as likeable, in my opinion, with Riva quickly becoming my least favourite of the three.

An important underlying theme in the story is exploration of self-identity and the courage it takes to defy society’s gender stereotypes in order to be true to yourself. Although a certain character’s development was clear from very early on, it didn’t take away from the enjoyment of reading how the character came into their own.

I wish I could say that that was the only predictable aspect of the story; I felt the foreshadowing was laid on a little thick at some points, making it hard not to guess what would happen. With that said, I was never bored with the story because the writing and pacing were enthralling and spot-on.

I also liked that none of the main characters has fully mastered their relatively new craft by the end of the story. Despite this being a work of fiction, you got a sense that Lucy Holland was being realistic in terms of what the characters could have achieved over the course of the book. It’s actually a pet peeve of mine when characters suddenly, with both minimal effort and raining, have full mastery over their powers.

So, to wrap this up, Sistersong was a delightful read, set at a time in history I don’t think we often come across. It’s definitely a book I would recommend to fans of historical fiction and fantasy.

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Transphobia, and Blood

Moderate: Ableism and Deadnaming

Minor: Sexual content

breq's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional reflective sad tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

My main complaint is that I was in it for the murder ballad and that doesn't actually hit until about 75-80% of the way in.  It felt like there was a lot of setup and the book didn't need to start that early.  But some of this may be because I'm already familiar with that setting and didn't feel like I needed much exposition.  I really liked how the

trans character was handled, with what felt like an accurate mix of acceptance and prejudice, without getting too "being trans is constant trauma" or too "magically accepting".  It's a balance a lot of writers miss, and I really prefer narratives that strike that middle area.  My immediate thought, at least, is that it was done well.  My opinion may change as I think about it.  I know some people prefer that trans characters are always gendered correctly in the narrative and never deadnamed, but I feel like there are times when that's necessary and as long as it's handled respectfully, it works.  I think it was handled well here.

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Deadnaming, Death, Gore, Transphobia, Violence, Religious bigotry, Fire/Fire injury, Dysphoria, and War

Moderate: Ableism, Sexual content, Death of parent, and Pregnancy

The trans character is misgendered and deadnamed both by characters and by the narrative. However, some of this is due to him not being out yet to certain characters, and him not choosing a new name until the end of the book. (In fact, at the start of the book, it is not immediately clear that he is a trans man because he is still coming to terms with it, at least in my interpretation.) A number of characters come around and gender him correctly as the book progresses. Some characters do not, which makes sense with the setting. Overall, I felt it was mostly well-handled, although I am not specifically a trans man myself.

mo345's review

adventurous challenging dark emotional informative mysterious reflective sad tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.75

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Ableism, Body horror, Bullying, Chronic illness, Confinement, Deadnaming, Death, Emotional abuse, Genocide, Gore, Sexism, Transphobia, Violence, Blood, Vomit, Grief, Religious bigotry, Death of parent, Murder, Pregnancy, Fire/Fire injury, Gaslighting, Colonisation, Dysphoria, War, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Child abuse

Minor: Adult/minor relationship, Animal death, Cursing, Sexual content, and Alcohol

rubyhosh's review against another edition

mysterious reflective sad slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated

3.0

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Deadnaming

Moderate: Ableism, Transphobia, Violence, and Religious bigotry

Minor: Sexual content