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zombiezami's review against another edition
4.5
Graphic: Animal death, Body horror, Death, Eating disorder, Infidelity, Mental illness, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Blood, Murder, Sexual harassment, and Colonisation
Moderate: Child abuse, Cursing, Misogyny, Racism, Toxic relationship, Dementia, Grief, Stalking, Death of parent, Gaslighting, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism
Minor: Drug use and Alcohol
jillaay_h'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? It's complicated
4.0
Graphic: Animal death, Death, Mental illness, Racial slurs, Racism, Suicidal thoughts, Terminal illness, Forced institutionalization, Blood, Medical content, Dementia, Grief, Religious bigotry, Murder, and Sexual harassment
legs_n_chins'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
I definitely recognize all the pieces throughout the story that add up to Lyd’s ultimate resolution. Experiencing food through YouTube videos of other people cooking and eating, the sexual encounter, moments of purely feminine fear and discomfort; it’s a definite clear through line that Kohda communicates very well. But I guess it just felt odd to me that she finds some measure of peace immediately after attempting to completely annihilate one side of herself. It just feels like there was more work to do in the aftermath. Her mental state was very unhealthy and there’s so much emphasis on the lingering effects of her childhood; I think it’s not so much that her resolution felt out of nowhere and more just that it felt suddenly very easy. To me, anyway, as someone who’s come to a happy place in understanding my own identity, but still deals with a lot of the ripple effects of how conflicted I’ve felt throughout my life. I understand the story had to come to an end at some point, and this conclusion is likely stronger because it doesn’t deal with the ongoing process that is living with acceptance and maintaining that feeling, but I just felt it was abrupt,
Allllllllllll of that aside, I really enjoyed Kohda’s writing. While at times it did seem to meander through Lyd’s inner monologue, it was still entertaining to read and relevant to the topic. It lent more personality to Lyd and gave us a better sense of her voice and character. So even in the places I thought were a little overwritten, it was more like a character choice than a lack of ability to self-edit. I also liked the how Kohda managed to balance very straightforward word choice with a sort of lyrical style that really fit into this world of art that she was building. I’ll admit I’m kind of dense about art, so I don’t know if all of the metaphors made through the art totally clicked for me, but I did like what Kohda was saying through the lens of art as a profession and art as a commercial material. I do wish we’d gotten more background on what Lyd had wanted to do while in art school and more about the pieces she’d made and what had compelled her, but I recognize that wasn’t the real central point for her character. It just felt like it could’ve given her more of another dimension (not that she was two dimensional in any way, just that it would’ve been nice to see more).
I really liked the other characters, what little we did see of them. Despite their rather brief inclusions, aside from Ben, the other artists really felt well thought out and fully realized. They were warm the way a good character can feel and they fit right in their surroundings and in Lyd’s story. I had hoped Lyd and Shakti might have more interaction, especially as she seemed like an important piece to the line of Lyd being forced to reconcile feminine experiences as a human, but it didn’t feel like anything was really left out in that case. Just due to the timeline of the story, it makes much more sense that the interaction there was left more surface level.
And on that note, I also liked how Kohda handled those moment of feminine fear and discomfort. Being sexualized, being preyed upon. They’re authentic experiences that are shared among far too many women, but they’re not escalated to feeling like exploitation just to get a point across. The point is made just fine through very short, seemingly brief, encounters. Lyd can’t help but linger on them, feel shame about them, etc. And I think that makes it all the better for commenting on the human condition and relating it to Lyd’s character struggles: any level of predation is scary and upsetting. And it’s an unfortunate human experience forced upon women and female presenting people.
Overall, everything came together so well in this book. It was a really impactful read for me and, happily, in a style I really love. I love a good, meaty character narrative and this definitely fit the bill. For how short it is, it covers a lot of ground and I think that’s a great testament to Kohda’s skill. I just wish the conclusion didn’t leave me feeling a bit empty.
Graphic: Animal death, Death, Self harm, Blood, Dementia, Grief, and Sexual harassment
Moderate: Body horror, Cancer, Eating disorder, Racism, and Suicidal thoughts
trashpossum'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
4.75
Graphic: Animal death, Death, Eating disorder, and Blood
Moderate: Sexual assault, Suicidal thoughts, and Death of parent
disguisedposer'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
4.75
Graphic: Animal death, Death, Eating disorder, Gore, Mental illness, Sexual assault, Suicidal thoughts, Forced institutionalization, and Blood
vee_the_tree'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
4.75
Moderate: Body shaming, Death, Blood, and Death of parent
Minor: Animal death, Cancer, Eating disorder, Suicidal thoughts, Terminal illness, Dementia, Grief, Murder, and Sexual harassment
peggy_racham's review against another edition
4.75
Ah good vampire books. The parallel the Mc draws between being non white and being a vampire are chiefs kiss.
Graphic: Animal death, Body horror, Child death, Gore, Suicidal thoughts, Blood, Medical content, Dementia, Grief, Death of parent, Murder, Sexual harassment, and Injury/Injury detail
ferstival'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
I wish she had started murdering people sooner.
Graphic: Animal death, Eating disorder, Sexual assault, and Suicidal thoughts
gzaborski'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
4.25
Honestly this novel did a great job conveying the atypical story of a young vampire coming to terms with her creative spirit, her femininity, her mixed race heritage, and her vampire-human identity.
At times the metaphors presented in this novel felt a bit heavy handed, but overall it was a really fun take on a vampire story and packed a lot of feeling into a 230-page book.
Graphic: Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, and Sexual harassment
Moderate: Sexual assault and Suicidal thoughts
Minor: Racial slurs, Racism, and Death of parent
sunbearbeam'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? Yes
4.0
Graphic: Suicidal thoughts and Suicide attempt
Moderate: Sexual harassment