Reviews tagging 'Child abuse'

FCBD: Our Favorite Thing is My Favorite Thing is Monsters by Emil Ferris

36 reviews

indiarose8's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious reflective sad tense medium-paced

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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, and Trafficking

Moderate: Cancer

choi_lacroix's review against another edition

dark emotional sad tense medium-paced

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

4.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Racial slurs, Rape, and Slavery

Moderate: Homophobia and Racism

thildemach's review against another edition

dark mysterious reflective sad 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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Child abuse, Pedophilia, Sexual violence, Murder, and Deportation

kananineko's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional informative mysterious reflective sad tense slow-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

4.0

Oh my god, this was amazing. I’ve had it on my shelf for like 8 or so years and I’m so glad that I finally decided to read it! The art is amazing and I love the way the story was told! I really loved how although it was definitely an adult-audience story, not children’s or YA, it was told from the perspective of a 10 year old girl. I’ve never read a book like that before and it made it all the more interesting. 

Rating it 4 stars instead of 5 just because at some points I was a little confused, but I’m sure everything will be explained and wrapped up in the second book (which I definitely want to buy when it is released). Highly recommend!!

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Cancer, Death, Homophobia, Pedophilia, Racism, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Terminal illness, Xenophobia, Antisemitism, Trafficking, Death of parent, Murder, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Alcoholism, Bullying, Genocide, Gun violence, Infidelity, Racial slurs, Rape, Violence, Blood, Grief, Lesbophobia, Alcohol, and Classism

Minor: Child abuse, Child death, Transphobia, Vomit, Religious bigotry, Abandonment, and War

cmcrockford's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional mysterious sad slow-paced

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

4.5

Mostly pretty astonishing, I've just never read a comic quite like this even with the occasional narrative hiccup. A real achievement.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcoholism, Child abuse, Genocide, Mental illness, Pedophilia, Racial slurs, Racism, Sexual content, Terminal illness, Violence, Medical content, Grief, Death of parent, Alcohol, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Child abuse, Homophobia, Rape, and Violence

owlribbon's review against another edition

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Alcoholism, Bullying, Cancer, Child abuse, Chronic illness, Death, Gun violence, Homophobia, Infidelity, Mental illness, Pedophilia, Racism, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Terminal illness, Violence, Blood, Antisemitism, Grief, Death of parent, Lesbophobia, and Alcohol

Moderate: Racial slurs and Rape

paigicus's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious sad slow-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? Yes

4.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Cancer, Child abuse, Death, Gore, Sexual assault, Blood, Trafficking, Grief, and Death of parent

Minor: Homophobia

nmcannon's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional hopeful mysterious reflective sad tense slow-paced

• 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

 Back in…2019…I read this amazing blog post by Casey the Candian Lesbrarian about the best books she’d read that year. My Favorite Thing is Monsters was on it, and I put it on my TBR, so future!Natalie would remember. Future!Natalie came through.

Karen Reyes is a ten year old girl obsessed with horror movie monsters. With bullies, a best friend lost to homophobia (still alive, but heavily forced into the closet by parents), and the stress of working class ‘60s Chicago, she has a A Lot to process. And that’s before her upstairs neighbor Anka is murdered, her older brother becomes the prime suspect, and her mom gets a cancer diagnosis. Trusty sketchbook and fedora in tow, Reyes decides to figure out whodunit. What she doesn’t bargain for are tapes of Anka telling her life story in Nazi Germany, rife with parental abuse, rape, and pedophilia.

The entire, hefty book of My Favorite Thing is Monsters is styled as Reyes’ journal and sketchbook. The art is GORGEOUS. The book is art and art is the book. I was reminded of coffee table books, which are set out to entertain guests. Then again, the subject matter is not for the light of heart. Ferris pulls no punches, and her heroine’s lives are dark. A serious dead dove; don’t eat situation. I thought the story would focus more on the intersection of queerness and horror, and it does to a certain extent. There’s just a whole lot more. Anka’s flashbacks take up more pages, which makes sense because Reyes is ten and Anka died in her fifties. While Anka and Reyes are twin pole stars, the other characters aren’t neglected at all. The depth of character is truly incredible and incredibly colorful.

Despite the grim subject matter, there’s a thread of youthful hope throughout the story. If you can grasp it and hold tight, I highly, highly recommend Ferris’ masterwork. My Favorite Thing is Monsters is a beautiful, heart-wrenching magnum opus.

Casey’s blog post: https://caseythecanadianlesbrarian.wordpress.com/2019/01/08/my-2018-year-in-reading-favourite-books-of-the-year-most-memorable-character-best-cover-and-more/

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Bullying, Child abuse, Cursing, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Hate crime, Mental illness, Misogyny, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Rape, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Toxic relationship, Violence, Vomit, Police brutality, Antisemitism, Grief, Religious bigotry, Death of parent, Murder, Lesbophobia, Outing, Alcohol, War, and Deportation

Moderate: Cancer, Terminal illness, Medical content, Dementia, and Sexual harassment

Minor: Body horror, Suicidal thoughts, and Classism

I'd say the majority of the CWs are period-typical considering the setting is pre-Holocaust, Holocaust, and 1960s working class Chicago. Reyes is a young, queer woman of color, and she experiences period-typical racism, lesbophobia, classism, and misogyny.

jessereadsthings's review against another edition

dark slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

1.0

Interesting art storytelling style, but overall mixed to negative feelings on this one. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Pedophilia, Sexual assault, and Antisemitism

Moderate: Racial slurs and Rape

Minor: Homophobia, Suicide, and Classism

amazelan's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional 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? No

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcoholism, Body horror, Bullying, Cancer, Child abuse, Death, Genocide, Gun violence, Pedophilia, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Slavery, Violence, Blood, Antisemitism, Grief, Death of parent, Murder, Alcohol, Classism, and Deportation