brynalexa'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? No
4.25
Graphic: Abandonment, Blood, Dysphoria, Genocide, Deadnaming, Death, Injury/Injury detail, Pandemic/Epidemic, Panic attacks/disorders, Transphobia, Colonisation, Cursing, Confinement, War, Murder, Body horror, Child abuse, Death of parent, Emotional abuse, Fire/Fire injury, Grief, Gore, Hate crime, Homophobia, Mass/school shootings, Gun violence, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Toxic relationship, Violence, and Vomit
Minor: Sexual content, Sexism, and Alcohol
emjams'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
4.25
Graphic: Deadnaming, Forced institutionalization, Injury/Injury detail, Medical trauma, Murder, Pandemic/Epidemic, Emotional abuse, Homophobia, Blood, Body horror, Chronic illness, Death, Death of parent, Dysphoria, Genocide, Gore, Grief, Gun violence, Hate crime, Kidnapping, Medical content, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Religious bigotry, Terminal illness, Toxic relationship, Transphobia, Violence, Vomit, and Child death
Moderate: Xenophobia, Self harm, Mental illness, Medical content, Abandonment, War, Torture, Suicidal thoughts, Physical abuse, Outing, Domestic abuse, and Mass/school shootings
Minor: Sexual content, Sexual violence, Animal death, and Alcohol
This book has basically every imaginable TW on it EXCEPT for sexual assault, but even that is briefly touched on. Benji has trauma from assault, but only from physical/emotional abuse, not SA.anonymous_blobfish'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? It's complicated
4.0
Graphic: Gore, Transphobia, Homophobia, Religious bigotry, Physical abuse, Murder, Genocide, Vomit, Suicidal thoughts, Injury/Injury detail, Forced institutionalization, Death, Deadnaming, Body horror, Sexual violence, and Violence
kchas's review against another edition
3.0
Graphic: Transphobia, War, Pandemic/Epidemic, Homophobia, Violence, Body horror, Blood, Chronic illness, Death, Vomit, Religious bigotry, Gun violence, Grief, Gaslighting, Genocide, Emotional abuse, and Dysphoria
Moderate: Bullying, Child abuse, Body shaming, Deadnaming, Death of parent, Domestic abuse, Dysphoria, Toxic relationship, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Physical abuse, Murder, Misogyny, and Cursing
fuguefire's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0
Spoiler
The primary aspect of this theme is the main character Benji himself of course. Seraph, the mutation Benji has been infected with, is literally devouring his body from the inside out, causing him to vomit organs and his skin to fall off in sheets. This is a graphic portrayal of the body dysmorphia that trans teens feel every day: the betrayal of one's own body transforming into something grotesque, and being helpless to stop it. Even worse: knowing that if your family really loved you the way they should, then things would have been different. Indeed, the real horror that seems to plague Benji throughout this book was NOT his profane metamorphosis, but the knowledge that none of it- the death of billions, the murder of his father, the hatred of his identity- had to happen at all. If the church had simply accepted the world the way it was, the world would still be standing, and perhaps Benji would become the man he knows he should have been.The second part of this theme is displayed by Nick, leader of the ALC, and once a member of the Angels. throughout the book, we see Nick's mistrust of Benji, and with good reason. There was a really good moment where benji confronts Nick about using the pronoun "it" in stead of "he" and I think it was a really good example of how trans (and minority) characters cannot be written like they exist in a vacuum, and also the ways that people even inside the queer community can still level violence at one another. Of course, at the end of this intense scene, half of benji's face falls off, and suddenly the audience is reminded that this whole conflict over pronouns might not be happening if not for christian extremism in the first place. Perhaps there is a world where Benji and Nick would happily be friends, celebrating their queerness in a loving community. But that world is not theirs anymore.
Finally, I think that Nick's fate in this story is worth noting. Nick, leader of the ALC, whom nobody expected had any ties to the Angels, still gets partially transformed by the latent virus that he was inoculated with as a kid. This is a perfect metaphor for the life-long consequences of being exposed to religious abuse. Even years after you've escaped their influence, and after spending your whole life dedicated to righting their wrongs, a trace of it is always there with you, waiting to bare its teeth.
Graphic: Chronic illness, Murder, Sexism, Toxic relationship, Transphobia, Homophobia, Deadnaming, Hate crime, Death of parent, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Domestic abuse, Gaslighting, Genocide, Child abuse, Emotional abuse, Gun violence, Gore, Religious bigotry, Vomit, Death, Body horror, Blood, and Body shaming
Moderate: Dysphoria, Physical abuse, Kidnapping, Sexual content, Mental illness, Outing, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Stalking, Medical content, Rape, Sexual harassment, Toxic relationship, Terminal illness, War, and Misogyny
glen3'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? It's complicated
5.0
Graphic: Death, Body horror, Deadnaming, Blood, Death of parent, Fire/Fire injury, Gore, Vomit, Murder, Religious bigotry, and Transphobia
Moderate: Child death, Eating disorder, Homophobia, Medical content, Grief, Toxic relationship, Dysphoria, Emotional abuse, Panic attacks/disorders, Sexual violence, Bullying, Child abuse, and Gaslighting
sapphicacademic'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? It's complicated
5.0
Graphic: Body horror, Vomit, Medical content, Injury/Injury detail, Gore, Transphobia, Gun violence, Genocide, Emotional abuse, Religious bigotry, Classism, Dysphoria, Death of parent, Deadnaming, Blood, Death, Cursing, Chronic illness, and Fire/Fire injury
Moderate: Alcohol, Child abuse, Classism, Chronic illness, Deadnaming, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Fire/Fire injury, Sexual assault, Self harm, Religious bigotry, Body shaming, Bullying, Cursing, Colonisation, Sexual violence, Sexual harassment, and Panic attacks/disorders
This book is, despite its fantastical elements, about the reality of being queer. The author has really good trigger warnings detailed on his website/goodreads.jenna_smuszkiewicz's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
Spoiler
SeraphGraphic: Blood, Death, Death of parent, War, Vomit, Transphobia, Sexual violence, Murder, Gore, and Genocide