Reviews tagging 'Addiction'

Bad Girls by Camila Sosa Villada

16 reviews

purplemind's review against another edition

emotional inspiring reflective sad 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? It's complicated

3.75

 Questo è un libro che ti lascia addosso molta rabbia. Camila e le sue compagne si sono ritagliate un piccolo mondo sicuro tra le mura della casa di Zia Encarna, ma quello che esiste fuori da quel santuario è spesso una realtà violenta e isolante, che le vuole lontano dagli occhi della “brava gente”, a costo anche di ucciderle. C’è anche tanta speranza, però. C’è lo Splendore negli Occhi, bimbo salvato e adottato da Zia Encarna, c’è la gioia nel veder realizzata nel modo più vero la propria identità, e c’è la sorellanza delle donne del Parco Sarmiento, che a volte riescono a salvarsi a vicenda. Lo stile di Sosa Villada è profondamente metaforico e vivido, si legge come fosse una poesia, fatta di scatti immortalati in vari momenti della sua vita e arricchiti dall’emotività della memoria. L’autrice, però, non si tira indietro dal descrivere anche le sue esperienze più cruente e il modo in cui esse l’hanno plasmata.
 (molto piacevole anche lo stile della traduzione!) 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Racism, Rape, Transphobia, Violence, and Trafficking

Moderate: Addiction, Alcoholism, Child death, Death, Suicide, Death of parent, and Sexual harassment

Minor: Vomit and Pregnancy

ca_r's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional funny hopeful inspiring reflective sad 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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Child abuse, Death, Homophobia, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Suicide, Toxic relationship, Transphobia, Violence, Xenophobia, Police brutality, Kidnapping, Grief, and Abandonment

Moderate: Addiction, Bullying, Death, Gore, Physical abuse, Terminal illness, and Classism

karina_cortazar's review against another edition

emotional hopeful reflective 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? No

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Body shaming, Child abuse, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Emotional abuse, Hate crime, Homophobia, and Classism

carolinacortez's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional informative reflective 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? N/A

5.0

Que buena novela, que podría pasar por una crónica facilmente, que cruda realidad la que viven las mujeres trans del mundo, pero en este caso específicamente las latinoamericanas, Camila nos cuenta su vida como prostituta cuando estaba en sus earlies 20s, de la comunidad que se hace entre las mujeres trans con esta misma profesión, pero sobre todo de lo cruel que es el mundo con ellas, tanto hombres como mujeres, tanto personas heteros u hoosexuales, como las mujeres trans se sentían excluidas y bajo sus propias palabras, como las cucarachas de la sociedad, Camila tiene una manera muy poética de describir y narrar todas las cosas por las que vivió ella desde su casa con su familia hasta su vida en las calles, una novela muy cruda pero a la vez muy bella de leer, concuerdo con el prólogo cuando dijo que Las Malas es de esos libros que acabas y quieres que todo el mundo lea.

pd. checar trigger warnings antes de leer.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcoholism, Deadnaming, Drug use, Physical abuse, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Transphobia, Alcohol, and Sexual harassment

Moderate: Addiction, Domestic abuse, Hate crime, Rape, Suicide, Medical content, Suicide attempt, Murder, and Abandonment

Minor: Mental illness, Misogyny, Sexism, Suicidal thoughts, Vomit, and Pregnancy

littlebookterror's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional reflective sad slow-paced

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

4.0

 (This is a heavy book, I advise looking into content warnings.)


Told in the first-person perspective of Camila, a not even 23 years old transgender sex worker, the story revolves around her daily life and that of her trans sisters, watched over by Tía Encarna. While the present timeline follows them finding an abandoned baby in the park and going the motions of their lives (which often includes, drugs, alcohol and dealing with inconsiderate clients), we also go back and learn about the history of many of the women who surround Camila, as well as her own childhood. It's personal and raw, at times it reads like a personal diary, at other times it takes on a fairytale-like quality - finding morals and explanations for the horrors they had to endure and the happiness they got to experience. The main 'plot' is actually focused on Tía Encarna and the baby boy she decides to keep and how that changes the dynamic in the group. Camila is on the fringes, watching it all unfold.

Villada hold nothing back; there are scenes of abuse and assault, mistreatment, dysphoric moments and all the struggles that come with being poor, trans, and alone. She writes about all these shocking events with a neutrality that does not allow for glamorization or sensationalism. You can feel her emotions dripping of the page.


There is also an aspect of magical realism to the story (I think that is quite common with titles from Latin America, correct me if I'm wrong). It is mostly in the small details (headless lovers, a werewolf sister) that I quite liked. It reshaped some of the horrors in a different light and offered an alternative viewpoint to their bleak realities.
The ending is both expected and devastating.

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If you are looking for an English title with similar themes, I would suggest The Wild Ones by Nafiza Azad. It's Young Adult, and therefore not as graphic, and leans more into the fantasy aspect but both stories feature a group of queer women of colour at the center who have run away from abuse and past assault. Both stories also feature a first-person narrator (plural in the case of The Wild Ones) that tells the story from another main character (Tía Encarna and Paheli, specifically). Both show the harsh reality of life while offering an escape. (The Wild Ones is a more hopeful book overall.) 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Physical abuse, Sexual assault, Transphobia, and Police brutality

Moderate: Addiction, Adult/minor relationship, Drug use, Hate crime, Rape, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Suicide, Pregnancy, Abandonment, Alcohol, and Sexual harassment

Minor: Animal death and Vomit

sexual contact between minors (wanted and unwanted), unsafe sex practices (AIDS), main character mentions her deadname once

danidamico's review against another edition

emotional reflective sad

• 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

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Child abuse, Child death, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Emotional abuse, Homophobia, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Transphobia, Police brutality, and Murder