Reviews with content warning for Gaslighting - The Luis Ortega Survival Club

Reviews tagging 'Gaslighting'

The Luis Ortega Survival Club by Sonora Reyes

19 reviews

dododenise's review against another edition

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emotional hopeful fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes

4.5

This was such a hard yet empowering read.

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cloreadsbooks1364's review against another edition

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hopeful inspiring 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

4.75

This YA contemporary fiction novel features Ari, who is r@ped by a popular, powerful boy called Luis Ortega. She is invited to join a group comprising of some of Luis's many victims, and they try to expose him as the piece of crap he is.

The Luis Ortega Survival Club
By Sonora Reyes
4.75/5⭐️

Our protagonist, Ari, is autistic with selective mutism. This results in her social life being nonexistent, until she meets the other Club members. I found her to be a very relatable protagonist, and thought that the autism rep was very good. It took her most of the book to realise that what her article about Luis required was her own experience, but I feel like she knew internally that she'd have to tell her story eventually to have any chance of succeeding in ensuring that Luis wouldn't harm any more girls. I felt sorry for how her mother treated her like a therapist, and was very glad when everything turned out well for Ari.

Shawni, the creator of the club and the love interest of Ari, was a great character, though maybe she lacked a smidge of development? I liked how she made sure there was always paper and a pen on hand so that Ari could communicate with the group!
Jasmine, Nina, and Angel (the other group members) were also very lovable. We learnt the least about Nina, which is unfortunate as I really enjoyed their friendly nature.
Jasmine seemed to be a very loyal friend, and I liked how she and Angel stuck by each other no matter what.

The pacing was perfect, I actually read this book in a single day and never got tired of it.
The ending was so happy it felt unrealistic, but I still consider it to be perfect as this is a story about hope, about naming and shaming predators, taking back control, and untwisting the narrative.

Queer rep:
Queer protagonist (unlabelled)
Bi side character
Nonbinary side character

TWs: r@pe (off-page), bullying, sexual assault, sexual harassment, infidelity, abelism, gaslighting, biphobia

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imstephtacular's review against another edition

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dark emotional hopeful tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix

4.25

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sadhbhprice's review against another edition

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challenging emotional hopeful 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? Yes

4.0

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mezzythedragon's review against another edition

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emotional hopeful medium-paced

Diverse cast of characters? Yes

4.0

Oof. An important read for everyone, not just for teens, though they definitely need this book. I like how Reyes captures abusers and their enablers, and how they manipulate their victims and their feelings towards them.

While I’m glad Luis got his in the end, I wish I had seen his punishment in real time. First he threatens Ari, and in the next chapter, the epilogue, he’s a registered sex offender. I would have liked to see him suffer.

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micaelacccc's review against another edition

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emotional hopeful inspiring fast-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? Yes

5.0

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lingfish7's review against another edition

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emotional hopeful inspiring lighthearted reflective sad medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes

5.0

📖🎧This might be my new absolute favorite Latinx YA book! This is the first book by this author I’ve read, and I am so obsessed. Not only does this book explore rape and the me too movement, but it also explores autistic representation and the intersection between being different and being taken advantaged of.

⚠️TW: rape, sexual harassment, bullying, neurodivergent discrimination

The main character is a Latinx, autistic, selectively mute teenager. Ariana has a close relationship with her parents, but her parents are going through some things in their marriage that further make Ariana feel isolated. The book opens with a scene where Ariana is waiting for an Uber ride home from a party she attended. At this party, she recalls how Luis never asked her if she wanted sex, and since she is selectively mute, she couldn’t say no. After a season of loneliness and hurt, she finally finds friends - friends who have also been harmed by Luis. They form a club: the Luis Ortega survival club.

This book so beautifully captured the overstimulating experience of being autistic, as well as the gaslighting experience of being raped. The found family community made my heart sing with happiness and the revenge at Luis made everything right again. I can’t even explain how powerful this book was, it gave me all the feelings. ✨💕

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alreadsbooks's review against another edition

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challenging emotional hopeful inspiring medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes

5.0

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jkreads's review against another edition

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challenging emotional funny 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

This was such a wonderful book! I adored the relationships that formed over the course of this story, both romantic and platonic. I felt that this book handled some incredibly sensitive topics with grace and care, not dancing around them but also not falling into trauma porn.

It was so refreshing to read a book written from the perspective of an autistic person with selective mutism, I’ve read books in the past with an autistic MC but I think this is the first one I’ve read that had that added mutism/nonverbal component. I’m not part of the autistic community however I’m always looking for more stories with good rep! There was some ADHD rep and this is a community I AM a part of, I felt the small glimpse we got to see of that was pretty well done.

There were also a range of different sexualities and gender expressions represented throughout the book and I felt these were weaved in well - they didn’t feel tokenistic or forced, just realistic and representative of a typical high school and of society as a whole.

Overall I adored this book, the audio narration was a wonderful easy listen and I fell in love with the characters very quickly. The way they loved and looked out for each other was so beautiful.

Definitely be mindful of content warnings going in to this one, as I mentioned earlier it addresses some topics that may be triggering for some.

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sundayfever's review against another edition

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challenging emotional hopeful inspiring fast-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? It's complicated

5.0

This is the YA revenge fic I needed. Wish all the real life SA stories ended in such a satisfying way. Queer and neurodivergent POC characters kick ass.

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