Reviews tagging 'Fatphobia'

The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo by Taylor Jenkins Reid

68 reviews

madzie's review against another edition

emotional medium-paced

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

3.25

Reid concocts a spell-binding tale about fictional celebrity Evelyn Hugo’s life dealing with fame, media, femininity, and sexuality. Through the use of soapy drama, you can’t help but read through this legend’s life in just the same way media often sells us the life of celebrities. Characters demonstrate an important theme of how complicated humans and human relationships are. However, unlike what a biography of a real celebrity may feel like, Reid never seems to cement her main character in the reality of humanity, leaving it hard for me to really feel, see, and connect with Evelyn throughout the story.

Further, although the main themes are highly important topics that are likely to make any novel worth a read, Reid’s chunky and heavy-handed writing and unnecessary plot points make it feel like Reid bit off a little bit more than she could chew. Some of her themes, such as her exploration of fame and womanhood, are spot on and make me wish she had focused more on a few themes rather than stretched out and only briefly mentioned them all. At various points throughout the novel, ideas feel shoehorned into the story without real exploration, as if Reid did not fully consider the implications of what she was saying and including. For example, she jumps from conflicting ideas about sexuality and sexual orientation, denying the overall understanding of the queer experience, and, despite the main character being bisexual, tells a queer story from a very allonormative and heteronormative position, which feels very strange. 

Important plot points or history seem mentioned in passing, but not important, and whole characters and Evelyn’s relationship with them are passed over without any type of feeling created for or around them, leaving a rather hollow ring to it as if it was just moments to get through. I enjoy that Reid attempted to tackle poignant ideas in her novel, but I wish she had changed aspects of how she approached some topics so she could create a fully-immersive story that really considered big ideas about who is erased from society, what humans do with the desires they have, and relationships humans have to each other.
Despite this, Reid's bold writing is commendable. In the end, Reid experiments with writing, themes, and characters in reflective and admirable ways, and despite aiming so hard for the bullseye, she never hits it dead-on in truly groundbreaking or reflective ways. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Lesbophobia, Car accident, Biphobia, Misogyny, Domestic abuse, Homophobia, Infidelity, Sexism, Toxic relationship, and Death

Moderate: Alcohol, Acephobia/Arophobia, Body shaming, Cancer, Suicide, and Terminal illness

Minor: Alcoholism, Physical abuse, Abortion, Ableism, Adult/minor relationship, Pedophilia, Child abuse, and Fatphobia

kappafrog's review against another edition

emotional mysterious sad tense fast-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

3.75

I zoomed through this book. I was really compelled to find out all its secrets. But now that I'm done, I'm not sure how o feel about it. The ending should have had more to it after a major revelation late in the book. The handling of race was clumsy. But I loved the fictionalization of a situation many in Hollywood found themselves in.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Domestic abuse, Infidelity, Sexism, Blood, Lesbophobia, Misogyny, Child abuse, Cursing, Grief, Death, Death of parent, Emotional abuse, Physical abuse, Sexual harassment, Adult/minor relationship, Biphobia, Car accident, Classism, Body shaming, and Homophobia

Moderate: Fatphobia, Toxic relationship, Medical content, Racism, Suicide, Toxic friendship, Pregnancy, Outing, Pedophilia, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Terminal illness, Alcohol, Addiction, Alcoholism, Abortion, Cancer, Injury/Injury detail, and Miscarriage

Minor: Sexual violence, Hate crime, Incest, and Rape

talonsontypewriters's review against another edition

emotional reflective 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

Graphic: Lesbophobia, Car accident, Death, Grief, Misogyny, Sexism, Homophobia, Toxic relationship, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, and Physical abuse

Moderate: Biphobia, Classism, Death of parent, Injury/Injury detail, Terminal illness, Chronic illness, Cancer, Outing, Pedophilia, Sexual assault, Alcoholism, Suicide, Alcohol, Infidelity, Racism, Violence, Medical content, and Sexual content

Minor: Miscarriage, Abortion, Fatphobia, Child abuse, Drug use, Pregnancy, and Transphobia

emmaloho's review against another edition

emotional funny hopeful fast-paced

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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Domestic abuse

Moderate: Misogyny, Sexual harassment, Sexual content, Medical content, Infidelity, Death of parent, and Car accident

Minor: Lesbophobia, Drug abuse, Biphobia, Terminal illness, Suicide, Abortion, Racism, Pregnancy, Outing, Fatphobia, Drug use, Cancer, Eating disorder, Alcoholism, Addiction, and Death

michela_ognibeni's review against another edition

emotional lighthearted medium-paced

• Strong character development? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No

4.5

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Grief

Minor: Fatphobia

junglejelly's review against another edition

emotional mysterious reflective sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Grief, Cancer, and Car accident

Moderate: Alcohol, Biphobia, Child death, Terminal illness, Domestic abuse, Suicide, Homophobia, and Lesbophobia

Minor: Adult/minor relationship, Fatphobia, Body shaming, and Abortion

saricostanzo's review against another edition

emotional reflective sad 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? Yes

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, Outing, Self harm, Sexism, Car accident, Fatphobia, Physical abuse, Sexual content, Suicide, Terminal illness, Death, Alcoholism, Emotional abuse, Grief, Homophobia, Racism, Rape, Toxic relationship, Domestic abuse, Infidelity, Suicide attempt, Lesbophobia, Abortion, Biphobia, Cancer, Death of parent, and Pregnancy

giulianalb99's review against another edition

challenging reflective medium-paced

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

3.0

Este libro no fue para mi. Es entretenido pero sin más. Debido al bombazo que ha tenido y sigue teniendo me lo esperaba mejor pero alomejor es porque no me gusta leer romance🤷🏻‍♀️. De todas formas, para pasar el rato no está mal.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, Sexual harassment, Cancer, Car accident, Death of parent, Racism, Terminal illness, Homophobia, Infidelity, Suicide, Toxic relationship, Abortion, Addiction, Adult/minor relationship, Alcohol, Body shaming, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Child abuse, Chronic illness, Cultural appropriation, Death, Sexism, Biphobia, Fatphobia, Misogyny, Lesbophobia, Grief, and Sexual content

kelburke's review against another edition

challenging emotional funny 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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Domestic abuse, Car accident, Biphobia, and Death of parent

Moderate: Drug use, Fatphobia, Addiction, and Alcoholism

Minor: Abortion

adalinemccormick's review against another edition

adventurous emotional mysterious fast-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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Homophobia, Lesbophobia, Car accident, Domestic abuse, and Grief

Moderate: Biphobia, Death of parent, Pregnancy, Infidelity, Sexism, Sexual harassment, Alcoholism, and Pedophilia

Minor: Fatphobia, Abortion, Terminal illness, and Mental illness