Reviews tagging 'Classism'

Minha coisa favorita é monstro by Emil Ferris

10 reviews

faeriegodmutha's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional mysterious reflective sad tense slow-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

4.0

Wow! Emil Ferris is so talented. The artwork and the storytelling had a mesmerizing effect. A fully immersive tale of murder, mayhem, monsters, and art history--when it ended I immediately felt like I can't wait to grab the sequel and get back to Karen's world. 
 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcoholism, Bullying, Cancer, Child abuse, Child death, Cursing, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Genocide, Gore, Hate crime, Homophobia, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Slavery, Terminal illness, Torture, Violence, Blood, Antisemitism, Trafficking, Grief, Religious bigotry, Death of parent, Murder, Lesbophobia, Toxic friendship, Alcohol, War, and Classism

danimacuk's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional funny reflective sad medium-paced

• 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? Yes

4.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Cancer, Death, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Violence, Blood, Antisemitism, Trafficking, Death of parent, Murder, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism

Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Bullying, Child abuse, Child death, Gun violence, Racism, Rape, Sexual content, Grief, Alcohol, and Sexual harassment

orlagal's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional funny mysterious reflective relaxing tense 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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Alcoholism, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Body horror, Body shaming, Cancer, Child abuse, Child death, Chronic illness, Confinement, Cursing, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Genocide, Gore, Gun violence, Hate crime, Homophobia, Infidelity, Mental illness, Misogyny, Panic attacks/disorders, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Rape, Self harm, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Slavery, Terminal illness, Torture, Toxic relationship, Transphobia, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Xenophobia, Blood, Excrement, Vomit, Antisemitism, Medical content, Trafficking, Grief, Religious bigotry, Medical trauma, Stalking, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, Murder, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Lesbophobia, Fire/Fire injury, Cultural appropriation, Gaslighting, Toxic friendship, Abandonment, Alcohol, Sexual harassment, Colonisation, War, Injury/Injury detail, Classism, and Deportation

bigmouthsass's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark funny mysterious reflective sad medium-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

5.0

Absolutely incredible. A masterpiece. The art is stunning, and the stories are so important. It covers some heavy topics, so be sure to check content warnings as needed. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Bullying, Homophobia, Racial slurs, Racism, Transphobia, Trafficking, and Classism

Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Cancer, Genocide, Infidelity, Mental illness, Pedophilia, Rape, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Terminal illness, Murder, Lesbophobia, and Alcohol

Minor: Blood, Toxic friendship, and War

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

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

kjboldon's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional funny mysterious reflective sad tense 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

5.0

2017: A coming of age murder mystery, the story and art are intricate and enthralling.

2024: now in the permanent library and recommended many times. Preteen Karen Reyes lives in 1960s Chicago and imagines she's a monster, though the adults around her, apart from her mother, are the ones that can't seem to keep their monstrous aspects in check. 

There is a mystery of how a neighbor died, so Karen dons a trenchcoat and brimmed hat to investigate, all while being bullied at school, harboring a crush on a schoolmate, inventing an imaginary friend, and trying to navigate issues of race, class, poverty, and the morass of her family's secrets that keep getting withheld from her. 

Karen is such a beating heart of a main character. I adore her and fear for her. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Alcoholism, Body horror, Body shaming, Bullying, Cancer, Child abuse, Death, Domestic abuse, Homophobia, Infidelity, Racial slurs, Racism, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Terminal illness, Toxic relationship, Trafficking, Grief, Death of parent, Lesbophobia, Alcohol, Sexual harassment, and Classism

tangleroot_eli's review against another edition

adventurous challenging emotional mysterious tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes

2nd read, 2024: Liked this even more on a second read. Caught so many more Easter eggs and throwaway jokes and just found a lot more meaning in it.

1st read, 2022: This book isn't perfect, but it's perfectly captivating, and now I'm among the legions of fans (im)patiently dreaming of Book 2. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Gore, Blood, and Grief

Moderate: Addiction, Adult/minor relationship, Body horror, Bullying, Cancer, Confinement, Death, Genocide, Mental illness, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Terminal illness, Violence, Antisemitism, Trafficking, Death of parent, Murder, Alcohol, and Classism

Minor: Alcoholism, Animal death, Child abuse, Child death, Drug use, Gun violence, Homophobia, Rape, Sexism, Suicide, Xenophobia, Vomit, Kidnapping, Fire/Fire injury, and Abandonment

Moderate: Saneism Minor: Nonconsensual drug use