Reviews tagging 'Bullying'

An Ordinary Wonder by Buki Papillon

17 reviews

drymice's review

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

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Bullying, Child abuse, and Suicide attempt

Moderate: Homophobia, Physical abuse, Rape, and Transphobia

Minor: Miscarriage and Xenophobia

megelizabeth's review against another edition

2.5

Ugh, this book had so much potential and was then so disappointing (for me anyway). It started off strong and there are definitely aspects I really liked and appreciated - the key ones being the dream-like atmosphere, several of the relationships, the conversations around the intersex experience, and the coming-of-age thread to the narrative. It also does an excellent job of portraying the experience of missing out on girlhood, and that element truly broke me. 

However, several plot strands develop which I just wasn't a fan of and which I found to really take away from the wider themes, and I particularly despised how it's portrayed as completely fine for an adult man to go after a fifteen-year-old girl. And, while I did like the dreaminess of the writing, it really threw me off that this is marketed as an adult book and yet reads entirely like YA. Like, literally just write an actual YA book!!! So, unfortunately, this did end up being a miss for me overall, which is such a shame as it touches on some really important themes and did have such great potential. :(

(I would also strongly urge that, if you're reading this review and still wanting to give this book a go, PLEASE check the content warnings - it's extremely heavy in MANY different ways!)

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Animal death, Bullying, Child abuse, Child death, Death, Domestic abuse, Homophobia, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Violence, Religious bigotry, Suicide attempt, and Sexual harassment

decie's review

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body shaming, Bullying, Child abuse, Hate crime, Homophobia, Physical abuse, Sexual assault, Transphobia, and Outing

Moderate: Child death and Suicide

beeziereadsromance's review

challenging emotional hopeful lighthearted reflective 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

4.5

Surprisingly endearing, hopeful coming of age story set in Nigeria. Oto's story isn't an easy one to read, but it's so well balanced by the hope and the humour that it never felt too hard, or like I needed to put it down for a break.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body shaming, Bullying, Domestic abuse, Physical abuse, Sexual assault, and Suicide attempt

Minor: Miscarriage

quinnjuliac's review

challenging dark emotional funny 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

I listened to the audio book and am so glad I did. The narrator was wonderful and really brought Lori/Oto to life. It’s a very troubling story of emotional and physical abuse and abandonment of a child, but it is also a really wonderful story of how just a few affirming adults can change the course of a child’s life. I am a nurse and was so struck by the interaction the main character has with the school nurse as a child and what a massive impact that had on them. The characters will definitely be sticking with me!!!

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body shaming, Bullying, Child abuse, Emotional abuse, Sexual assault, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Transphobia, Suicide attempt, Outing, Abandonment, and Dysphoria

mitcheljhunter's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional hopeful sad 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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Content Warnings

Graphic: Bullying, Child abuse, Emotional abuse, Homophobia, Physical abuse, Sexual assault, Transphobia, and Suicide attempt

Moderate: Suicide

woweewhoa's review

emotional hopeful medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Bullying, Child abuse, Emotional abuse, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide attempt, and Abandonment

Moderate: Homophobia, Rape, Sexual violence, Suicide, Transphobia, Medical content, and Dysphoria

Minor: Vomit, Trafficking, and Pregnancy

e_od's review

adventurous hopeful informative sad fast-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

3.5

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Bullying, Child abuse, Emotional abuse, Hate crime, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Suicide attempt, Abandonment, and Sexual harassment

jadior's review against another edition

emotional inspiring reflective sad tense 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

This book is probably the best book I've ever read! It is a coming-of-age story of a Nigerian boy who wishes to identify as a female. He has a twin sister, who is aware of this. His mother rejects him because he is different. It is a sad story, but also a heartwarming story. Definitely a must read! 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body shaming, Bullying, Homophobia, and Physical abuse

Moderate: Suicide attempt and Sexual harassment

laughingrecord's review

challenging dark emotional hopeful informative inspiring 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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Bullying, Child abuse, Death, Rape, Sexual assault, Suicide, Blood, Medical content, Suicide attempt, Murder, Outing, Abandonment, Dysphoria, and Injury/Injury detail