Reviews tagging 'Fatphobia'

Plain Bad Heroines by Emily M. Danforth

29 reviews

savvy999's review against another edition

challenging dark mysterious slow-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? It's complicated

4.25

Immensely readable, definitely worth the effort of wading through the layers of meta text and false document. I think that this book is most effective when seen as a beautifully executed and layered project, if you attempt to place the standard of horror novels on to this will not ring true. It builds and builds but instead of true climax it continues to sprawl towards the bitter secret at the heart of the story, tragedy satisfyingly buried and revealed. The characters all feel lived in and complicated, replicating themselves over the narrative, in some kind of reincarnation. It’s fascinating to experience a story in this fashion. Not scary per se, but unnerving and insidious. Definitely both effective satire and effective gothic. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Misogyny, Lesbophobia, and Classism

Minor: Fatphobia and Pregnancy

steppenfreak's review against another edition

adventurous dark funny mysterious slow-paced

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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror and Death

Moderate: Drug use, Mental illness, and Alcohol

Minor: Biphobia, Fatphobia, and Homophobia

beccaand's review against another edition

dark mysterious 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: Body horror, Child death, Death, Gore, Grief, and Murder

Moderate: Drug use, Homophobia, Sexual assault, Suicide, Vomit, and Lesbophobia

Minor: Fatphobia, Forced institutionalization, and Pregnancy

ferns_citruscorner_8's review against another edition

funny mysterious tense slow-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

3.75

I have such a love and hate relationship with this book. I love the writing style and the language, by God, I truly do. I’m also amazed at this book for being my first book with polyamorous characters in it! I’m personally aroace and find it at times very discomforting (a lot of horny-ness), but loved the ending! Sometimes, one of the characters get so fecken annoying and edge-lordy, but I’m glad I decided on reading through. I’d recommend this to people who like long books with hella queerness in it. 

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Panic attacks/disorders and Sexual content

Minor: Fatphobia, Rape, Suicide, Violence, Suicide attempt, and Sexual harassment

sauvageloup's review

challenging dark mysterious reflective sad tense slow-paced

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

3.0

glad to have read this, because the concept is fresh and interesting, and I need to read more wholly sapphic books. but it tried to do too much and didnt pull it off.
this review on tumblr by flying-elliska has all my thoughts well said:
https://www.tumblr.com/flying-elliska/672822130083233792/and-now-for-sapphic-reads-time-the-sequel-tm?source=share

pros:
- the setting was a fleshed out character in itself and I loved that. the orchard apples, the tower, the orangerie, the beach, etc.
- I liked the story of the original woman, simone, who lived on the land.
- some imagery was definitely creepy and disturbing, especially eating wasps.
- the main characters were interesting, and I liked that they became a poly triad rather than a love triangle.

cons:
- too many characters, too much rambling, too meta, too plotty and just too long.
- I never really got truly creeped out. it just didnt sink deep enough into that and there wasnt enough real danger. the deaths were distant and over fast. didnt feel that sad at any of them.
- more interesting to see more flo and Clara for sure.

a different read for sure and I'm glad I read it, but disappointing and a bit slow too.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death, Body horror, Bullying, Child death, Cursing, Death, Fatphobia, Infidelity, Misogyny, Sexism, Sexual content, Grief, Death of parent, Murder, and Alcohol

Moderate: Addiction, Body shaming, Drug abuse, Drug use, Homophobia, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Suicide, Terminal illness, Violence, Vomit, Suicide attempt, Lesbophobia, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism

imrereads's review

dark mysterious 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? Yes

4.5

This was so good! If you're looking for something sapphic, gothic, dark academia-adjacent, a chunky story with multiple timelines and main characters, genuinely tense and frightening scenes, a really clever narrator and a whole bunch of yellowjacket wasps, then look no further! This wasn't what I expected it to be, and it uses some of my least favourite storytelling tools (narrator speaking directly to the reader, for one) but it does it in a way that make me love it. It just worked so well. This was so well crafted, and Danforth has such a great voice. 

Keep in mind that this is horror! You may want to check the content warnings. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror and Death

Moderate: Biphobia, Drug use, Homophobia, Sexual assault, and Suicide

Minor: Fatphobia and Forced institutionalization

penofpossibilities's review against another edition

slow-paced

• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? No

1.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, Death, Drug use, Hate crime, Misogyny, Stalking, Murder, Pregnancy, Lesbophobia, and Sexual harassment

Moderate: Addiction, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Vomit, Car accident, Fire/Fire injury, Abandonment, and Alcohol

Minor: Fatphobia, Dementia, Abortion, and Death of parent

owenwilsonbaby's review against another edition

dark emotional funny mysterious slow-paced

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

4.25

"She'd pass a flooring place and imagine her life selling carpet. She'd pass a beauty salon and imagine her life doing hair. Mostly she tried to imagine contentment: the state of being content. She didn't think it was something she'd ever been before, so it was difficult for her to accurately imagine how it might feel. But she did try."

I loved this! The last 600 page novel I read was Dune and in some ways that felt like such a slog in comparison to this. I occasionally had issues - pauses that lasted too long, issues with the pacing - especially when the beginning and middle felt like they were building to something that wasn't quite carried to fruition by the culmination of Alex and Libby's plot and the modern Hollywood plot. The tone at the start was also interesting to adjust to, with a very camp Gothic element - often an interesting shift when the narrator themselves is a bit of an all-knowing, anonymous character (and frequently reminds the reader of this).

That said, all of these are minor quibbles in an otherwise fun and absorbing take on queer horror. Danforth has a brilliant grasp on when to employ terror and when to employ horror. The novel has lots of potential themes but ultimately seems to be about the dangers of spectacle, not unlike my other horror favourite of this year, Jordan Peele's Nope. I also loved Harper, Audrey and Merritt's characters, who are all complex and three-dimensional. Merritt was especially interesting and accurate as a survivor of bereavement by suicide, and someone who came to writing and success young and is now floundering in her 20s. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death, Body horror, Child death, Homophobia, Mental illness, Toxic relationship, Vomit, Grief, Murder, Pregnancy, and Toxic friendship

Moderate: Death, Suicide, and Death of parent

Minor: Fatphobia

ksgoetz's review against another edition

dark mysterious medium-paced

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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual content

Moderate: Body horror, Death, Drug use, Fatphobia, Homophobia, Mental illness, Misogyny, Sexual assault, Forced institutionalization, Blood, Vomit, Grief, Suicide attempt, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Pregnancy, Lesbophobia, Abandonment, and Injury/Injury detail

eveee_reads's review

adventurous dark mysterious tense slow-paced

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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, Death, Vomit, and Schizophrenia/Psychosis

Moderate: Biphobia, Homophobia, Sexual assault, and Lesbophobia

Minor: Alcoholism and Fatphobia