Reviews tagging 'Homophobia'

We Ride Upon Sticks: A Novel by Quan Barry

25 reviews

elderwoodreads's review against another edition

dark funny mysterious reflective 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? Yes

5.0

This is the most unique book I read this year, possibly ever. Bray's writing style was a little odd at first but once I was in I was in. Everything I have found listed as cons by other readers were pros to me. I loved the plural first person narration, the slow burn, and the overly verbose descriptions. Please give this one a try. 

---

Content Warnings

Moderate: Stalking, Body horror, Bullying, Cursing, Infidelity, Animal death, Eating disorder, Child abuse, Injury/Injury detail, Adult/minor relationship, Fire/Fire injury, Alcohol, and Homophobia

Minor: Blood, Misogyny, Outing, Pregnancy, Racism, Sexual assault, Drug use, Sexual harassment, Vomit, Medical content, Classism, Death of parent, and Racial slurs

ad1t1s's review against another edition

emotional funny mysterious 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

4.75

---

Content Warnings

Moderate: Homophobia

atamano's review against another edition

lighthearted medium-paced

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

1.75

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Alcohol, Classism, Outing, Homophobia, and Sexual content

Minor: Blood

lindsayerin's review against another edition

funny mysterious 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? It's complicated

5.0

---

Content Warnings

Moderate: Homophobia, Racism, and Sexual assault

talonsontypewriters's review against another edition

funny lighthearted medium-paced

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

2.5

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcohol

Moderate: Sexual content, Fire/Fire injury, Pedophilia, Body shaming, Misogyny, Animal death, Bullying, Drug use, Racism, Stalking, Homophobia, Sexism, Medical content, Injury/Injury detail, and Religious bigotry

Minor: Fatphobia, Racial slurs, War, Gun violence, Sexual assault, Excrement, Terminal illness, Pregnancy, Death, Cancer, Infidelity, Rape, Lesbophobia, Vomit, Child death, and Suicide

lovelymisanthrope's review against another edition

adventurous dark funny lighthearted mysterious sad tense 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

3.5

I picked this up because it is one of Kayla's favorite books, and I felt it was the most appropriate book to read during Lalathon.
"We Ride Upon Sticks" follows 1989 Danvers high school's field hockey team. The group seems to be on a winning streak, and they are determined to continue winning. Through research they learn some witchy tricks that will help them to find victory, but they quickly learn that all magic comes at a cost.
This book was strange, fun, and heart-warming all in one. One of my favorite aspects of this book was all of the historical homage to 1692 Salem, Massachusetts. I think the time of witches and especially in Salem, though dark, is really intriguing to learn about. Having all of the historical elements made the magic in the story feel all the more real.
This type of writing really reminded me of Grady Hendrix's style. There is such extreme horror, but it is so comical you want to laugh out loud instead of hiding under your covers.
The characters were a little crass for my personal liking. I think they were written well and are perfect for the intended tone of the story, but they were just a little much for my own enjoyment.
I have had this book on my radar for a long time, and I am excited I finally picked it up. I will definitely keep Quan Barry on my radar and perhaps pick up something new in the future. 

---

Content Warnings

Moderate: Lesbophobia and Homophobia

ameliez's review against another edition

funny lighthearted

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

2.75

---

Content Warnings

Moderate: Infidelity, Homophobia, and Racism

Minor: Racial slurs and Animal death

annablume's review against another edition

adventurous funny lighthearted mysterious relaxing 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

4.0

I really enjoyed this but there are a couple of things i don't like: I wish the main characters got like... equal page time. With some of them I didn't get to spend enough time to really get to know them. I was a little disappointed by the ending

the time jump.. i wish i could have been there at the final game and I didn't really care for the all grown up versions of the team.

I did not enjoy the adult-minor-relationship and the commentary on that... left a sour taste in my mouth that i'm still sitting with, even more so when paired with that one little comment on sexual abuse ...
i really liked the story and the writing style so it still gets a (maybe spineless on my part idk) high rating

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Animal death, Body horror, and Alcohol

Moderate: Racism, Sexual assault, and Homophobia

Minor: Rape, Vomit, Fire/Fire injury, Eating disorder, Stalking, and Infidelity

leahb88's review against another edition

adventurous funny 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? Yes

3.0

This was funny and campy! Cool concept where the occult elements emphasize themes of teamwork and how far people will go to achieve what they want. Love the teen girl camaraderie, acceptance, and figuring out identity! The writing style and perspective of the narrator just wasn’t for me and

coming back to present day and reading the climax as a flashback just took me out and I wish I read the final game in 1989 time

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Racism, Misogyny, Homophobia, and Lesbophobia

Moderate: Infidelity and Adult/minor relationship

saintyeehaw's review against another edition

funny mysterious 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

2.75

Had to really force myself to finish this one as the writing style confused me a lot of the time. Despite only being 360 pages, this book feels really long for some reason (30+ page chapters?). The witchcraft was cool and cute in equal measure, but the sports talk was very boring for me personally. I liked several of the characters but since the focus kept changing between the whole team, I never felt like I got to really know any of them. Unfortunately, by the end I was also completely done with the romanticization of high school girls in sexual relationships with adult men and was ready to put the book down and never pick it up again.

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcohol, Adult/minor relationship, Fire/Fire injury, Racism, Religious bigotry, Sexual content, Animal death, Bullying, Cursing, Injury/Injury detail, Infidelity, Stalking, and Toxic friendship

Minor: Death, Drug use, Homophobia, Lesbophobia, Medical content, Toxic relationship, and Gun violence