Reviews tagging 'Sexual assault'

The House of Impossible Beauties by Joseph Cassara

24 reviews

dizzymissliz's review against another edition

dark emotional sad slow-paced

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

3.75

What an incredibly depressing book. Even though gay culture has so many highs and a beautiful, rich, history, it's easy to forget how dark and lonely it was for our community in the 1980's. This book describes this period in explicit detail. Even though it was hard to read and extremely sad, I think it's important to reflect on this time period. This book focused more on the relationships between trans/gay entertainers and their found family rather than ball culture, but I think that that's what made it special. There really is a familial love between these characters, heavily influenced by and named after the people in Paris is Burning. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Drug use, Hate crime, Homophobia, Physical abuse, Racism, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Suicide, Transphobia, Murder, and Injury/Injury detail

Minor: Incest

ahobbitsreadinglist's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional sad 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? Yes

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Drug use, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Transphobia, and Abandonment

Moderate: Body shaming

Minor: Gun violence and Excrement

caseythereader's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional reflective sad slow-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

3.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Child abuse, Cursing, Deadnaming, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Homophobia, Infidelity, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Suicide, Terminal illness, Transphobia, Violence, Blood, Excrement, Vomit, Medical content, Grief, Abandonment, Alcohol, Dysphoria, and Injury/Injury detail

remy_licked_my_book's review

dark emotional 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

5.0

This book was so incredibly heartbreaking and beautiful. I had no idea what I was getting myself into but I couldn't stop reading. These Queens were fierce until the end. Some fell sooner than others and I can't imagine what it would be like to have been a homosexual in the 80's-90's when AIDS was rampant and no one cared. This book gave me a glimpse. Some sections were heavy and hard to listen too but they are a reflection of real traumas that happen to people all over the world. Angel was my favourite character and she was flawless right to the very end. My heart broke for Daniel, Venus, and Juanito. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Death, Homophobia, Sexual content, Sexual violence, and Terminal illness

Moderate: Sexual assault, Suicide, Toxic relationship, and Violence

Minor: Incest and Rape

editorbrenna's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional 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? It's complicated

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Chronic illness, Death, Drug use, Physical abuse, Sexual assault, Suicide, and Transphobia

crichar9's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional informative 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? Yes

3.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Drug abuse, Hate crime, Homophobia, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Transphobia, Violence, and Sexual harassment

Moderate: Chronic illness

Minor: Suicide, Dementia, and Dysphoria

chloecc15's review

emotional funny lighthearted 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

3.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Drug use, Homophobia, and Transphobia

Moderate: Racism, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Suicide, Terminal illness, Suicide attempt, and Sexual harassment

scruffycat's review

challenging dark sad slow-paced

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

2.0

This novel is about the ball scene in New York in the 80s, and while it's an important story to tell, this wasn't the best resource for this. Many of the people in that scene suffered terribly, as do many trans people, from violence, discrimination, lack of economic opportunity, and the devastation of AIDS. 

Generally, that scene is lauded for the amazing resilience and creation of found families, the attitude that if the world wasn't going to give anything to the people, they'd create their own support systems.  That focus is only seen in brief glimpses here. Instead, the author chooses to go deep into the brutality.  It doesn't seem that the author has empathy for the characters, which makes the whole book comes across as suffer porn. It's difficult and, frankly, I'd recommend watching the TV series Pose instead. Pose contains some of the same exact stories, which I'm guessing is based on research on the real-life people in that scene, but treats the characters with love and honor while still acknowledging the tragedies.    

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual assault and Sexual violence

Moderate: Pedophilia

Minor: Violence

darkmattersoybean's review

emotional sad slow-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: Addiction, Child abuse, Chronic illness, Deadnaming, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Homophobia, Panic attacks/disorders, Racial slurs, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Suicide, Terminal illness, Toxic relationship, Transphobia, Grief, Toxic friendship, Alcohol, and Sexual harassment

anjamichelle's review

dark emotional 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

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Drug abuse and Sexual assault

Moderate: Child abuse, Homophobia, Suicide, and Transphobia