Reviews tagging 'Dysphoria'

She Who Became the Sun by Shelley Parker-Chan

162 reviews

lulaabees's review against another edition

adventurous inspiring reflective 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? It's complicated

4.5

i really did enjoy this book and its themes a lot. shelley parker-chan is an excellent writer, who essentially writes what is one big tragedy made of interwoven fates, each resolving into its own tragedy (some at the beginning act, some near the end of their own personal tragedy), with brio. but i'm still hesitant to pick up the sequel so far... for some reason, i don't feel like there was anything left hanging that was major, anything that left me hoping for more to the point of returning to this story. that is a testament to how neatly book 1 wrapped up, but... it didn't make me hungry for more. at least not yet! maybe book 2 will be added to my feed in a few months and then we can all chuckle about it together

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Misogyny and Violence

Minor: Sexual content and Dysphoria

mycarefulcardinal's review against another edition

3.5

i really liked ouyang's side of the story, him and esen ... ouch. the characters are all complicated and flawed and i like how all of them connect (ouyang and zhu, ouyang and lord wang, like knows like). i do unfortunately have mixed feelings about zhu's side though.. i liked her story in the beginning but by the end i didn't really believe or quite understand her motivations. i also don't know how i feel about some of the ... explorations of gender ig? it veered a bit into bioessentialist territory imo. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Sexual content, and Fire/Fire injury

Moderate: Ableism, Child death, Misogyny, Slavery, Grief, Death of parent, Murder, Dysphoria, War, and Injury/Injury detail

klbreyfogle's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark 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

I enjoyed it and am going to read the second one! The characters are super morally grey, which can be frustrating when you want to root for them and they do something awful, but it also makes them really interesting to think about! I enjoyed both main characters - I have a little more sympathy for Ouyang’s moral greyness because of his traumatic past but I think I have too much Ma in me to get on board with everything Zhu does. Lots of compelling queerness, which I deeply enjoy! Plenty of action, also lots of politics. Clearly inspired by c-dramas, so if you like those you’ll probably like this.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Ableism, Death, Homophobia, Sexism, Sexual content, Violence, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, Dysphoria, War, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Child death and Slavery

adoto's review against another edition

adventurous emotional reflective tense 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

5.0

You know a book is good when you marvel at how well every single aspect of it was carried out and think "I could never do this" like this gave me the same feeling that Percy Jackson did.... absolutely legendary 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexism, Sexual content, and Violence

Moderate: Ableism, Slavery, Xenophobia, Blood, Dysphoria, and War

saltyseakitten's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional funny inspiring reflective sad tense slow-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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Child death, Confinement, Cursing, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Gore, Homophobia, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Self harm, Sexism, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Slavery, Suicidal thoughts, Torture, Transphobia, Violence, Blood, Grief, Death of parent, Murder, Outing, Sexual harassment, Dysphoria, War, and Injury/Injury detail

littleskylights's review against another edition

adventurous challenging reflective 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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexism, Sexual content, and Violence

Moderate: Misogyny, Dysphoria, and Injury/Injury detail

rynaissanceenby's review against another edition

adventurous challenging emotional hopeful reflective 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? It's complicated

3.0

An interesting and thoughtful exploration of gender and fate. It has the makings to be a real classic that is read in English classes for decades (though society isn't probably ready for it quite yet). I listened to the audiobook, which I think made it harder to keep track of the different characters and settings, which detracted from the story, but it was still enjoyable and I caught the major plot points. I'm excited to find out what happens in the next book. I also get the sense that there's a lot more layers to this story than at first glance if one were to put in the time to dig into it and think about the symbolism and themes. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Misogyny and Sexism

Moderate: Sexual content, Violence, War, and Injury/Injury detail

Minor: Death and Dysphoria

kharlan3's review against another edition

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Ableism, Body horror, Child abuse, Child death, Death, Gore, Misogyny, Sexual content, Torture, Blood, Death of parent, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, and War

Moderate: Animal death, Child abuse, Outing, Alcohol, and Dysphoria

Minor: Excrement and Vomit

lauren_honey's review against another edition

slow-paced

3.5

This book had some really beautiful moments highlighting the queer experience, and the historical elements were interesting, but there is a big focus on war and war strategy. The battle planning and political maneuvering were such a main focus of 75% of the book, and I personally could not keep it straight (pun). That said, this novel uniquely speaks to gender, identity, and dysphoria in ways I haven't seen before, which I find really beautiful. 

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Sexual violence, Dysphoria, and War

bookworm513's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark 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? It's complicated

4.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Body shaming, Violence, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, War, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Child death, Genocide, Slavery, Grief, Dysphoria, and Classism

Minor: Cannibalism