Reviews tagging 'Death'

Kiss Number 8 by Colleen AF Venable

8 reviews

rachelditty's review against another edition

challenging emotional hopeful reflective sad tense 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

4.25

I really enjoyed this! I didn't know anything about it before reading; I only knew it was queer. I was surprised when the first half wasn't centered around anything LGBT+, and more focused on something strange happening to Mads' family circumstances. But as things unfolded and Mads' worldviews were dissected, I started liking the story more and more. Religion especially was used in a way I'd never really seen before--the main character interacts with members of the church who are bigoted, but still attends mass because she feels it's a place where she is part of a community and things can really feel safe for her.  I thought the story was really well done, and even the more disrespectful aspects of the characters' views were portrayed super well and wrapped up neatly. So glad I read this, it was awesome.

Quotes I liked:

"Was it worse to leave him like that or to tell him he was ust part of a sciece experiment? A baking soda volcano, thrown together last minute, without thought. Without care." (p. 237)

"I could have pushed harder, gotten mom to let me stay home. But maybe I wanted to be judged. Maybe I knew the scale of 1 to 10 didn't even come close to being able to rank what I had done." (p. 244)

"Or I can just be myself, and tell people, 'Hey, I'm Amanda! And I happen to be gay!' Maybe even reverse it. 'Hey, I'm gay! And I happen to be Amanda!'" (p. 262).

"Dad was right. Always choose flying over invisibility." (p. 271).

"We don't get to choose who we love. But sometimes we get lucky and fall for someone wonderful." (p. 280).

"Kinda crazy that I had ever thought I was alone." (p. 291).

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Deadnaming, Domestic abuse, Homophobia, Transphobia, Religious bigotry, and Lesbophobia

Moderate: Death, Physical abuse, Grief, Death of parent, Outing, Toxic friendship, and Alcohol

livcbrown's review

emotional inspiring sad fast-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

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Biphobia, Bullying, Deadnaming, Death, Domestic abuse, Fatphobia, Homophobia, Transphobia, Religious bigotry, Lesbophobia, Outing, and Toxic friendship

pinkupengu's review

emotional reflective fast-paced

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

1.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Biphobia, Bullying, Cursing, Deadnaming, Death, Domestic abuse, Homophobia, Infidelity, Physical abuse, Toxic relationship, Violence, Vomit, Outing, Toxic friendship, Alcohol, and Dysphoria

Disrespectful representation on trans individual

vaniavela's review against another edition

emotional 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

3.0

I found the art charming and expressive. There is a lot of emotion in their body language and expressions, which brings the story to life, compensating for aspects of the plot that were not to my total liking.

There is a lot of relationship drama in this graphic novel, as well as strong themes of homophobia and transphobia. 

I don't know how to rate it, but it was a decent read.

CW: Graphic=Transphobia, Homophobia, Religious bigotry. Moderate= Deadnaming, Domestic abuse, Death of parent. Minor= Bullying, Child abuse, Death 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Homophobia, Transphobia, and Religious bigotry

Moderate: Deadnaming, Domestic abuse, and Death of parent

Minor: Bullying, Child abuse, and Death

robinks's review

emotional reflective medium-paced

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

4.25

Overall, I liked the story and the illustrations. I did not like a lot of the main characters, and this story affirmed my dislike of organized religion.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Bullying, Deadnaming, Homophobia, Infidelity, Sexism, Transphobia, Religious bigotry, Lesbophobia, Outing, and Toxic friendship

Moderate: Alcohol and Dysphoria

Minor: Death, Domestic abuse, Sexual content, and Vomit

the_crooked_neighbor's review

emotional 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? No

5.0

I am really picky when it comes to graphic novels because I feel like it can be hard for them to really tell a full story. KN8 fills all of my requirements for a perfect graphic novel. It was long enough to tell the story it needed to tell and it had a great art style. I cried a lot- in a good way- because it really had the catharsis that I craved from the setup. I really appreciated that the comfort found in religion was portrayed alongside the harm that can come from it as a queer person. I am so glad I picked this one up.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Homophobia, Transphobia, Religious bigotry, Lesbophobia, and Toxic friendship

Moderate: Bullying, Deadnaming, Domestic abuse, Outing, Abandonment, and Alcohol

Minor: Death and Death of parent

The story handles the homophobia in a satisfying way- it is cathartic by the end. The transphobia- less so, but the characters definitely become less transphobic by the end. If it is not too triggering, I would still recommend the book because I felt that the pain from reading her experiences was overwhelmed by the joy of her acceptance by the end.

hexenlibrarian's review

emotional inspiring lighthearted reflective sad 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

4.25

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Biphobia, Bullying, Death, Domestic abuse, Homophobia, Infidelity, Transphobia, Grief, Religious bigotry, Lesbophobia, and Toxic friendship

thejoyfuljuggler's review

emotional sad 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

4.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Biphobia, Homophobia, Transphobia, Religious bigotry, and Toxic friendship

Moderate: Biphobia, Bullying, Deadnaming, Death, Sexual content, Transphobia, Death of parent, and Lesbophobia

Minor: Bullying and Deadnaming