Reviews tagging 'Sexual assault'

Fierce Femmes and Notorious Liars: A Dangerous Trans Girl's Confabulous Memoir by Kai Cheng Thom

26 reviews

payaut's review

adventurous emotional funny hopeful reflective tense fast-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

4.25

while confusing and weird at times (and definitely confusing and weird on purpose) i super enjoyed reading this book and my fav part was definitely the cake/baking as the universe metaphor at the end

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Violence

Moderate: Sexual assault and Transphobia

robinks's review

adventurous emotional hopeful inspiring lighthearted reflective 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? It's complicated

5.0

I loved this magical, fantasy-tinged memoir. I got sucked into our protagonist’s world and all the events and people that showed up. I was also satisfied with how things turned out for her. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Transphobia, Violence, Police brutality, Blood, and Murder

Moderate: Sexual content, Injury/Injury detail, Child abuse, Grief, Death, Rape, Sexual assault, Self harm, Medical trauma, Drug abuse, and Sexual violence

Minor: Drug use, Sexism, Racism, and Misogyny

jamieruwen's review

adventurous funny mysterious fast-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 wonderful: fierce and gentle, prodding and sweet, dark and magical. A magical realism, surreal biomythography about a trans girl and the fierce femmes she finds at her new home on the Street of Miracles after fleeing her old one. Our unnamed protagonist learns to reconcile the aggression and trauma within her after she and her friends form a trans girl-gang and go on a self-defensive spree of violence. A great book that refuses to be for cis people.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Violence

Moderate: Abandonment, Self harm, Sexual assault, and Murder

bashsbooks's review against another edition

adventurous emotional funny fast-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? No

4.5

Fierce Femmes and Notorious Liars is a magical "memoir" that uses poetry and allegory to show what being a trans femme is like - from running away from home, forming a found family, defending herself, and growing as a woman. Though it uses unreality to prove its points, there are no rose-colored glasses in this short book. Everything is brutal, as the lives of many trans women are. I thoroughly enjoyed this book, and I can't wait to read more by Thom.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Homophobia, Lesbophobia, Violence, Misogyny, Police brutality, Racism, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Toxic relationship, Blood, Classism, Death, Grief, Hate crime, Medical trauma, Murder, Toxic friendship, and Transphobia

Moderate: Gun violence, Medical content, Sexual content, Stalking, and Self harm

Minor: Drug use, Alcohol, and Drug abuse

-Usage of the f-slur as an insult.

solenekeleroux's review

challenging emotional hopeful reflective 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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Transphobia, Violence, Self harm, Police brutality, Murder, Hate crime, Death, Homophobia, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Medical trauma, and Drug use

arebe's review

adventurous challenging dark emotional hopeful mysterious fast-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

Super enjoyed the author's unique voice and fantastic urban fairland of femmes and their friends and foes.

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Transphobia, Police brutality, Self harm, Violence, and Sexual assault

harveylamber's review

challenging emotional funny hopeful fast-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

3.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual violence and Transphobia

Moderate: Sexual assault and Self harm

willows's review

adventurous dark funny hopeful inspiring 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

4.5

 

Both very real and very surreal at the same time. I liked how raw it was and how the fantasy elements just kind of made sense. I liked the portrayal of how seeing yourself as dangerous can be a bit of a defense mechanism-- I don't know, I think the portrayal of trauma in general was handled really well. Like it didn't sugarcoat it and the Hurt was there but it was just as much about healing and finding your power and community and a bunch of other things that just made it really hopeful. And for a book that could have been so heavy, it was also pretty fun. Very unique and well done, I loved it.

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Gun violence, Death, Drug use, Medical trauma, Sexual assault, Violence, Addiction, Drug abuse, Hate crime, and Transphobia

chattie_the_mad_chatter's review

challenging dark emotional funny hopeful informative inspiring 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? It's complicated

4.5

For such a small book it really packs a punch.
This has a magical realisim, surreal feel that is so full of truth.
There are wonderful metaphors abounding displayed as a physical reality and inserts of poetry.

This book I had to put down at certain moments and breathe as I felt so moved by our protagonist and their friends and know that their story Echoes so many stories that go Unheard in our world. 

So many moments that feel powerful, and give hope and show anyone who is not trans how it feels. It has been a delight and a horror to walk in her fabulous stilleto shoes for a moment. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Transphobia, Death, Bullying, Emotional abuse, Homophobia, Hate crime, Panic attacks/disorders, Medical content, Misogyny, Murder, and Physical abuse

Moderate: Body shaming, Drug use, Sexual content, and Drug abuse

Minor: Sexual assault

vincci's review against another edition

adventurous challenging emotional mysterious reflective 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

5.0

"Sometimes fiction is truer than facts, and the trouble is knowing which fictions are facts, and which facts are fictions."

Having just read I Hope We Choose Love and being a follower of Thom on social media for several years, this quote near the end of the book encapsulated how I felt as I was listening to it (audiobook) Every time I think something may have been a "fact" of Thom's life, she throws in some mermaids, magic, or another tidbit of "fiction". 

Thom is masterful in her use of imagery and symbolism throughout the book. As a dietitian by trade, I particularly noticed her use of food/hunger imagery from the very first chapter. She also uses repetition often as a way to create rhythm and build intensity. 

I thought the ending was particularly clever - I have a few days left of my loan from the library and I'm already re-listening to the book to catch what I've missed. I've never done this with another book before; that's how captivating it is. 

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Self harm, Transphobia, Sexual content, Death, and Violence

Minor: Sexual assault