Reviews tagging 'Cancer'

Moi, ce que j'aime, c'est les monstres : Livre premier by Emil Ferris

27 reviews

owlribbon's review against another edition

5.0

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Alcoholism, Bullying, Cancer, Child abuse, Chronic illness, Death, Gun violence, Homophobia, Infidelity, Mental illness, Pedophilia, Racism, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Terminal illness, Violence, Blood, Antisemitism, Grief, Death of parent, Lesbophobia, and Alcohol

Moderate: Racial slurs and Rape

paigicus's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious sad slow-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? Yes

4.25

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Cancer, Child abuse, Death, Gore, Sexual assault, Blood, Trafficking, Grief, and Death of parent

Minor: Homophobia

nmcannon's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional hopeful mysterious reflective 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? No

5.0

 Back in…2019…I read this amazing blog post by Casey the Candian Lesbrarian about the best books she’d read that year. My Favorite Thing is Monsters was on it, and I put it on my TBR, so future!Natalie would remember. Future!Natalie came through.

Karen Reyes is a ten year old girl obsessed with horror movie monsters. With bullies, a best friend lost to homophobia (still alive, but heavily forced into the closet by parents), and the stress of working class ‘60s Chicago, she has a A Lot to process. And that’s before her upstairs neighbor Anka is murdered, her older brother becomes the prime suspect, and her mom gets a cancer diagnosis. Trusty sketchbook and fedora in tow, Reyes decides to figure out whodunit. What she doesn’t bargain for are tapes of Anka telling her life story in Nazi Germany, rife with parental abuse, rape, and pedophilia.

The entire, hefty book of My Favorite Thing is Monsters is styled as Reyes’ journal and sketchbook. The art is GORGEOUS. The book is art and art is the book. I was reminded of coffee table books, which are set out to entertain guests. Then again, the subject matter is not for the light of heart. Ferris pulls no punches, and her heroine’s lives are dark. A serious dead dove; don’t eat situation. I thought the story would focus more on the intersection of queerness and horror, and it does to a certain extent. There’s just a whole lot more. Anka’s flashbacks take up more pages, which makes sense because Reyes is ten and Anka died in her fifties. While Anka and Reyes are twin pole stars, the other characters aren’t neglected at all. The depth of character is truly incredible and incredibly colorful.

Despite the grim subject matter, there’s a thread of youthful hope throughout the story. If you can grasp it and hold tight, I highly, highly recommend Ferris’ masterwork. My Favorite Thing is Monsters is a beautiful, heart-wrenching magnum opus.

Casey’s blog post: https://caseythecanadianlesbrarian.wordpress.com/2019/01/08/my-2018-year-in-reading-favourite-books-of-the-year-most-memorable-character-best-cover-and-more/

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Bullying, Child abuse, Cursing, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Hate crime, Mental illness, Misogyny, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Rape, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Toxic relationship, Violence, Vomit, Police brutality, Antisemitism, Grief, Religious bigotry, Death of parent, Murder, Lesbophobia, Outing, Alcohol, War, and Deportation

Moderate: Cancer, Terminal illness, Medical content, Dementia, and Sexual harassment

Minor: Body horror, Suicidal thoughts, and Classism

I'd say the majority of the CWs are period-typical considering the setting is pre-Holocaust, Holocaust, and 1960s working class Chicago. Reyes is a young, queer woman of color, and she experiences period-typical racism, lesbophobia, classism, and misogyny.

rudy's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious reflective sad 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

5.0

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Cancer, Death, Gun violence, and Death of parent

Moderate: Alcoholism, Animal death, Domestic abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Xenophobia, Trafficking, and Alcohol

Minor: Blood

amazelan's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional 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? No

5.0

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcoholism, Body horror, Bullying, Cancer, Child abuse, Death, Genocide, Gun violence, Pedophilia, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Slavery, Violence, Blood, Antisemitism, Grief, Death of parent, Murder, Alcohol, Classism, and Deportation

kjboldon's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional funny mysterious reflective sad tense 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

5.0

2017: A coming of age murder mystery, the story and art are intricate and enthralling.

2024: now in the permanent library and recommended many times. Preteen Karen Reyes lives in 1960s Chicago and imagines she's a monster, though the adults around her, apart from her mother, are the ones that can't seem to keep their monstrous aspects in check. 

There is a mystery of how a neighbor died, so Karen dons a trenchcoat and brimmed hat to investigate, all while being bullied at school, harboring a crush on a schoolmate, inventing an imaginary friend, and trying to navigate issues of race, class, poverty, and the morass of her family's secrets that keep getting withheld from her. 

Karen is such a beating heart of a main character. I adore her and fear for her. 

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Alcoholism, Body horror, Body shaming, Bullying, Cancer, Child abuse, Death, Domestic abuse, Homophobia, Infidelity, Racial slurs, Racism, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Terminal illness, Toxic relationship, Trafficking, Grief, Death of parent, Lesbophobia, Alcohol, Sexual harassment, and Classism

tangleroot_eli's review against another edition

adventurous challenging emotional mysterious tense medium-paced

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

2nd read, 2024: Liked this even more on a second read. Caught so many more Easter eggs and throwaway jokes and just found a lot more meaning in it.

1st read, 2022: This book isn't perfect, but it's perfectly captivating, and now I'm among the legions of fans (im)patiently dreaming of Book 2. 

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Gore, Blood, and Grief

Moderate: Addiction, Adult/minor relationship, Body horror, Bullying, Cancer, Confinement, Death, Genocide, Mental illness, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Terminal illness, Violence, Antisemitism, Trafficking, Death of parent, Murder, Alcohol, and Classism

Minor: Alcoholism, Animal death, Child abuse, Child death, Drug use, Gun violence, Homophobia, Rape, Sexism, Suicide, Xenophobia, Vomit, Kidnapping, Fire/Fire injury, and Abandonment

Moderate: Saneism Minor: Nonconsensual drug use

krys_kilz's review against another edition

dark emotional 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

5.0

This graphic novel is super unique and the artwork is truly NEXT LEVEL. It's crosshatched and drawn with ballpoint pen, which gives it a style and color palette unlike any graphic novel or comic I've read before. I loved that it was written as the main character's notebook and enjoyed the memorabilia and famous paintings included throughout.

The main character and narrator, Karen Reyes, warms my little queer heart. I love how unapologetically weird she is, how full of curiosity and spunk. I appreciated all the LGBTQ characters and the pro-SWer sentiment. With the body horror subplot, you could definitely read this as a trans narrative too. 

The use of horror and multiple meanings of what makes a monster was also incredibly powerful. There is some sharp social critique / political analysis woven throughout that is really striking in conversation with the artwork. I also appreciated the threads comparing trauma to being haunted.

There is a lot of heavy content and I agree that the narrative was a bit scattered at times, but overall I loved this book and am excited to read Volume II.

tw: adult/minor relationship, pedophilia, antisemitism, Holocaust, cancer, rape 

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Cancer, Child abuse, Genocide, Pedophilia, Rape, Antisemitism, Death of parent, and Murder

Moderate: Racism, Sexual content, and Blood

Minor: Body horror, Bullying, Homophobia, and Racial slurs

camreads22's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious reflective sad 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? It's complicated

5.0

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Cancer, Homophobia, Pedophilia, Racism, Rape, and Trafficking

madelineahjones's review against another edition

dark emotional

3.5

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Cancer, Drug use, Sexual assault, and Sexual content