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rainbopagn's reviews
122 reviews
Bad Feminist by Roxane Gay
emotional
funny
reflective
slow-paced
3.0
Gay's rambling style tends well to an essay format. I did find that some of the essays should have been combined as there were times I felt she went over the same territory. You can tell that she is an older Black woman as some of the language reflects terms that are outdated. It is a brutally honest look at life and feminism, though and her perspective is still very much valid and needed today.
All Boys Aren't Blue by George M. Johnson
emotional
funny
hopeful
reflective
medium-paced
4.0
This is a beautiful memoir that is a testament to both queer joy and what it means to have a supportive family. It brings to the conversation the intersection of Blackness and gender identity and how those two are often not looked at in the same conversations. There is no sugar coating here and the author is very honest in what life for a Black queer person looks like. His refusal to put himself in a specific gender box also provides representation to queer kids and teens that gender is indeed a spectrum and labels aren't always necessary.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Homophobia and Transphobia
He/She/They: How We Talk About Gender and Why It Matters by Schuyler Bailar
hopeful
informative
medium-paced
4.75
This is a very informative beginning book for anyone who wants to be an ally or who wants to better understand gender identity and transgender topics. It is part memoir, part handbook and very approachable. It is well informed and uses both research and personal experience.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Homophobia, Suicidal thoughts, Transphobia, Outing, and Dysphoria
The Deep by Rivers Solomon
dark
emotional
tense
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? Yes
4.0
This is a heavy hitter, with the MC being an allegory for generational trauma. The author intentionally makes you uncomfortable as you are not sure if you want the MC to return home or not. I think this is a must read for anyone who as the privilege of NOT knowing intergenerational or racial trauma.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Genocide, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Slavery, Violence, Grief, Suicide attempt, Murder, Pregnancy, Colonisation, and War
Moderate: Animal death, Physical abuse, Sexual violence, and Abandonment
A Spindle Splintered by Alix E. Harrow
emotional
funny
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
I am not one for fairy tale retellings, but this was long enough to deliver. Looking at incurable or terminal illness as a curse allows so many people to feel seen. I did knock this down a star for SPOILERS BELOW. I do love the way it was written, very much like a fairy tale.
This was knocked down from 4 to 3 stars because of the quasi cure the main character gets at the end. Miracle cures are still firmly in the world of fiction, especially for genetic mutations like hers. I cannot get behind that notion.
This was knocked down from 4 to 3 stars because of the quasi cure the main character gets at the end. Miracle cures are still firmly in the world of fiction, especially for genetic mutations like hers. I cannot get behind that notion.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Chronic illness, Terminal illness, and Medical trauma
Queer, There and Everywhere: 23 People Who Changed the World by Sarah Prager
funny
hopeful
informative
inspiring
fast-paced
4.5
This is a quick and simple look at the history of queerness, written perfectly for the YA audience in which it is aimed.
Smoke Gets in Your Eyes: And Other Lessons from the Crematory by Caitlin Doughty
funny
informative
medium-paced
4.0
I love Doughery's style. This was a reread for me and I listened to the audiobook. She narrated the book in a way that felt like she was actually telling you these stories in actual conversation. From the grim look at the eventual death of a friend to the cheeky descriptions of post mortem care, she takes you on a comforting journey through what many consider to still be a taboo topic
Seveneves by Neal Stephenson
Did not finish book. Stopped at 16%.
Did not finish book. Stopped at 16%.
Page 143: " Izzy was full of people who skewed toward the Asperger's end of the social spectrum and there was no better way to get them to start talking than to ask them a technical question."
The book was published in 2015. Asperger's was merged into the ASD diagnosis in 2013. As an autistic person myself, I can't excuse the slur. There is little reason as to why the author didn't know this as it was a source of controversy.
The book was published in 2015. Asperger's was merged into the ASD diagnosis in 2013. As an autistic person myself, I can't excuse the slur. There is little reason as to why the author didn't know this as it was a source of controversy.
Content Warnings
Page 143 contains a slur.
Chain-Gang All-Stars by Nana Kwame Adjei-Brenyah
challenging
dark
emotional
tense
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? Yes
4.75
This is a book that will make you rethink everything you feel and know about the American justice system. This should be required reading. The way you go back and forth between perspectives and the way they come together in the final pages... its beautiful storytelling. It is also vicious and violent, much like the real life justice system. The way the author pulls in real people and real statistics is an homage to those who have been unfairly and unjustly treated.
SPOILERS in
3
2
1
I am more than a little pissed that Thurwar killed Staxxx. I had expected them to go out together, mortally wounding each other. I understand the meaning of the full circle moment but it still annoyed me.
SPOILERS in
3
2
1
I am more than a little pissed that Thurwar killed Staxxx. I had expected them to go out together, mortally wounding each other. I understand the meaning of the full circle moment but it still annoyed me.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body horror, Confinement, Death, Hate crime, Homophobia, Racism, Self harm, Suicide, Torture, Transphobia, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Blood, Police brutality, Death of parent, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Ableism, Alcoholism, Bullying, Domestic abuse, Gun violence, Infidelity, Mental illness, Rape, Medical content, and Abandonment
Minor: Addiction, Cursing, Drug abuse, Infidelity, and Medical trauma
I Who Have Never Known Men by Jacqueline Harpman
dark
emotional
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
I spend through this in about a day. Harpman’s prose totally drowns you in the story, a bit rambling a times and harshly blunt at others. You leave the book thinking about what makes you human. My one complaint is that we never learn our narrators name. I would have liked to see the women help name her given she was their child, whether they liked it or not.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Cancer, Confinement, Death, Suicide, Terminal illness, Police brutality, Grief, and Injury/Injury detail