Reviews tagging 'Incest'

Violet Ghosts by Leah Thomas

5 reviews

rynstagram's review

4.0

*review based on an ARC

I love how this book uses pop culture references to anchor the plot, as well as the names of people and ghosts. 

I've always thought that trans-ness and queerness have a lot in common with being a ghost, and this book explores that as well as how trauma in general has a lot in common with ghostliness. 

It has kind of a slow start and the pacing could be a bit better, especially with Danny's friendship with Seiji, and the last chapter is kind of a quick summary of how everything wraps up which I don't always love. 

But I was surprised by how much depth and heart this book has; I love being caught off guard with a good book turning quickly into a great one!

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, Mental illness, Murder, Rape, Sexual violence, Suicide, Blood, Transphobia, Death of parent, Adult/minor relationship, Addiction, Child abuse, Deadnaming, Emotional abuse, Injury/Injury detail, Death, Sexism, Toxic relationship, Domestic abuse, Grief, Sexual assault, and Alcoholism

Moderate: Violence, Dysphoria, Fire/Fire injury, Bullying, Incest, Alcohol, Confinement, and Gaslighting

Minor: Torture and Terminal illness

elizabethwebb's review

adventurous dark emotional 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

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual assault, Rape, Violence, Transphobia, Toxic friendship, Suicide, Sexual harassment, Domestic abuse, Deadnaming, Confinement, Child death, Child abuse, Toxic relationship, Sexual violence, Sexism, Racism, Racial slurs, Physical abuse, Pedophilia, Panic attacks/disorders, Lesbophobia, Incest, Homophobia, Fire/Fire injury, Emotional abuse, Dysphoria, Death of parent, Death, Bullying, Alcoholism, Addiction, and Abandonment

seawarrior's review

challenging dark emotional hopeful 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? Yes

4.0

This was a difficult book to read because of the subject matter, but it was written very smoothly. I really appreciated the messages about victimization and recovery that are weaved throughout the narrative. I was also relieved that the story ended on a note of acceptance, with Danny now knowing that life will always be ambiguous, and not all people are evil, and he doesn't have to sacrifice himself to play savior to people who aren't yet willing to put distance between themselves and their trauma. Those are troublesome but important lessons for all people to learn, especially when you have been victimized in the past. 

I recommend this book to other readers, but please take note of the content warnings. The story does not shy away from descriptions of physical, sexual, and incestuous assault, though thankfully these events are described on the survivor's own terms.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Alcohol, Alcoholism, Body shaming, Bullying, Cancer, Child abuse, Child death, Confinement, Cursing, Deadnaming, Death, Death of parent, Domestic abuse, Dysphoria, Emotional abuse, Fire/Fire injury, Grief, Incest, Lesbophobia, Misogyny, Murder, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual harassment, Sexual violence, Suicide, Suicide attempt, Toxic friendship, and Transphobia

Moderate: Homophobia, Racism, and Religious bigotry

utopiastateofmind's review

• Diverse cast of characters? Yes

2.75

(Disclaimer: I received this book from the publisher. This has not impacted my review which is unbiased and honest.)

Violet Ghosts is a book about the past, trauma, and friendships. It is a very intense book and I had to not only take breaks, but I also was kept awake at night by some of the imagery. Yes I am a big scaredy cat, but I also felt like there are some harrowing scenes and I wish I had spread the book out across more days than I did. My favorite element has to be the ways Thomas uses the ghosts as metaphors for dealing with our trauma. Trauma, and dealing with it, making peace with the past, and forgiveness are huge issues in Violet Ghosts. And just based on that, you can see how a lot of our language surrounding death, grief, and loss lend themselves to excellent metaphors with ghosts.

I immediately empathized with Dani's character not only because of the ways he has to deal with a friendship that turns toxic, but also his romance storyline. Nothing is simple in Violet Ghosts and even days later I'm not sure how I feel about a few aspects. At multiple points in the book I thought I had a handle on how the book would progress and I was so wrong each time. From the synopsis, this seems like a book that is very focused on dealing with the ghosts, but it's more about Dani. About his own ghosts and trauma and future. 

The ghosts are a large part of the story, but they're more an avenue of how Dani processes his life. While they have their own stories, I always felt that this story is rooted in Dani's experiences. Because of that, some of the messages that are told through the ghosts stories, felt a little shallow compared to the book and Dani's story. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Suicide

Moderate: Transphobia, Pedophilia, Incest, Deadnaming, Panic attacks/disorders, Self harm, Sexual assault, and Domestic abuse

spearly's review

dark 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

3.0

When Dani discovers the ghost of Sarah under his bed, he's not scared. In fact, she becomes his best friend. But Sarah hates men, having been murdered at the hands of one, and Dani is scared to tell her he's trans. When the pair discover another ghost in the woods years later, the new trio decide to convert the old lobby of Dani's apartment into a ghost sanctuary. But seeking out ghosts of violent deaths means running into a few more dangerous beings, too.

TW: sexual assault, rape, murder, toxic relationship, sexual abuse, physical abuse, suicide, transphobia, homophobia, dead-naming

This book was nothing like what I was expecting. The blurb made it seem a bit more mysterious, a bit more high energy. But Thomas has written an expressive, impactful story about a trans boy who can never seem to escape his own ghosts, literally and figuratively. 

Violet Ghosts was a quick read! It had a handful of complicated characters, characters who have all been traumatized by something, either in life or death. Readers get the wisps of a thrill, a darkness to the book, but unfortunately, it never feels too fully formed. I can't speak on it too much, as I am not a victim of trauma in the ways that Sarah, Patricia, and Dani are, and everyone processes their past in their own ways, but the book felt almost.... passive on the atrocities that these characters face. It focuses more on trying to exorcise evil ghosts than to make any sort of commentary about what our characters are going through. Perhaps this was the point. All I know, is I was left for wanting.

I think this could have made a really great thriller if Thomas had chosen to take it in that direction. As it stands, it felt a bit lacklustre for me.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Rape, Toxic relationship, Adult/minor relationship, Deadnaming, Alcoholism, Murder, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Transphobia, Homophobia, Racism, Torture, Suicide, Physical abuse, Misogyny, Medical trauma, Incest, Grief, Gore, Emotional abuse, Death of parent, Death, Child death, Cancer, Bullying, Blood, and Addiction