Reviews tagging 'Homophobia'

The Free People's Village by Sim Kern

9 reviews

joannalouise's review against another edition

emotional funny informative inspiring reflective 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

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Drug use, Homophobia, Toxic relationship, Suicidal thoughts, Sexual assault, Transphobia, and Suicide attempt

cynicalplankton's review against another edition

adventurous hopeful tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Police brutality

Moderate: Homophobia, Transphobia, Drug abuse, and Suicide attempt

Minor: Rape

roaming_reader's review against another edition

challenging dark hopeful informative reflective medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.5

I first heard about this book on TikTok and Instagram from the author themselves and I wanted to pick it up. I am a big fan of Sim Kerns's social media posts and wanted to see if I would be a fan of their writing as well. Turns out I definitely am. This novel is set in an alternate USA timeline, during which Al Gore won the 2000 election and instead of a War on Terror, we were set on the War on Climate Change. It's something that sounds like a utopia, when in actuality, there are so many systemic issues that are masked by "saving the planet". Maddie as a main character was a great one to lead readers through, because her self discovery and learning journey felt reflective of what many people went through in 2020 during the BLM protests after the murders of George Floyd and Brianna Taylor. I did think that the commentary on systemic racism was a bit surface level. I saw another review that called it "entry level" for white people, and I have to agree with it. I enjoyed the discussions on transness and gender identity in the book and thought that the cast of characters was extremely diverse. They were fleshed-out so much that I would love a novel from each person's perspective. This book is enjoyable and really makes you think. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Drug use, Suicidal thoughts, Transphobia, Alcoholism, Drug abuse, Deadnaming, Death, Homophobia, Police brutality, Racism, Mental illness, and Suicide attempt

Moderate: Rape, Alcohol, Sexual assault, Sexual harassment, and Slavery

alienskiesabove's review against another edition

emotional hopeful informative inspiring reflective 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

4.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Police brutality and Violence

Moderate: Emotional abuse, Death, Alcoholism, Drug use, Rape, Drug abuse, and Sexual assault

Minor: Grief, Homophobia, Medical trauma, Hate crime, Panic attacks/disorders, Child abuse, and Blood

hankatcol's review against another edition

challenging informative reflective medium-paced

• Strong character development? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Transphobia, Suicide attempt, Racism, Panic attacks/disorders, Hate crime, Violence, Homophobia, Gun violence, Drug abuse, and Addiction

Moderate: Rape, War, Vomit, and Deadnaming

backaswords's review against another edition

adventurous challenging emotional informative sad medium-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

4.0

This is a book I think white people who have been doing anti-racism and anti-colonial work will really enjoy. The MC doesn’t become a white savior, the marginalized characters are well rounded, and there’s a realistic depiction of progressive movements and how they ebb and flow. 

The alternate timeline where Gore is elected aptly shows how a green movement wouldn’t be anti-racist and would still bend to capitalism and racism. The cast is diverse with lots of queer characters, which I love. 

I would not recommend this to a BIPOC person as the depictions of police brutality and the lessons the MC learns might be triggering and honestly annoying. She’s a white lady learning her privilege and that was often annoying for me, but mostly because it reminded me of my own journey and how annoying I was (and probably still am). 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Racism

Moderate: Homophobia, Transphobia, and Sexual assault

lettuce_read's review

challenging emotional

• Strong character development? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcoholism, Drug abuse, Grief, Police brutality, Racism, Addiction, Panic attacks/disorders, Suicidal thoughts, and Suicide attempt

Moderate: Homophobia, Rape, and Deadnaming

Minor: Transphobia

caseythereader's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional reflective sad tense 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

Thanks to Levine Querido for the free copy of this book.

 - THE FREE PEOPLE'S VILLAGE is unlike any book I've ever read before. I never thought a book about the internal struggles of a group of activists would rivet me, but I absolutely could not put this down.
- This book is entirely from the POV of Maddie, a young white woman joining a Black-led movement to preserve a Black neighborhood. She doesn't always handle new information and situations perfectly (or even well), and she eventually has to reckon with her place in the movement and take accountability for actions she does or does not take. I think Kern struck the right balance here - Maddie is not a white savior, but she is given space to catch up on the history and politics she does not know (and even then, she is reprimanded for never bothering to learn these things!)
- Looking at this book from a wider perspective, I appreciated how Kern took the fork in the road that we often romanticize - Gore winning the 2000 election - and showed how even if there was massive movement on the climate, our society would still find a way to use those changes to enrich white people and push out poor and BIPOC people. Honestly, this book is one to give to white liberals who you wish would consider leftist ideas. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcoholism, Animal death, Addiction, Alcohol, Violence, Rape, Blood, Drug use, Religious bigotry, Chronic illness, Drug abuse, Suicidal thoughts, Transphobia, Racism, Colonisation, Grief, Police brutality, Vomit, War, Cursing, Death, Injury/Injury detail, Panic attacks/disorders, and Child abuse

Moderate: Homophobia and Suicide attempt

Minor: Pregnancy and Deadnaming

kays_reading_journal's review against another edition

challenging emotional informative reflective tense 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

5⭐️

I’ll be honest, I wasn’t expecting to love this book. It’s been awhile since I’ve read any sort of alternate timeline or political heavy books, and I didn’t think I’d get into it, but I absolutely loved this. I had a whole convo with my mom (who doesn’t even read) because I needed to talk about this novel and all the thoughts it was provoking. It forced me to re-examine some of my views about things happening in my city right now as well, and I’m really glad for it. 

The main character is very close to me identity wise, and I think personality wise as well. She’s imperfect, she’s flawed, but she’s trying to become better and that’s what makes this novel so great. This book held a lot of realism and I think it was a breath of fresh air. 

Despite the whole novel being single pov, the other characters were still strongly developed. There was foreshadowing for the end throughout the entire book, and I was constantly on a rollercoaster of feeling hopeful vs. pessimistic. Every time the characters experienced a win, I was excited with them and turning to the next page enthusiastically. Every time they experienced a drawback, I was dreading what would come next. 

While this book definitely won’t be for everyone, if you enjoy alternate realities, social justice, or want to branch out from your usual genre, I think you’ll enjoy this book! 

Thank you to NetGallley, Levine Querido, and Sim Kern for this eARC in exchange for an honest review. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Drug abuse, Alcoholism, Homophobia, Police brutality, Transphobia, Violence, Gun violence, Sexual assault, Addiction, Racism, and Suicidal thoughts

Moderate: Deadnaming, Grief, Classism, Mass/school shootings, Rape, and Suicide attempt