Reviews tagging 'Drug use'

These Fragile Graces, This Fugitive Heart by Izzy Wasserstein

5 reviews

soggycedar's review

emotional mysterious reflective fast-paced

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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Gun violence, Deadnaming, and Murder

Moderate: Blood and Transphobia

Minor: Incest, Sexual content, Classism, and Drug use

sarah984's review against another edition

dark mysterious slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

2.0

I could see some of what this book was trying to accomplish, but I just didn't like it. The writing style was bland and felt self-conscious, always having to state everything directly instead of trusting the reader. The characters' relationships felt weird and the plot felt kind of half baked. It seemed like the author kept forgetting that the main character had broken fingers.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Deadnaming and Transphobia

Moderate: Death of parent, Violence, Death, Gun violence, Injury/Injury detail, and Sexual content

Minor: Drug use, Grief, Incest, Racism, Vomit, Dysphoria, Medical content, Mental illness, Murder, Police brutality, and Religious bigotry

bookdrunkard78's review against another edition

adventurous dark informative mysterious sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Violence, Deadnaming, Blood, Death, Gun violence, Death of parent, Injury/Injury detail, and Murder

Minor: Addiction, Kidnapping, and Drug use

mar's review against another edition

adventurous dark mysterious 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

3.0

I heard "trans" "technothriller" and "clones" and immediately knew I was in for a fun ride <3

I really enjoyed the iconic noir tone and absolutely fell in love with Dora - look, give me a character with very little regard for her own life to a suicidal degree who'll fight tooth and nail for her friends, and I'm SOLD.  
Where the story suffers is its brevity, honestly - I do love a fast-paced thriller, but the shortness of the book left frustratingly little space for worldbuilding, atmosphere and character development (especially glaring in Theo's case). I think the concept behind the story is phenomenal, and as a huge fan of clone narratives (and a nonbinary person) it was exciting seeing it through a trans lens, but even so I was left wanting more, and not in a good way. I would've liked to see it delve deeper into the themes of personhood and autonomy, the ethical implications, and all the complicated feelings Dora and Theo have about it.

Overall, very cool idea with lots of potential, but MAN it should've been a full novel 😭

(Thanks to Netgalley and Tachyon Publications for the ARC!)

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Gun violence, Transphobia, Murder, Violence, and Deadnaming

Moderate: Sexual content and Drug use

booksthatburn's review against another edition

mysterious reflective tense 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? Yes

5.0

*I received a free review copy in exchange for an honest review of this book. 

THESE FRAGILE GRACES, THIS FUGITIVE HEART is a queer thriller about a trans woman who returns to her former anarchist compound and ends up investigating her ex's murder. It intimacy, autonomy, and connection, as well as the timeless question of "if you fuck your own clone, is it incest or masturbation?"

THESE FRAGILE GRACES strange and vibrant, set in a dystopia with governmental and corporate neglect inversely proportional to the wealth of the residents, when any remain at all. The worldbuilding is drawn in broad strokes, only explaining as much as is relevant to Dora's thoughts at any one moment. What is explained is about the result, not the path to get there, as much of the collapse happened before her lifetime. 

Even as the mystery part of the story takes a bit of a backseat to Dora's identity crisis when confronted with her clones, it never loses the tense thread which began with her ex-girlfriend's murder and sudden return to a place she left under stressful circumstances. 

If you like queer dystopian thrillers, don't miss THESE FRAGILE GRACES, THIS FUGITIVE HEART.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Violence, Blood, and Gun violence

Moderate: Sexual content, Medical content, Death of parent, Deadnaming, Injury/Injury detail, Medical trauma, Murder, Incest, Transphobia, and Grief

Minor: Vomit, Drug abuse, and Drug use