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soggycedar's review
- 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
Graphic: Gun violence, Deadnaming, and Murder
Moderate: Blood and Transphobia
Minor: Incest, Sexual content, Classism, and Drug use
sarah984's review against another edition
- 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
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
- 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
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
- 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 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 ðŸ˜
(Thanks to Netgalley and Tachyon Publications for the ARC!)
Graphic: Gun violence, Transphobia, Murder, Violence, and Deadnaming
Moderate: Sexual content and Drug use
booksthatburn's review against another edition
- 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
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.
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