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Reviews tagging 'Medical trauma'
Fierce Femmes and Notorious Liars: A Dangerous Trans Girl's Confabulous Memoir by Kai Cheng Thom
11 reviews
robinks's review
- 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
5.0
Graphic: Transphobia, Violence, Police brutality, Blood, and Murder
Moderate: Sexual content, Injury/Injury detail, Child abuse, Grief, Death, Rape, Sexual assault, Self harm, Medical trauma, Drug abuse, and Sexual violence
Minor: Drug use, Sexism, Racism, and Misogyny
bashsbooks's review against another edition
- 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? No
5.0
Graphic: Toxic relationship, Racism, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Police brutality, Sexism, Misogyny, Grief, Hate crime, Homophobia, Murder, Classism, Blood, Transphobia, Violence, Death, Toxic friendship, Lesbophobia, and Medical trauma
Moderate: Self harm, Stalking, Sexual content, Gun violence, and Medical content
Minor: Alcohol, Drug abuse, and Drug use
-Usage of the f-slur as an insult.solenekeleroux's review
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Graphic: Transphobia, Violence, Self harm, Police brutality, Murder, Hate crime, Death, Homophobia, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Medical trauma, and Drug use
ieemee's review
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Graphic: Transphobia, Medical trauma, Sexual harassment, Violence, Toxic friendship, and Self harm
bookish_afrolatina's review
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0
When I first picked this up, the only reference I had for a memoir steeped in magical realism was Carmen Maria Machado's In the Dream House. I realized very quickly that Fierce Femmes is a completely different thing! While this book is still full of fantastical elements and absurdities, it is a novel/faux memoir.
The main character is a trans girl who is the daughter of Chinese immigrants (in Canada, I believe) who live in a crooked house in a city called Gloom. Her parents are abusive so, although she feels guilty about leaving her sister, she knows running away will be for the best.
The MC is a self-described liar so we already know we have an unreliable narrator, which made this kind of intriguing. I loved the stories of connecting with other femmes in the pleasure district and the MC's journey of enforcing consent. It's a much needed discussion when others feel as though they are entitled to your body.
This novel includes:
transphobia, consent, sex work, drug use and abuse, found family, love, murder, revenge, adventure, and hot ghosts, among other things.
Graphic: Medical trauma, Drug use, Murder, Hate crime, Drug abuse, Sexual violence, Sexual content, Homophobia, Transphobia, Grief, Emotional abuse, and Physical abuse
willows's review
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.5
Moderate: Gun violence, Death, Drug use, Medical trauma, Sexual assault, Violence, Addiction, Drug abuse, Hate crime, and Transphobia
blackcatkai'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
4.0
this was a wild ride of a novel. what part is fantasy, what part is made up, what is real and what isn't? though that's probably not the point by any means, I loved the mix of magical realism and surrealism. different readers will probably interpret things their own way but a lot of it, to me, felt like ways for the MC to process the trauma and struggles she went through as a young trans girl who just ran away from home.
we've got girl gangs, mermaids, revenge plots, and found families. we've got struggles and hardships but also hope. cheering our MC on is so easy to do and you feel for her as she finds her place in the world and what she wants. I can see the fast paced writing/plot and the uncertainty of what is or isn't real putting some readers off, but I thoroughly enjoyed it.
Graphic: Death, Medical content, Violence, Medical trauma, Self harm, Gun violence, Murder, Blood, Sexual content, and Transphobia
Moderate: Mental illness, Racism, and Panic attacks/disorders
Minor: Ableism
yaoipaddle's review
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? N/A
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A
3.0
Graphic: Homophobia, Toxic friendship, Police brutality, Cursing, Alcohol, Sexual assault, Injury/Injury detail, Addiction, Grief, Violence, Sexual violence, Transphobia, Medical trauma, Sexual content, Murder, Hate crime, and Physical abuse
Moderate: Medical content, Trafficking, Child abuse, and Body shaming
elsebeok'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
4.0
Graphic: Medical trauma, Blood, Death, Homophobia, Injury/Injury detail, Hate crime, Police brutality, Transphobia, and Violence
Moderate: Child abuse
emfass's review
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Haunting, heartbreaking, powerful, hopeful, full of magical realism and the power of trans femininity. I read it on audiobook and would love to revisit it in hard copy form.
Many many quotes I loved that I forgot to capture as I was voraciously listening, but one I did write down:
"That's the difference between love and hunger. Hunger is a story you get stuck in. Love's the story that takes you somewhere new."
I'm so grateful to the Bad Bitch Book Club's LGBTQIA+ subgroup for picking this one, I don't know if I would have heard about it or read it otherwise!
Graphic: Body horror, Death, Drug use, Hate crime, Medical trauma, Murder, Police brutality, Self harm, Sexual violence, and Transphobia
Moderate: Addiction, Body shaming, Child abuse, Sexual assault, and Sexual violence
Sexual assault is a definite undercurrent, and is threatened or implied many times, but I can't recall if any instances happened explicitly on-page.