Reviews

Sirena Selena by Mayra Santos-Febres

kcasabona's review

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2.0

This book did not meet my expectations. I thought it had great potential, but compared to other LGBTQ books I've read, it falls short. The lyric prose and poetic descriptions was an enjoyable part of the read, but the fractured nature of the text and the constant switching of characters' names made it difficult to follow.

sucktastic's review

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2.0

wow, no idea what this was even about. at all.

nicole_reads_everything's review against another edition

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4.0

Around the World Reading Challenge: PUERTO RICO
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I really enjoyed this one! As part of this challenge I've been trying to prioritize books with queer themes and I was really excited to find a book set in the Caribbean, detailing the lives of various queer people (mostly gay men, drag queens, and trans women) in Puerto Rico and the DR. The writing style and structure was quite unique as well, with multiple POVs told in different tenses and person perspectives. I can see how it might not work for some people, but I quite enjoyed it. The characters were really interesting and grabbed me right away, and the book covers a lot of more difficult themes but it never felt overwhelmingly depressing. I found this really engaging and interesting!

nadinekc's review

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4.0

4 1/2 stars. This book feels like a love letter to its characters - the close third person narrator lets us see into their hearts, but respectfully, gently, without prying, and without violating the illusions that sustain and protect them and give their life richness. It also has the only well-done, graphic love scene I have ever read - it helps that it's only a few sentences long, and while graphic it isn't at all voyeuristic.

tsefalofor's review

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2.0

i like saying in class 'I find it soooo interesting how...' when i in fact DON'T find it interesting. it's like my little secret

enjoyable quote from one reading: "Sirena Selena dismounts and dismembers the stereotype by mounting Hugo and penetrating him with her/his huge penis."

zaraishka's review

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dark funny hopeful medium-paced
  • 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? It's complicated

3.5

lindy_b's review

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1.0

Yeah, I take issue with portraying a fifteen year old Puerto Rican trans woman/drag queen as a seductress.

curmiens's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

lilliansbooks's review

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medium-paced

2.0

isabelreads's review

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challenging dark emotional reflective sad fast-paced
  • 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? Yes

4.25

A fascinating novel about passing across all sorts of lines, a novel about transfeminity that falls into a lot of traps common in literature about trans people written by cis writers. Yet, something about the ambiguity and gorgeous writing transcends these tropes for me, allowing an interesting exploration about queerness, gender, and colonial Caribbean existence that entranced me. A kaleidoscopic novel of queer community I'll probably eventually read in Spanish as I think some of the gender play will be even more interesting in a language with grammatical gender.