Reviews tagging 'Child abuse'

All the Birds in the Sky by Charlie Jane Anders

17 reviews

shankargopal's review

emotional funny hopeful reflective fast-paced

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

4.25

I loved this book, and I look forward to reading it again later. Despite having scenes of bullying and cruelty it is a gentle book whose characters seem both real and caring themselves.  The humour is beautifully done and also gentle in its own way.  I went into this book expecting an ordinary experience and got a special one. 

The only reason I didn't give this five stars is that there seems to be some inconsistencies in the plot and then also in one of the main characters, whose caring nature is emphasized by literally everyone but who at times seems to react to horrifying situations with an odd indifference (in particular there's another character who is cruel to her as a child, but who is then punished in horrific ways that don't seem to move our character very much).  Other than that, as said, I loved it. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Bullying

Moderate: Child abuse

saucy_bookdragon's review

dark mysterious reflective sad tense medium-paced

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

2.0

"Weirdness is value neutral."

All the Birbs in the Sky is an ambitious book with a unique premise that attempts to blend sci-fi and fantasy, but it fails to make it past the idea phase. I found the first third to be interesting as a super genius and witch befriended each other, I enjoyed their dynamic and how they learned about their abilities. The rest of the book felt like a completely different story with the apocalyptic focus that comes to sudden, giving whiplash. The characters are unmemorable, peaking in interest at the beginning of their arcs but devolving into blandness after the time jump. The prose is also bland but tries (and fails) to be poetic and profound.

And on the genre blend, sci-fi and fantasy have blurred lines between them, but to make the contradiction work you have to define what makes them so different. If your sci-fi has no basis in some sort of real theoretical science or a scientific thought experiment, then what makes it different from fantasy? It's the difference between Star Wars and Interstellar and Jurassic Park; the fantasy elements of Star Wars blend with the sci-fi because they are equally as plausible, but fantasy elements would have felt out of place in Interstellar since it has a basis in actual science and they'd be out of place in Jurassic Park because that's based in a scientific thought experiment.

This book would have been more interesting as a concept if it was more grounded sci-fi along with magic, but I don't see what actually makes Laurence's super-genius different from Patricia's witchcraft on a genre level. What makes this genre blend different from most superhero media where magic and this flavor of sci-fi coexist? Patricia's magic was a little more interesting. It was nature itself and I like the idea that you don't control magic/nature you coexist with it. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal cruelty and Bullying

Moderate: Death, Child abuse, War, and Violence

ehmannky's review

reflective medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

A slightly absurdist book following two young people dealing with loneliness and the trials and tribulations of becoming an adult and learning about being connected and communication. And one just happens to be a witch and one is a big of a mad scientist who both accidentally find themselves working for groups with eco-fascist bents. I thought that the plot ended up being a bit thin at the end, but I thought the character build up and the relationship between Patricia and Laurence made this a really enjoyable and delightful read. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Bullying and Child abuse

Moderate: Death of parent

Minor: Death, Murder, Violence, and War

walkie_check's review

challenging dark emotional sad tense medium-paced

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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal cruelty, Cursing, Death, Bullying, Emotional abuse, Child abuse, Sexual content, Grief, Murder, and Violence

Moderate: Animal cruelty, Blood, Death of parent, Forced institutionalization, Suicidal thoughts, Panic attacks/disorders, War, Alcohol, Child abuse, and Confinement

Minor: Chronic illness, Pandemic/Epidemic, Terminal illness, Body horror, Ableism, Deadnaming, and Abandonment

bookcaptivated's review against another edition

adventurous emotional hopeful mysterious reflective medium-paced

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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Bullying, Child abuse, Torture, and Death

Moderate: Confinement, Injury/Injury detail, Blood, Grief, Gore, Sexual content, War, Violence, and Body horror

Minor: Animal cruelty and Death of parent

maddibw's review

adventurous mysterious tense fast-paced

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

3.75

It was a fun and interesting read. And it certainly felt like a take on Sci-fi and fantasy that I haven’t read before which was cool. I will say that the summary in the flap of the book feels like it describes plot points that aren’t as significant to the book or don’t adequately summarize or encapsulate the book in the way I would have liked it to. Then again, I may not have read it and I enjoy it!

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Bullying, Child abuse, Death, War, Cursing, and Suicidal thoughts

Minor: Chronic illness, Vomit, Sexual content, Self harm, Injury/Injury detail, Forced institutionalization, and Death of parent

lanid's review

adventurous dark funny mysterious

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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Bullying

Moderate: Physical abuse, Animal cruelty, Confinement, Child abuse, Death, Emotional abuse, Sexual content, and Violence

sarahandmatilda's review

adventurous funny inspiring mysterious medium-paced

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

4.5

This was fascinating, unique, and highly entertaining. I loved the combination of magic and technology, and the relationship between the two main characters. Sometimes the end of the world/climate change/war felt a little to real, but there was enough hopefulness and positivity in the book to keep me very engaged. The AI was a highlight!

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Content Warnings

Minor: Child abuse and Death of parent

talonsontypewriters's review against another edition

adventurous emotional mysterious tense medium-paced

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

2.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Bullying, Animal cruelty, Violence, and Death

Moderate: Panic attacks/disorders, Death of parent, Injury/Injury detail, Child abuse, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, Gun violence, Murder, Stalking, Alcohol, Medical content, Animal death, Grief, Gore, Confinement, Drug use, Body horror, and War

Minor: Vomit, Rape, and Self harm

taram's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional reflective sad 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? Yes

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Bullying and Violence

Moderate: Animal cruelty, Child abuse, Confinement, and Death of parent