Reviews tagging 'Mental illness'

Pet by Akwaeke Emezi

9 reviews

anaheeta's review

dark emotional mysterious sad tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes

4.5

Quite a short read, the author managed to use a powerfully imaginative and crafty metaphor to describe a really difficult subject. 


“The truth does not change whether it is seen or unseen, it whispered in her mind. A thing which is happening happens whether you look at it or not. And yes, maybe it is easier not to look. Maybe it is easier to say because you do not see it, it is not happening. Maybe you can pull the stone out of the pool and put the moon back together.” 
(There were too many incredible quotes to choose from)

This book really left me heartbroken. It is powerfully written, the story and pacing is gripping and makes you read it in one day, the characters are very diverse, and the setting is in a futuristic utopia of sorts. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, War, Violence, Pedophilia, Blood, Child abuse, and Sexual violence

Moderate: Body horror, Injury/Injury detail, Grief, and Mental illness

sashahc's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious sad 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

5.0

Post-apocalypse - creatures from other dimensions - autistic trans Black MC - are humans the real monsters after all?  And yet…  an overall sweetness and hope.  “PET” by Akwaeke Amezi is a #PrideSFF #book like no other.  It will stay with you for a long time after closing the cover.  Definitely critical reading.  (Check the TWs first)

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Sexual assault, Child abuse, and Mental illness

lynxpardinus's review against another edition

adventurous challenging emotional reflective tense

4.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Murder, Child abuse, and Violence

Moderate: Police brutality, Medical content, Sexual violence, Pedophilia, Sexual assault, Panic attacks/disorders, Gaslighting, Racism, Injury/Injury detail, and Incest

Minor: Drug abuse, Emotional abuse, Gun violence, Religious bigotry, Toxic relationship, War, Mental illness, Sexual content, Abandonment, Child death, Forced institutionalization, Mass/school shootings, Ableism, Confinement, Gore, Suicide, Transphobia, and Vomit

Ableism warning is to err on the side of caution, for disability framed as a punishment near the end.

velvetreads_'s review against another edition

challenging dark emotional inspiring mysterious reflective sad slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Violence, Domestic abuse, and Mental illness

amre23's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional hopeful inspiring reflective sad 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? It's complicated

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Violence, Pedophilia, Sexual harassment, Injury/Injury detail, Blood, Gore, Body horror, Adult/minor relationship, Mental illness, Child abuse, Physical abuse, and Incest

Moderate: Body horror, Rape, Ableism, Confinement, Panic attacks/disorders, Sexual violence, Gaslighting, Deadnaming, Grief, and Fire/Fire injury

Minor: Dysphoria, Murder, Mass/school shootings, Gun violence, Medical content, Suicide, Police brutality, Cursing, and Sexual violence

saffyre's review against another edition

dark emotional hopeful medium-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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Mental illness, Injury/Injury detail, Blood, Body horror, Gore, and Dysphoria

Moderate: Cursing

Minor: Pedophilia and Incest

hyperpension's review against another edition

challenging emotional hopeful inspiring 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

4.5

Imaginative but hits terrifyingly close to home. Couldn’t help but think I wish I had this book as a kid. Beautifully written in a heart-wrenching way that makes you fall in love with Jam, Redemption, and Pet. The ways Emezi writes humanity is so lively and you can feel warmth in every page. Recommend to anyone!! Monsters and angels look like all kinds of things.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood, Violence, and Body horror

Moderate: Child abuse, Domestic abuse, War, Physical abuse, Emotional abuse, Death, Mental illness, Gore, Murder, Injury/Injury detail, and Gaslighting

Minor: Sexual violence, Transphobia, Ableism, Addiction, and Rape

overbooked207's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional reflective 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

5.0

📖 Pet by Akwaeke Emezi Book Review 📖

2nd and last book of February 2022 and 12th of the year: 

This was a re-read in honor of the prequel, Bitter, coming out, and I loved it just as much the second time around! It is absolutely beautifully written, has great characters, has representation for a trans main character, dissociation, anxiety/panic attacks, selective mutism, sign language, and more, brings up very important topics and themes that are handled very well, and has one of the best audiobooks I’ve ever listened to! I feel like it’s written in a way that made it less overwhelming than I thought it’d be, but Pet does deal with very heavy topics, so please be aware of the TWs. It’s one of my favorite books of all time, and I highly recommend it and everything else written by Akwaeke Emezi! TW for blood, violence, anxiety, dissociation, panic attacks, child abuse, rape/molestation, pedophilia, and eye mutilation📖💖

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Blood, Violence, Panic attacks/disorders, Body horror, Mental illness, Sexual violence, Rape, and Pedophilia

sssssoup's review against another edition

dark emotional hopeful mysterious reflective tense medium-paced

• 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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Blood, Child abuse, Cursing, Mental illness, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, and Violence

Minor: Dysphoria, Gaslighting, Injury/Injury detail, Medical content, and Police brutality