Reviews tagging 'Mass/school shootings'

Pet by Akwaeke Emezi

8 reviews

morebedsidebooks's review against another edition

5.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Gore, Pedophilia, Blood, and Child abuse

Minor: Racism, Slavery, Transphobia, Ableism, Classism, Cursing, Police brutality, Death, Gun violence, Mass/school shootings, and Murder

julieyael's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional reflective sad tense medium-paced

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

3.75

This was absolutely not what I was expecting (I bought it as a horrir book. Well, it’s about another, more real, kind of horror)
I enjoyed the way it’s written bringing tension to the story. 

I would have liked a deeper character building, but the novel is quite short, so maybe there was not space for it. 

I also felt that the particularities of the characters were a bit forced. It’s interesting and nice to find such a diverse set of characters and families, but sometimes it felt a bit artificial. 

Maybe if it had been written as an adult novel, not YA, it would have been more to my taste. 

Overall, the book finds its purpose and is a good read, and I am sure it will find a good audience and be useful and meaningful to a lot of people. 
It just didn’t « click » for me. 
I am glad I read it once, but it probably wonnt go on my list of novels that I can read twice (or more). 

Also, the subject is pretty heavy and the warnings should be taken seriously. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Injury/Injury detail, and Child abuse

Minor: Child abuse, Emotional abuse, Mass/school shootings, Panic attacks/disorders, Domestic abuse, Adult/minor relationship, Blood, Rape, and Violence

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.

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

queer_bookwyrm's review against another edition

adventurous emotional hopeful reflective fast-paced

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

5.0

5 ⭐ CW: Police violence mention, death of children mention, school shooting mention, violence, child abuse/implied child sexual abuse

"Monsters don't look like anything, doux-doux. That's the whole point. That's the whole problem." 

Pet by Awaeke Emezi is their first YA book. I've been following Emezi on Instagram for awhile, and I admire them so much. They fiercely live their truth despite the trauma they have livid through and continue to experience at the hands of transphobia. I felt like this was a love letter to that pain. 

We follow Jam, a selectively mute trans girl who uses sign language. She accidentally brings her mother's painting to life, and is dragged into a hunt for monsters by the being known as Pet. In Lucille where Jam lives, people believe the monsters, people who commit atrocities like police violence and abuse, are all gone and no one has anything to fear. The revolutionaries that made this possible are called "angels." But the presence of Pet means that monsters still exist. 

Emezi's writing is so... efficient? They packed a whole nuances story into 200 pages without it feeling rushed or that it was missing anything. Their language choice was superb at conveying everything they wanted to say with only a few lines. It felt heavy, but not dense. It took a little bit to get used to some of the speech patterns, since Emezi is from Nigeria, but once I figured it out, there were no issues. 

Emezi reminds us that all monsters are human, and the worst part is that they are usually people we trust. They remind us that the "not in my backyard" mentality continues to allow children to be harmed. Believe children. Believe survivors. Emezi does a great job of addressing child abuse and child sexual abuse without putting the details on the page. They understand that childhood trauma is not entertainment and shouldn't be treated like it is. More authors need to understand this. I don't need to read the details to understand how horrific it is (I'm looking at you Khaled Hosseni 👀). 

To learn more about child sexual abuse or to get help for yourself or a loved one, go to RAINN.org 

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Violence and Child abuse

Minor: Mass/school shootings, Sexual violence, and Police brutality

zombiezami's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional hopeful mysterious sad 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? No

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Violence, Gore, Blood, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Incest, Cursing, Pedophilia, Child abuse, and Gaslighting

Minor: Dysphoria and Mass/school shootings

discworldwitch's review

adventurous challenging dark emotional inspiring mysterious reflective tense fast-paced

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

5.0

This book is incredibly good and so very important. From the writing, to the characters, to the plot, I can’t recommend it enough. 
In the words of the author, Akwaeke Emezi  “I want Pet to reach as many readers as non-humanly possible, so it can do the work it’s meant to do in the world.”

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood

Moderate: Child abuse

Minor: Mass/school shootings, Rape, Gore, Vomit, and Police brutality

clea's review against another edition

dark emotional reflective 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? No

4.5

This novel is incredibly well-written and although quite short, gives a lot to think about. I found the setting (a utopian (?) city named Lucille) very interesting and I'm looking forward to reading the next book which will be a prequel telling the story of the infamous revolution during which all monsters were eradicated. I really want to know more about this world! At first you think it is perfect; tolerance and acceptance shine through everyone and every action, be it ever so small. But then you realize that in a world where people don't believe in monsters anymore, it can be all the easier for those monsters to hide behind a shining facade. 

Obviously the themes discussed, are very important. They are explored in a creative and sensitive way which I strongly appreciated. The characters were strikingly well-developed and the dynamics between them were really interesting (and heart-melting). I especially liked Jam and Redemption's relationship; it just seemed so pure and wholesome! It's a welcome change to see a great friendship between a boy and a girl in which romantic feelings play no part. 

I can't recommend this book enough!! Also the audio book is really nice to listen to, the narrator is fantastic and really brings the characters to life. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror

Moderate: Child abuse, Sexual violence, Physical abuse, and Gaslighting

Minor: Police brutality and Mass/school shootings