Reviews tagging 'Ableism'

Sanctuary by Andi C. Buchanan

2 reviews

rivulet027's review

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

4.0

I love how communication and found family is at the heart of this book. Morgan lives in a large old manor with her girlfriend and their found family, which include multiple ghosts. There are a lot of characters in this book, living together and attempting to respect each other’s needs and quirks. All the characters in this book are neurodivergent and have varying disabilities. Morgan occasionally finds it difficult to be verbal, she sometimes uses BSL, text, and a text to voice app. The book spends a lot of time on the groups coping mechanisms and how they all work together and how living communally helps all of them. It also goes in depth into their financial issues and how they make things work.

The antagonist makes his way into the house near the beginning of the book, but the conflict and danger he brings gets brought up gradually. The book never loses its cozy feel. The main battle lasts several chapters and the stakes are dire: more than one of the characters is in danger of dying. Despite this the narrator takes the time to go over how each member of the family would be worse off if they didn’t have this house to live in. 

I liked how the last several chapters spent time with how the group is not only repairing the house, but healing themselves and each other. I’m not a fan of horror, but I love found family so I’m glad that I got to read this book. 

I received an advanced reader copy for free and am leaving this review voluntarily. 
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kenfoxley's review

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adventurous emotional mysterious reflective tense 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? N/A

4.25

This book took me by surprise. I didn't know what this was about going into it and I was pleasantly surprised by how the author wrote the characters. There was so much representation in this, different characters who all have different neurodivergent characteristics. Autism,  ADHD, ADD, anxiety, depression, disabilities, physical or otherwise. I found the ending extremely wordy
when they were fighting the ghost eater
. But at the same time, the main character wasn't much of a talker either.  They communicated a lot with text messages or writing things down and no one gave them crap for it. I think it had to be wordy because the character themselves did not really speak. 

I give this 4.25 stars just because I felt like the ending was too rushed. Half the time I didn't really realize what was happening.
How do you fight a ghost that is taking over humans? How do you take the life force of a ghost that makes it fade faster?
Maybe I don't know that much about ghosts after all, or this is just someone's take on ghosts and how they respond to their environment and live through time. But overall I did enjoy it! I love that this wasn't your typical "ghost story" but rather how to get along with them and live among them. 
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