Reviews tagging 'Sexual violence'

As de picas by Faridah Àbíké-Íyímídé

38 reviews

luananki's review against another edition

dark mysterious 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

3.75

ace of spades made me feel angry, disgusted and sad. it took me a while to get into it and it could’ve been kept shorter in my opinion. it was especially frustrating how long it took the characters to talk to each other. other than that i enjoyed ace of spades a lot.

i loved chiamaka and devon and that we got to see the mystery unravel from both perspectives. they’re very different but that’s what i appreciated the most. i also loved how the lgbt+ topic was approached. it obviously played a huge role in everything but it didn’t feel forced in any way. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood, Panic attacks/disorders, Racism, Stalking, Bullying, Injury/Injury detail, Car accident, Emotional abuse, Gaslighting, Hate crime, Homophobia, Murder, Outing, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Toxic friendship, and Violence

Moderate: Alcohol, Classism, and Sexual violence

Minor: Alcoholism, Child abuse, Death of parent, Police brutality, and Suicide attempt

brightlyy's review against another edition

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Homophobia, Racism, Racial slurs, and Death of parent

Moderate: Drug use and Suicide

Minor: Suicide attempt and Sexual violence

nikexistiertnik's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional mysterious reflective sad tense medium-paced

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

4.25

the book started a bit slow at first, and i didn't really like the setting in the beginning, but then it sucked me in.
i can't count the times i've been shocked, horrified, disgusted, and although it seemed a little all over the place, i didn't want to stop reading.
i loved the different perspectives we got with chiamaka and devon, and i am so incredibly grateful that the author provided trigger warnings in the beginning of the book!
also, i think i just really want to watch get out now.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Injury/Injury detail, Emotional abuse, Homophobia, Racism, Stalking, Car accident, Gaslighting, Hate crime, Toxic friendship, Blood, Death, Outing, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, and Violence

Moderate: Alcohol, Classism, Murder, Panic attacks/disorders, and Sexual violence

Minor: Child abuse, Alcoholism, and Suicide attempt

blackheartbooks's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional hopeful mysterious reflective tense medium-paced

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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Racism and Racial slurs

Moderate: Sexual violence and Sexual harassment

sunsetcity's review against another edition

challenging dark informative mysterious tense fast-paced

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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Car accident, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Hate crime, Racism, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide attempt, Toxic relationship, Blood, Chronic illness, Classism, Cursing, Death, Death of parent, Toxic friendship, Bullying, Outing, Sexism, Fire/Fire injury, Gaslighting, Grief, Gun violence, Homophobia, Injury/Injury detail, Misogyny, Murder, Racial slurs, and Slavery

tinyelfarcanist's review against another edition

emotional mysterious tense fast-paced

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

2.5

My rating may be a result of me coming out of my genre and giving hyped books a chance, just to find myself underwhelmed.

I didn't find Ace's voice remarkable, Chiamaka is annoying even understanding where she's coming from and Devon is completely forgettable; and for a centennial, the author doesn't seem to know how cellphones work (a blinking cursor while writing on the screen??).

For a big publisher book, it lacked some editing. Some scenes felt unnecessary and questions were left unanswered. The only salvageable thing is the portrayal of racism the characters suffer. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Racial slurs, Homophobia, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic friendship, Outing, Gaslighting, and Racism

Moderate: Suicide attempt, Car accident, Sexual violence, Blood, and Death

Minor: Classism, Death of parent, Drug use, and Hate crime

leahrosiee's review against another edition

dark tense medium-paced

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

4.5

This is my actual face right now 😦
I couldn't read this fast enough, definitely binge-worthy. 
The first half is very high school, Pretty Little Liars vibes except obviously racially motivated.
The second half is when it comes together and shit really goes down right at the end, which even if you can see it coming, you'll still be stunned.
The tension and pacing is amazing, but I think the best parts are the side stories and little details. 
Silence is betrayal cannot be more evident in this book. 
"This world, our world, the one with houses as crooked as the people in them"

IMPORTANT: This isn’t just a cute little queer/black representation high school mystery. There are many many many CW. It’s actually in the front of the book. For those exact reasons, I think everyone should read this but not everyone might be able to.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Gaslighting, Hate crime, Homophobia, Bullying, Classism, Fire/Fire injury, Genocide, Biphobia, Lesbophobia, Racial slurs, Racism, Violence, Alcohol, and Car accident

Moderate: Murder

Minor: Sexual content, Sexual violence, Medical content, and Death

thehappylittleelf's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense medium-paced

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

4.25

An excellent, excellent book and well worth the read. I could tell this book came from a very personal place for the author. It made me want to give her a big hug and hope that everything goes okay. As a story, its overall mood is a tad too pessimistic for my taste

even if it was ultimately a happy ending

but, despite that, it’s absolutely worth reading. I think you also have to read the ending knowing is a big metaphor rather than literal, because the logistics of the conspiracy seem a little too over the top for what I usually like in a mystery. However! The metaphor itself is powerful and striking. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Emotional abuse, Gaslighting, Homophobia, Sexism, Toxic friendship, Car accident, Bullying, Outing, Sexual violence, Classism, Hate crime, Physical abuse, Racism, and Stalking

Moderate: Fire/Fire injury, Injury/Injury detail, and Suicidal thoughts

Minor: Drug use

tea_kettle's review against another edition

emotional informative inspiring mysterious tense fast-paced

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

4.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood, Car accident, Racism, Racial slurs, and Violence

Moderate: Death of parent, Drug use, Fire/Fire injury, Gun violence, Homophobia, Terminal illness, and Vomit

Minor: Addiction, Alcohol, Alcoholism, Toxic friendship, Suicide attempt, Slavery, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Sexism, and Police brutality

melvinbelvin's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional mysterious sad tense medium-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

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Homophobia, Misogyny, Racism, Sexual content, Sexual harassment, Sexual violence, Stalking, Toxic relationship, Toxic friendship, and Murder

Moderate: Suicidal thoughts and Suicide attempt