Reviews tagging 'Child death'

Notes on an Execution by Danya Kukafka

58 reviews

hbic's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional reflective 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? Yes

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Child death, Domestic abuse, and Murder

Moderate: Sexism

ashleyaselin's review against another edition

It was boring and the characters weren’t likable

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death

maello's review against another edition

dark emotional reflective sad tense medium-paced

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

5.0

Notes on an Execution is an excellently written book that travels through multiple POVs. It uses 2nd person 'you' pronouns for the killer which kind of draws you into his mind. It is uncomfortable, and you do not want to be there. You may find yourself trying to make sense of it, to ask why, to indulge in this attempt to humanize him. You may find yourself repulsed by it when you realize it. Along with his POV, there's also the POVs of the women related to him, or the ones he's killed. The emotions in this book are brilliantly written, some of my favorite quotes are listed in the spoiler below.

The book lets you come to your own conclusion about what makes a person good or bad, about whether people who do bad things can be saved. It looks our criminal justice system and the weird cultural obsession with serial killers right in the face, and it makes you really think if it's really worth trying to look into these people. You are constantly reminded that these people he killed were not just names. They were people, with memories, families, things that they loved, things they would be doing if they were alive. Their impact, the lives they may save, the children they could've had. These things that made them human are taken away, their prospects removed. They become names in a paper, etchings engraved in stone. And the serial killer becomes a renowned name. He gets to be remembered, for all the cruel things that he has done. He gets to feel important.


This is a beautiful book, and combines wonderful prose, interesting and suspenseful plot, as well as a stance on society. Everyone is human, everyone has these ugly emotions, and this book delves deep into examining people, and this definitely is a book that will stay with me for a while. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, Death, Domestic abuse, and Murder

Moderate: Animal cruelty and Child abuse

Some of my favorite quotes:

- "His smile melted instantaneously off his face the second he did not need it--he held Jenny with a rigid back and a shallow happiness, impermanent as wet paint." - “…and she thought how sad it was that a single bad thing could turn you into a story, a matter to be whispered about. Tragedy was undiscerning and totally unfair.” - "She knew violence, from the lifetime she had spent chasing it—she knew how it lingered, how it stained. Violence always left a fingerprint."

zoebill96's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional mysterious reflective sad 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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Child abuse, Child death, Confinement, Death, Domestic abuse, Sexual content, Murder, and Abandonment

jubjub's review against another edition

It was too emotional. The aspects of his childhood that were sad were too sad for me. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Child death, Domestic abuse, and Abandonment

ember_is_gay's review

adventurous challenging dark emotional inspiring mysterious reflective sad tense medium-paced

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

5.0

This was amazing, one of the best books I have read this year. I cannot wait to reread it. 

I really liked the focus on the women from throughout his life. I think they are so often forgotten; even when they have been the direct victims of the crime. They easily slip away into just another women who was killed by a man while a lot of serial killers became infamous and who we see movies made about and who people obsess over and fall in love with. But then there are the women we don't even think about who have been impacted by these men. And to see and hear from them (even fictional) was so amazing and so insightful. 

I also found the chapters about Ansel so well written and pieced together. They were such a good look into his brain and the way he thought about things. He was not just reduced to being a serial killer and I think it was a nice touch for exploring the complexity of humans.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcoholism, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Child abuse, Child death, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Physical abuse, Violence, Blood, Grief, Murder, and Alcohol

rebeccakoury's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional reflective sad tense medium-paced

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

5.0

This book is heartwrenching and hard to look at sometimes, but important nonetheless.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Child abuse, Child death, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Gore, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Violence, Grief, Stalking, Murder, and Injury/Injury detail

laurataylor's review against another edition

dark medium-paced

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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Alcoholism, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Body horror, Child abuse, Child death, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Blood, Grief, Murder, Pregnancy, Abandonment, and Alcohol

autumnwhite's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional hopeful inspiring 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? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Child death, Confinement, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Gore, Physical abuse, Sexual content, Torture, Toxic relationship, Blood, Kidnapping, Grief, Stalking, Murder, Pregnancy, and Gaslighting

mrichards0's review against another edition

emotional reflective medium-paced

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

5.0

This was lovely, read this on my Night shifts this week and it had me crying in the holding area. This was beautiful in its theory and how it explored good and evil. 

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Child death and Murder