Reviews tagging 'Genocide'

Crosshairs by Catherine Hernandez

10 reviews

goofymango's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional hopeful inspiring reflective 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? It's complicated

5.0

Oh, gosh. This is one of those books where it's so difficult to write a review, because it doesn't feel like there's enough words to convey just how deeply moving and impactful it was. You know a book is going to make you feel when you're already tearing up at the opening author's note. 

I won't dance around it - the overwhelming feel of this book is one of tragedy, of heartbreak and trauma. But there are those glimpses of authentic joy, peace, and the wonders of human connection hidden throughout the book, something that adds to the incredible realness of it all. It's that realness that makes this story so gut-wrenching, because it isn't far removed. You can so very, very easily picture this happening in our reality, our timeline. It makes it difficult to get through at times - upsetting as it is in it's plausibility - but all the more important to really take it in, too. I wept, I had goose-bumps, I felt glimmers of hope. I felt every word of this book in my bones, and - provided you are in the right headspace - recommend anyone to read/listen to it. 

The audiobook was read by the author, and gosh, what a performance. Engaging, captivating, raw and filled with emotion, the narration was some of the best I've ever had the joy to listen to. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Transphobia, Homophobia, Racism, Xenophobia, and Death

Moderate: Police brutality, Violence, and Genocide

Minor: Rape and Sexual assault

megansoetaert's review against another edition

dark emotional fast-paced

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

4.75

this book hurt my heart :( it was  heartbreaking but had so many moments of beauty and joy, and both made me cry. it’s too easy to envision our world becoming this one, so read easy and take care of yourself, especially if you’re Black, Indigenous,  a person of color, or queer. this book feels very important, and i think if you have the capacity, you should all read it

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Racial slurs, Violence, Police brutality, Genocide, Murder, Xenophobia, Classism, Colonisation, Religious bigotry, Sexual harassment, Transphobia, Death, Hate crime, and Homophobia

Moderate: Child abuse and Ableism

bad_bookworm_h's review against another edition

Dnf'd at page 92... the CSA and the forced homophobic exorcism was too much for me right now.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Confinement, Forced institutionalization, Religious bigotry, Hate crime, Genocide, Child abuse, Homophobia, Pedophilia, and Transphobia

Moderate: Cultural appropriation, Colonisation, Islamophobia, Lesbophobia, Outing, Racism, and Racial slurs

kp_writ's review against another edition

dark emotional tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• 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

Such a necessary read, especially for white queers (lots of discussion around performative allyship here, and how to be better). The way this novel interweaves so many unique stories through fairly seamless narration is superb. This is a dark story, for sure, but it captured me in a way that I read it all in one sitting. Lots of political commentary here, and I'll be interested to reread this a few years from now.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Xenophobia, Violence, Kidnapping, Transphobia, Slavery, Racism, Racial slurs, Islamophobia, Genocide, Physical abuse, Pedophilia, Hate crime, Police brutality, Murder, Medical trauma, Homophobia, and Grief

Moderate: Injury/Injury detail, Ableism, Suicide, Pregnancy, War, Rape, Excrement, Colonisation, Animal death, and Panic attacks/disorders

jberg216's review against another edition

dark emotional reflective 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? No

5.0

“When I do not act I am complicit. 
When I know wrong is happening I act. 
When the oppressed tell me I am wrong I open my heart and change. 
When change is led by the oppressed, I move aside and uplift.”

This book was powerful. It was real and raw and an important warning of what could happen if we do not pay attention and be an ally every day. As the book says, ally is a verb and not a noun. As a cis white woman, I know I could be doing better at being an ally. 

There’s a part in the book where Kay is remembering before the renovation and he remembered sharing a post about disabled access on the subway and they felt good for doing that performative action and never thought about it again until he himself was in trouble. He wished that his allies would help him in a real and tangible way. This hit me hard as I know that I too have done a performative action and felt good about it without actually helping anyone. 

This book really made me think about my actions and I will be thinking for a long time. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Genocide and Murder

Moderate: Homophobia and Transphobia

Minor: Rape

readingwithkt's review against another edition

challenging dark sad tense 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

4.0

CROSSHAIRS by Catherine Hernandez is a brutal dystopian novel, unflinching in its account of a fascist regime that sweeps Canada in the aftermath of a climate crisis. The Boots are tasked with rounding up The Others, a term used to refer to anybody who is BAME/BIPOC and/or LGBTQIA+. The Renovation movement involves all Others being taken to forced labour camps and brutalised, often murdered. This book is violent, graphic and extremely unsettling. 

In the way that all good dystopian stories are written, this book could easily be a possible future, a prediction of what could come if we are not careful to challenge and destroy the growing wave of fascism. I particularly appreciated Hernandez’s reflections on intersectionality throughout the narrative.

Though somewhat heavy handed in places, I thought that Crosshairs was a chilling and harrowing dystopian, and one that is certainly worth a read if you can handle the graphic violence and dehumanisation tactics depicted throughout. It took me several (3-4) months to read this novel due to the content. 

May this book serve as a reminder of the dangers of fascism, and the need for all allys to speak up and take action in the face of it.

Thank you to Jacaranda for this review copy, received in exchange for an honest review.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Confinement, Deadnaming, Death, Forced institutionalization, Genocide, Gun violence, Hate crime, Homophobia, Kidnapping, Mass/school shootings, Murder, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Police brutality, Racism, Sexual violence, Slavery, Suicide, Torture, Transphobia, Violence, and Xenophobia

Minor: Rape

eslsilver's review

challenging dark emotional hopeful inspiring sad 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? It's complicated

4.5

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Confinement, Deadnaming, Death, Excrement, Forced institutionalization, Genocide, Gore, Grief, Hate crime, Homophobia, Islamophobia, Medical trauma, Police brutality, Racial slurs, Racism, Suicide, Transphobia, Vomit, and Xenophobia

kharlan3's review against another edition

challenging dark tense

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

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Confinement, Death, Forced institutionalization, Genocide, Grief, Gun violence, Hate crime, Homophobia, Islamophobia, Murder, Panic attacks/disorders, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Police brutality, Racism, Rape, Religious bigotry, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Slavery, Suicide, Trafficking, Transphobia, Violence, and Xenophobia

Moderate: Ableism, Animal cruelty, Blood, Bullying, and Gore

Minor: Biphobia

forced sterilization

tay_mackenziemac's review against another edition

challenging dark 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

This book is a must read. The writing is incredible and the characters are so carefully written. The plot itself is horrifyingly real in that it reminds us how quickly we can get to this place and how many of the oppressions and violence experienced by the characters in this fictional timeline are already happening right now in Canada. Again, a must read.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Racism, Transphobia, Homophobia, Genocide, Murder, Xenophobia, and Police brutality

Moderate: Sexual assault

caseythereader's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional inspiring sad tense fast-paced

• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

Thanks to Atria Books for the free advance copy of this book. 

 📚 Wowww, this was horrifying. The world of CROSSHAIRS is only a breath away from our own, and it's easy to see the path we'd take to reach it.
📚 Heavy emphasis on intersectionality and how differently oppression works for queer BIPOC and trans people than for white cis queer people who could pass as straight if they wanted to.
📚 The flashback scenes to Kay's drag days were so joyful and loving.
📚 Great discussions of how allyship is an action, not just a label, and how white people can use their privilege to both lift up BIPOC leaders and to put their bodies on the front lines.
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What I didn't like:
📚 A lot of the dialogue was stiff and unnatural, which took me out of the story a few times.
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Content warnings: Ableism, bullying, child abuse, child death, deadnaming, death, domestic abuse, emotional abuse, genocide, gun violence, hate crime, homophobia, Islamophobia, kidnapping, physical abuse, police brutality, racial slurs, racism, rape, religious bigotry, sexism, sexual violence, suicide, suicidal thoughts, torture, transphobia, violence, and xenophobia. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Ableism, Blood, Bullying, Child abuse, Child death, Deadnaming, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Genocide, Gun violence, Hate crime, Homophobia, Islamophobia, Kidnapping, Physical abuse, Police brutality, Racial slurs, Racism, Rape, Religious bigotry, Sexism, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Torture, Transphobia, Violence, and Xenophobia