Reviews tagging 'Domestic abuse'

The Island by Adrian McKinty

3 reviews

lexithelion's review against another edition

dark emotional hopeful inspiring mysterious reflective sad tense fast-paced

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

5.0

This book is SO good I could not put it down. I had a tough time deciding between it being character or plot-driven because the plot of this book is so straightforward, driving, and easy to feel and understand but ultimately the characters' growth describes their choices and makes me feel tense. We begin with a seemingly normal and very realistic family that ends up in a very 0-100 tense situation and the terror is real. The way that Tom's true character comes to fruition lines up with how Heather would experience finding out who he truly is. The book's resolution is extremely satisfying and every character arc feels real. I love the potential super-naturalness that occurs from the islander's perspective, viewing Heather as a sort of Karma for their past sins. Excellent book; would read again. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Kidnapping, Rape, Stalking, Sexism, Sexual assault, Blood, Gore, Violence, Murder, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Body horror, Confinement, Cursing, Gun violence, Injury/Injury detail, Sexual harassment, Death of parent, Mass/school shootings, Misogyny, Car accident, Child abuse, Death, and Grief

Moderate: Fire/Fire injury, Emotional abuse, Torture, Domestic abuse, and Drug abuse

Minor: Alcoholism, Suicide, Infidelity, Excrement, Medical content, and Vomit

This is a very dark book. There is only peaceful bliss in the very last chapter. Please see my content warning tags for dark themes in this book.

dev921's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional informative mysterious sad tense fast-paced

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

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Gore, Rape, Child abuse, Injury/Injury detail, Kidnapping, Murder, Gun violence, Colonisation, Confinement, Death of parent, Violence, Mental illness, Ableism, Alcohol, Animal death, Domestic abuse, Excrement, Grief, Infidelity, Medical content, Medical trauma, Vomit, Drug use, Blood, and Car accident

sunshinemilk's review against another edition

adventurous dark mysterious tense medium-paced

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

2.5

Australia is the Florida of the continents. It’s beautiful and swampy and the white people are questionable at best. I’ve lived both places and I wouldn’t be offended if anyone approached me cautiously:( I get it. 

That being said, I find it really fucking weird that the author took the time to write a tribute to the true keepers of Australia - The Aboriginal people - only to then create characters out of thin air that were incredibly racist towards Aboriginal people. 

This reminded me a little of the move You’re Next where there’s one young lady that has hidden talents due to their childhood and the baddies underestimate them. I’m not gonna lie..I’m a sucker for that trope! Especially when it involves a woman. 

The book carried on a bit and honestly this could have been a four star read for me but it really fell short.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Gore, Racism, and Xenophobia

Moderate: Animal death, Body horror, Car accident, Colonisation, Domestic abuse, and Fatphobia

Minor: Sexual assault, Domestic abuse, and Murder