Reviews tagging 'Adult/minor relationship'

Pet by Akwaeke Emezi

33 reviews

cathyb1111's review against another edition

dark emotional sad tense slow-paced

• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes

2.75

In the beginning I felt like I was reading a children’s book, but I just knew I had to be in a metaphor so I powered through. At the halfway mark, it started to come together - while heartbreaking and triggering at the end I still would say it was okay at best. Trigger warning of child abuse and assault. Appreciated the representation in the book - main character is a trans girl, all characters are black, best friend comes from a three parent household (polyamorous) and one parent identifies as they/them. Some of those identities flowed so naturally in the book I almost didn’t even catch the three parent household detail.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse and Sexual assault

Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Pedophilia, and Sexual assault

jessiejonesbentley's review against another edition

adventurous challenging emotional mysterious reflective 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? No

4.5

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Content Warnings

Minor: Adult/minor relationship, Child abuse, Emotional abuse, and Pedophilia

marigoldgem's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious reflective slow-paced

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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Body horror, Child abuse, Incest, Pedophilia, Violence, and Blood

julieyael's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional reflective sad tense medium-paced

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

3.75

This was absolutely not what I was expecting (I bought it as a horrir book. Well, it’s about another, more real, kind of horror)
I enjoyed the way it’s written bringing tension to the story. 

I would have liked a deeper character building, but the novel is quite short, so maybe there was not space for it. 

I also felt that the particularities of the characters were a bit forced. It’s interesting and nice to find such a diverse set of characters and families, but sometimes it felt a bit artificial. 

Maybe if it had been written as an adult novel, not YA, it would have been more to my taste. 

Overall, the book finds its purpose and is a good read, and I am sure it will find a good audience and be useful and meaningful to a lot of people. 
It just didn’t « click » for me. 
I am glad I read it once, but it probably wonnt go on my list of novels that I can read twice (or more). 

Also, the subject is pretty heavy and the warnings should be taken seriously. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Child abuse, and Injury/Injury detail

Minor: Adult/minor relationship, Child abuse, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Panic attacks/disorders, Rape, Violence, Blood, and Mass/school shootings

town_scar's review against another edition

challenging dark mysterious sad 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? No

5.0

If you can listen to the audiobook, you really should. It felt like I was watching a movie. The narrator does an impeccable job. This really held my attention throughout and kept me on the edge of my seat.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Violence and Blood

Minor: Adult/minor relationship, Child abuse, Pedophilia, Rape, and Sexual assault

The monster's acts are alluded to without ever being described. The only physical description given is a mention of bruises, but there is no elaboration beyond that. Any adult can read between the lines of what happened. It may not be apparent to some younger children/teens.

oddlyghoul's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional hopeful inspiring mysterious reflective sad 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

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Panic attacks/disorders, Pedophilia, Violence, Blood, and Dysphoria

Minor: Ableism, Addiction, Adult/minor relationship, Child abuse, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Genocide, Gun violence, Hate crime, Homophobia, Incest, Transphobia, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Police brutality, Antisemitism, Islamophobia, Religious bigotry, Cultural appropriation, Gaslighting, Colonisation, War, and Classism

clhtdr's review against another edition

challenging dark mysterious medium-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

4.25

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Child abuse, Emotional abuse, Incest, and Sexual assault

wytherwytch's review

dark emotional sad slow-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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse and Violence

Moderate: Adult/minor relationship and Pedophilia

Minor: Blood, Vomit, and War

modernmatilda's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional reflective sad tense slow-paced

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

3.0

Hmm I have mixed feelings about this. 

On one hand, NPR compared it to Wrinkle in Time (my fav) and I very much think it's a readalike. It has biblical undertones, kids having to handle things with the adults help, and this overall feeling of doom.

As another reviewer wrote, "Pet is the gorgeous story of a young black trans woman taking it into her own hands to see the unseen, and to protect the vulnerable, even when it means upsetting the balance of her life.".

I loved the first half; watching Pet come out of the painting, getting to know Jam, seeing them interact with other characters through sign language, it was all fantastic. 

But I had no idea this story was explicitly about child abuse. The emotions in this book were heartbreaking and big and messy and raw and HEAVY. I don't know if the message was clear and helpful for a middle grade reader... 

I thought the "perfect world can still be impect, need to grow, and have hidden flaws" was another sad part of the book. The story deserves the accolades it has received for its originality, representation, and heart.

But overall, it made me feel hopeless...

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Child abuse, Emotional abuse, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, and Gaslighting

mayaism_01's review

challenging dark emotional hopeful reflective sad 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? It's complicated

5.0

I honestly don't know how to describe why this book is so brilliant. I've only heard great things about Akwaeke Emezi so I've been looking forward to (and slightly intimidated by) their books. I think Pet is one of the most intelligent presentations of how we confront change and progress in society. 

We see everything through the eyes of Jam - who is such a loveable and empathetic character - living in a world that is seemingly perfect and we watch as that idea of a perfect and safe world slowly crumbles. This book would be a great way to introduce children to activism, but also great at reminding adults that activism is never finished. Emezi makes you confront what you think is the wrong and right thing to do, what evil and monsters look like, and forces you to learn to be okay with being uncomfortable. This was just so so so good, I can't wait to read more of Emezi's work.

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Child abuse, Incest, Pedophilia, and Sexual assault