Reviews tagging 'War'

Thistlefoot by GennaRose Nethercott

68 reviews

enyltiak's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional funny hopeful mysterious 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? Yes

5.0

Lying was reductive, but in a way, all art was a form of lying. Poets hyperbolize. Painters heighten colors, smudge edges. Actors shapeshift. All ways to twist reality in order to tell a deeper, more potent truth. Fact only goes so far. There are a finite number of facts in the universe with which to tell a story. Lies, on the other hand, are limitless. 

What an incredible, wonderful book. Stories about houses, about hauntings, about stories themselves, will always draw me in and delight me. I can't express the love I have for this story. I'd rate it six stars if I could, if not more. Utter perfection, falling somewhere between the cozy epic-ness of Six of Crows and the comforting gothic of A Series of Unfortunate Events. It's a book about folk tales and magic and siblings and ghosts and memory, told from the perspective of the house in which the characters reside. I cannot recommend it enough. An instant new favorite. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Grief, Hate crime, War, Genocide, Xenophobia, Fire/Fire injury, Antisemitism, Child death, Death, and Violence

amiablemath's review against another edition

dark emotional slow-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

4.5

While I felt the book was a bit slow and not terribly engaging, the ending was very well done and abs lutely made it with the read. However, it was also terribly dark and I doubt I will ever have the desire to read this one again.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Violence, Child death, War, Antisemitism, and Self harm

Minor: Sexual violence

lancemama's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark funny hopeful inspiring mysterious 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

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death of parent, Abandonment, Child death, Death, Religious bigotry, Antisemitism, Colonisation, Grief, War, Xenophobia, Cursing, Fire/Fire injury, Genocide, Racism, Violence, Hate crime, and Murder

lisettemarie's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional mysterious sad tense medium-paced

4.25

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Death, War, and Body horror

savvy999's review against another edition

emotional hopeful mysterious 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

4.5

This is such a treasure of a book, I am so glad to have finally read it. It is lush and detailed, moving and energetic. Mixed in with the magical there is a deep sense of urgency and fear, captures the prescient sense of the dangers of alienation and the insidiousness of oppression. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Antisemitism, Child death, War, Fire/Fire injury, and Xenophobia

s_writes's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional 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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Antisemitism and Racism

Moderate: Death, War, Violence, and Child death

Minor: Sexual content and Suicidal thoughts

cleot's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional 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? It's complicated

5.0

Engaging and devastating with a unique narrative style. I wept. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: War, Genocide, Fire/Fire injury, Child death, and Antisemitism

Moderate: Xenophobia, Animal death, Murder, and Racism

azureumbreon's review against another edition

adventurous emotional inspiring 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? Yes

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: War, Child death, Xenophobia, Antisemitism, and Genocide

Moderate: Fire/Fire injury, Grief, Panic attacks/disorders, and Religious bigotry

thegillbird's review against another edition

adventurous hopeful inspiring 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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: War and Child death

Moderate: Antisemitism and Fire/Fire injury

ashtheaudiomancer's review against another edition

adventurous challenging emotional funny hopeful informative inspiring mysterious 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? No

4.75

I could swear this book was on my To Read list for longer than just two years. It feels like something that has existed for generations. Maybe that's the time dilation we're all experiencing with the pandemic, but in any case, this modern fable is well worth your time.

I've been intrigued by the Baba Yaga myth for as long as I can remember. Pieces of the story came to me in disarray, but I kept coming back, wanting to know more. Considering one of the themes here is the power of stories, especially how they evolve in the telling over the years, I find that interesting.

It's also the second book in as many years that to some degree is about the family puppeteering business, and the way it affects the adult children. (The other being "How To Sell A Haunted House" by Grady Hendix; this was much better.)

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Content Warnings

Graphic: War, Child death, and Antisemitism

Moderate: Abandonment

The backstory is about the pogram in Russia, so the content warnings are also central to the overarching theme.