Reviews tagging 'War'

Thistlefoot by GennaRose Nethercott

69 reviews

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.

clynns's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional mysterious reflective sad tense slow-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

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Antisemitism, Grief, Child death, Self harm, Xenophobia, Death, Genocide, and War

clairelisebella's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional mysterious slow-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

4.0

Very slow start for me, but the last 80 pages or so had me entranced. There were at least two chapters that are among the best chapters I ever read. I wish all of them were that strong! 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Suicide, Death, Genocide, Fire/Fire injury, Grief, War, Violence, Child death, Stalking, and Antisemitism

Moderate: Body horror

Minor: Vomit

tiernanhunter's review

adventurous dark emotional funny hopeful informative reflective 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? Yes

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Violence, Alcohol, Antisemitism, Death, Deportation, Genocide, Xenophobia, Blood, Child death, Fire/Fire injury, Grief, Hate crime, Injury/Injury detail, Murder, Racial slurs, Religious bigotry, Self harm, Vomit, and War

chilivanilli28's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional 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? Yes

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Murder, and War

ebrooks's review against another edition

adventurous emotional tense

5.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Genocide, Violence, War, and Xenophobia

Minor: Religious bigotry

platypoke's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional mysterious tense medium-paced

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

2.75

Unfortunately one of the main characters (Isaac) really irked me. 

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Murder and Genocide

Minor: War and Gun violence

rorikae's review against another edition

adventurous challenging emotional 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

'Thistlefoot' by GennaRose Nethercott is a wonderful folklore filled novel that touches on the power of stories, memory, and community. 
Bellatine and Isaac Yaga have been forging their own lives. Bellatine finds comfort in creating things out of wood while Isaac uses his ability to slip into other people's mannerisms to busk. They are brought back together when a package arrives, an inheritance from one of their family members. The inheritance in question, a house with legs. As the house starts to bring them together, it also has an enemy who has followed it to America and wishes to see it destroyed. The Yaga siblings will have to  band together, pull from their family's history, and believe in one another to take down this threat. 
This book is absolutely fantastic. Nethercott has created a collection of complex characters that are both easy to care for and ones that are easily frustrating in ways that feel uniquely human. This is also a story stuffed to the brim with folklore. It is told not only through the eyes of Bellatine and Isaac but also from the point of view of the house, which I absolutely loved. At the heart of this story are so many important lessons. How violence creates a lasting memory. The power and resilience of community. How stories live on. Between beautiful prose, folklore and fantastical elements, and complex characters, this is a special story. I'll definitely be checking out what Nethercott writes next because they brought something unique and magical to this story. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Fire/Fire injury, Genocide, Violence, Grief, Hate crime, Death, and Antisemitism

Moderate: Child death and Abandonment

Minor: War

thehobbitbarbie's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional hopeful 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

If you'd told me a week before I read Thistlefoot that an Americana horror novel was going to be my new favorite book, I'd have thought you were out of your mind. But here we are, almost 450 pages later, and this book is all I've thought about since I first opened it. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death, Antisemitism, and Fire/Fire injury

Moderate: Grief, Panic attacks/disorders, Murder, War, Blood, Genocide, Vomit, Suicidal thoughts, Body horror, Injury/Injury detail, Gore, Hate crime, Death, Car accident, Xenophobia, Child death, Violence, and Racial slurs

Minor: Medical content, Abandonment, Suicide attempt, Alcohol, and Sexual content

megold12's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional hopeful informative 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? Yes

5.0

Nethercott is a masterful storyteller in this book. I always love books about storytelling or the power of myths, legends, history, and folklore. This book was a masterful combination of history and mystic. It’s been a while since one book has made me so utterly sad in one moment and so hopeful and joyous in another. There is a lot of very dark and difficult topics covered, but I feel Nethercott weaves these important aspects of the story in with the magic and myth well. I still felt the full weight of the painful and horrific history. 

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Content Warnings

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

Moderate: Violence, Xenophobia, and Rape