Reviews tagging 'Child death'

Unwieldy Creatures by Addie Brook Tsai

7 reviews

talonsontypewriters's review against another edition

dark medium-paced

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

2.5

Interesting themes, but the plot and character motives don't deviate much from Frankenstein -- certain actions seem to be driven only, indeed, by a need to mirror the original narrative. Feels too constrained to its status as a retelling, even sometimes directly quoting the original novel when it doesn't make much sense or fit with the narrative voice, and unfortunately that seems to keep it from delving as deep into the ideas present as it could have.

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Medical content, Medical trauma, Domestic abuse, Pregnancy, Child abuse, Abandonment, Death, Murder, and Ableism

Moderate: Lesbophobia, Transphobia, Panic attacks/disorders, Death of parent, Grief, Sexual assault, Sexism, Racism, Homophobia, Child death, and Misogyny

Minor: Drug use, Infidelity, Incest, Miscarriage, Cultural appropriation, Alcohol, Abortion, Suicide, Animal death, and Fire/Fire injury

displacedcactus's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional sad slow-paced

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

This was such a weird book and I'm not really sure if I liked it.

The first thing you need to know is that I personally found this book to be more horror-adjacent than true horror. It does deal with a lot of horrific things, but in a very distanced manner, so I didn't feel a strong emotional impact from them. I found it more sad and vaguely uncomfortable than truly scary or horrifying. Your mileage may very!

When looking at the content warnings keep in mind that everything is told in an after-the-fact first-person narration of people relaying things that happened in the past, years ago.

It's been over a decade since I read Frankenstein, but I believe the author tried to use a similar narration style to that book, and it just hits differently in 2023 than it did when it was first published! I found it very interesting that the characters quote and deliberately reference the original Frankenstein, making it quite different from all that media where dead bodies are rising up and looking for brains but no one ever says the word "zombie."

Tsai weaves together elements of the bi-racial AAPI experience, especially that of first-generation kids of immigrant parents; being LGBTQIA+ in a family that won't accept you; gender identity; toxic masculinity; ambition (and how we treat it differently dependent on gender); reproductive science; broken families; and maybe some other elements I didn't really pick up on. They really illustrated the ways that speculative fiction can explore social issues differently from how literary fiction does (that said, I'd say this does have some literary leanings... a little literary, a little science fiction, and a little horror).

Overall it was a very interesting reading experience for me. I suspect people who have a connection to one or more of the identities on-page may have an even better reading experience.

---

Content Warnings

Moderate: Transphobia, Pregnancy, Domestic abuse, Abandonment, Racism, Homophobia, Child abuse, and Child death

booksandteatime's review against another edition

challenging dark reflective tense medium-paced

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

4.0

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Domestic abuse, Homophobia, Lesbophobia, Ableism, Child abuse, Death, Medical content, Child death, Medical trauma, Physical abuse, Abandonment, Pregnancy, and Suicide

amandadevoursbooks's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional mysterious sad tense slow-paced

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

3.75

I wanted to through this book across the room multiple times in frustration with various characters. In this fairly faithful retelling, Tsai uses modern embryology and fertility science. As with the source material, the story starts with a stranger, in this case, Ko, an intern, giving Z shelter. Z then tells her story, starting with her childhood and leading up to the monster appearing and telling their story. 

The retelling is fresh.

The story line of Z basically violating her partners consent made me sick to my stomach and so angry I almost stopped reading. 

it ends very different then the original book. It was a little to and then the monster got a family. While satisfying, I found it hard to believe they would want to raise a murderous child. 

 

I love Frankenstein retellings, but I do not love the source material. I find Victor whiny, I get irritated in his choices and his inability to learn. This retelling brought that part of Victor to the page with little change. Z was just as insufferable and irritating as Victor.  The prose feels very reminiscent of Mary Shelley. Z, in particular, is voiced in purple prose. 

If you like Frankenstein, you should think about trying this book out. The questions around science and progress vs ethics were fully developed and explored. 

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Murder, Domestic abuse, Child death, Pregnancy, Sexual assault, and Emotional abuse

Eugenics

nicolaaa's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional reflective tense medium-paced

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

4.0

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Pregnancy, Medical trauma, Blood, Domestic abuse, Death of parent, Child abuse, Abandonment, Incest, Emotional abuse, and Child death

reneethebookbird's review against another edition

challenging dark sad

3.75

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death

nonbinaryreading's review against another edition

• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.75

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Abandonment, Toxic relationship, and Emotional abuse

Moderate: Child death, Homophobia, Physical abuse, Grief, Death of parent, Death, Racism, Pregnancy, Domestic abuse, and Stalking

Minor: Murder and Blood