Reviews tagging 'Hate crime'

To Shape a Dragon's Breath by Moniquill Blackgoose

35 reviews

kimapede's review against another edition

adventurous informative inspiring tense 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

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Biphobia, Genocide, Hate crime, Gun violence, Injury/Injury detail, Classism, Lesbophobia, Racism, Colonisation, and Sexual harassment

Minor: Suicide, War, Homophobia, Fire/Fire injury, and Injury/Injury detail

theirgracegrace's review

emotional hopeful inspiring slow-paced

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

4.25

Flying in with a masterpiece, Moniquill Blackgoose sets up a world with this first instalment of the Nampeshiweisit series. The story centres around Anequs, a young Indigenous woman who discovers a dragon egg on an island near her home. When it hatches, the dragon bonds to her, and the Anglish settlers of her land order that she join a local dragoneering academy.

My favourite part of this book was the worldbuilding! Blackgoose builds a world like our own, but without a Roman Empire or Christianity, the Europeans have a distinctly Norse flair that matches well with the themes of resistance against colonialism. Each character has distinctive features, mannerisms and traits that make them real and powerful parts of the narrative.

Eagerly awaiting the next book of this series, particularly in light of the final handful of chapters!

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Slavery, Alcohol, Animal cruelty, Blood, Sexism, Sexual harassment, Violence, Ableism, Child abuse, Colonisation, Fire/Fire injury, Misogyny, Xenophobia, Genocide, Bullying, Gun violence, Hate crime, Injury/Injury detail, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Animal death, Body horror, Classism, Confinement, Death, Death of parent, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Homophobia, Lesbophobia, Murder, and Sexual content

Moderate: War and Medical content

Minor: Cannibalism, Cursing, Infidelity, and Vomit

mj1588's review

reflective slow-paced

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

3.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Colonisation, Genocide, Hate crime, Police brutality, Sexism, Racial slurs, Misogyny, Racism, and Sexual harassment

Minor: Gun violence and Fire/Fire injury

star_charter152's review against another edition

adventurous emotional funny lighthearted reflective medium-paced

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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Racism, Colonisation, Lesbophobia, Ableism, Sexism, Xenophobia, and Classism

Moderate: Forced institutionalization, Genocide, Mass/school shootings, Bullying, Hate crime, Violence, and War

Minor: Slavery, Animal death, Death of parent, Injury/Injury detail, Gun violence, Sexual harassment, and Homophobia

luckykosmos's review

reflective 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

4.25

I've been describing this as if RF Kuang wrote Temeraire - Blackgoose brings that same acuity of one's place in a society as a machine and how that affects Anaqus' interactions with her peers. I loved how that was contrasted with Theod's experiences, paralleled with Sander's and Liberty's and her professors'. Moreover, the way the author reshaped our world a step further than just renaming a country left just enough mystery in the worldbuilding to wonder what may come next, but it left room for a development in the magic system that felt like a reflection from 'Braiding Sweetgrass' - understanding that cultural tradition was born out of a pattern of observation and shouldn't be dismissed simply because it doesn't fall in mainstream confines of science. Some dialogue during lectures dragged and became walls of text, but I'm excited to see where the author goes next in this world.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Racism

Moderate: Hate crime, Colonisation, and Gun violence

jainabee's review

adventurous challenging inspiring medium-paced

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

5.0

I couldn't put this down and I told each and every one of my friends, colleagues, and quite a few strangers that they really ought to read this book! I can barely wait for the next one—so curious to see where the story goes from the astonishing set-up of the first book.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Xenophobia, Colonisation, Classism, Death of parent, Racism, Sexual harassment, and War

Moderate: Bullying, Hate crime, Injury/Injury detail, and Animal cruelty

Minor: Gaslighting, Genocide, Gun violence, Homophobia, and Lesbophobia

The great thing about the challenging content is that is is witnessed from the point of view of a very confident young woman of color who calls out that %$#!

novelideea's review

adventurous medium-paced

3.75

LGBT discussion

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Bullying, Hate crime, Racism, Slavery, and Classism

emilyready's review against another edition

adventurous 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? No

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Colonisation

Moderate: Racism and Classism

Minor: Gun violence, Hate crime, Bullying, and Ableism

garrettcz's review

adventurous dark emotional funny hopeful inspiring lighthearted relaxing 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? No

4.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Bullying, Colonisation, Racism, Ableism, and Classism

Moderate: Hate crime, Classism, Injury/Injury detail, Death of parent, Panic attacks/disorders, Death, Racism, Genocide, Murder, and Grief

Minor: Racism, Racial slurs, Grief, Cultural appropriation, Injury/Injury detail, Blood, Confinement, Child abuse, Sexism, Colonisation, Animal death, Biphobia, Classism, Murder, Lesbophobia, Death, and Death of parent

alliekc1010's review

challenging emotional inspiring medium-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

4.0

It took me about 50% of the book to get used to the writing style, which has a lot of transitions in conversations and scenes that do not flow very well. However, I love the characters so much; they make the story amazing. TSADB is an excellent examination of colonization, racism, gender roles, and more from the perspective of an indigenous teenage girl in a reimagining of the beginning of the Industrial Revolution. There is excellent depictions of queer relationships and autism spectrum disorder. I know that this is supposed to be a series, so I'm excited to see where Anequs and her friends go!

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Xenophobia, Racism, and Racial slurs

Moderate: Genocide and Hate crime

There is a specific word in this book that I believe the author uses as a made-up racial slur against the indigenous peoples in this world. It is used very often throughout the book.