Reviews tagging 'Racism'

The Getaway by Lamar Giles

43 reviews

marik0n's review

adventurous challenging dark emotional mysterious sad tense fast-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

5.0

"The getaway" by Lamar Giles it a young-adult, mystery book that feels like an episode straight out of black mirror. 

The main characters are four teenagers -Chelle, Jay, Connie and Zeke- and their families that live and work in an extremely high-tech, world famous resort that includes various amusement/ theme parks and it meant for the scandalous rich elite. Jay is living his best life, until residents start disappearing and rich families gathering in the city, while no one talks about it. The group decides to look more into what is going on and the truth is... socking. 

It was surely unsettling but it wasn't a thriller. The synopsis gave me completely different vibes. However, it was a great, fast-paced book.

It explores themes such as climate change, racial and social injustice, classism and capitalism. Although it is a dystopian setting it really does not feel so far fetched. Reading this book was hands down unsettling and caused me lots of anxiety about the world we are living in. 

Before reading it, I would recommend checking out the trigger warnings. Some that come to my mind right off the bat are: suicide, murder, torture, cannibalism, racism, violence, death, hate crimes. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Murder, Classism, Gun violence, Racism, Police brutality, Hate crime, Racial slurs, Suicide, Death, Genocide, Physical abuse, and Violence

anniereads221's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional mysterious tense slow-paced

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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Gore, Dementia, Death, Murder, Injury/Injury detail, Rape, Physical abuse, Death of parent, Blood, Hate crime, Grief, Violence, Torture, Vomit, Racism, Confinement, Classism, and Body horror

Moderate: Slavery and Cannibalism

Lynching of BIPOC people

onemorepagecrew's review

challenging dark mysterious reflective 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? No

5.0

The Getaway by Lamar Giles was my first book from the author, and I know it won’t be my last.  I loved this YA thriller/horror read and would highly recommend it to those who enjoy the genre.  Even if the word “horror” has you ready to scroll on, it might be worth trying if you love YA or thrillers.   

 

In this story we meet a group of teenage friends living in fictitious Karloff County, a mega theme park akin to one of the major parks in Florida.  Seychelle, who is part of the Karloff family, and three kids whose families all work in the park; Jay, Connie, and Zeke.  The four of them are close and hang out whenever they aren’t in school or at work.  

 

One day Connie and her family move out overnight, in bizarre circumstances.  Then a series of events unfolds that puts everyone’s safety at risk and creates a clear line between the wealthy and the employees of the park.  I don’t want to say more on plot, it’s more fun not knowing. 

 

The writing is great and captures the teenage dynamics (especially the banter between friends), the fictional events are dystopian yet speak to our current oppressive systems in a scary way, and there is a tense mystery that turns the pages easily.  

 

ALSO, I know this cover is terrifying and the book is listed as horror but remember it’s YA horror.  The gore is minimal, and the horror label comes from the repulsive acts committed throughout the book.  The body count is high and some of the scenes are wince-inducing, but if you read The Weight of Blood by Tiffany D. Jackson, you can read this book.  Further, I think you’ll probably enjoy it! 

 

Content warnings: Racism, Classism, Violence, Death (including lynching), Murder, Cannibalism 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Classism, Racism, Violence, Death, and Murder

Moderate: Cannibalism

betweentheshelves's review against another edition

dark 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

4.0

This was a wild ride! The action started at the beginning and didn't stop. There were moments throughout this where I thought "is this actually happening?" It's part mystery, part thriller, part horror, and part dystopia. There are so many teens that I think are going to absolutely eat this up, because it's all of their favorite genres combined into one book.

Just when you think you have everything figured out in this book, Giles introduces a new twist that makes you rethink everything you just read. So far, I think this is my favorite thing I've read by him. It's engaging, fast-paced, and the audiobook is just fantastic.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Racism, Violence, and Murder

Moderate: Animal death, Cannibalism, and Hate crime

Minor: Sexual assault and Gun violence

abookdork's review against another edition

dark 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? No

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Bullying, Murder, Violence, Classism, and Racism

bitesizedbeet's review

adventurous challenging dark emotional tense fast-paced

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

4.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, Confinement, Murder, Racism, Gun violence, Classism, Hate crime, Death, Forced institutionalization, and Violence

Moderate: Bullying, Cannibalism, Death of parent, Blood, Excrement, Physical abuse, Drug use, and Injury/Injury detail

edwardianbookwhore's review

adventurous dark emotional sad tense fast-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

3.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Racism, Blood, Violence, Torture, Genocide, Suicide, and Gore

Moderate: Domestic abuse

Minor: Sexual assault

sfbookgirl's review

challenging dark reflective 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

3.0

This is honestly one of the scariest book covers I have ever seen so therefore I had to read it. It starts off really spooky with a “utopian” society attached to a theme park (think Disneyland) called Karloff County. While I enjoyed the first half, the second half of the novel gets confusing with so many plot points and characters that went by more than one alias. The main character, Jay, is living his best life working as a janitorial staff on the weekends while receiving free housing for his family and excellent high school education during the week. 

 

It gets weird when Jay and his close group of friends start noticing strange changes around the park like disappearing workers. Then the super-rich starts arriving in hoards with no indication of leaving…The Getaway is a thrilling (at times) dystopian novel that doesn’t bring much new to the table but does offer excellent commentary on racism and classism. And it will definitely make you reconsider ever going to a theme park again. 

 

Content warnings: racism, violence, murder, animal death, hate crime, cannibalism, gun violence 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Violence, Murder, Gun violence, Racism, Animal death, Hate crime, and Cannibalism

d0505's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark mysterious sad tense 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

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Gore, Slavery, Murder, Racism, Violence, Suicide, Cannibalism, and Blood

Moderate: Hate crime and Animal death

greenlivingaudioworm's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional mysterious tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes

4.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Body horror, Cannibalism, Classism, Confinement, Gun violence, Racial slurs, Racism, Violence, Death of parent, Hate crime, Kidnapping, Xenophobia, Animal death, Gore, Injury/Injury detail, Dementia, Blood, Death, Grief, Torture, and Murder