Reviews tagging 'Death'

Black Water Sister by Zen Cho

62 reviews

lilifane's review against another edition

challenging dark funny 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? Yes

4.0

I was in the mood to read a light-hearted YA Fantasy between two very intense books and thought this would actually be perfect. LOL! Nope. 
First of all, this is definitely not YA. I don't even know why I thought it was? And then after a lighthearted and funny beginning, the story gets pretty dark and intense and violent. But also in a good way. I really liked the characters, the protagonist was very relatable, the dynamics between her and the ghost hilarious. The writing style, especially the dialogues, might need some time to get used when you're not the child of immigrants. But since I am, it felt familiar (even if the languages are totally different in my case). 
Loved the atmosphere and how ghosts, spirits and gods played such a big part in the plot and every day life of the characters. Also, loved the themes that were explored in a raw and brutal way. Like having an identity crisis, being torn between your family and your own life, coming out to a traditional Chinese family, violence against women, sexism, generational trauma, unresolved hate and revenge. But there are some hard scenes towards the end, so I recommend checking trigger warnings. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood, Death of parent, Toxic friendship, Homophobia, Death, Injury/Injury detail, Misogyny, Racism, Police brutality, Sexism, Sexual assault, and Violence

Moderate: Kidnapping, Cancer, Medical content, and Outing

Minor: Pregnancy, Domestic abuse, Murder, Outing, Car accident, Drug abuse, Panic attacks/disorders, and Terminal illness

lukests's review against another edition

adventurous inspiring mysterious slow-paced

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

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Domestic abuse, Violence, and Death

Moderate: Rape and Sexual assault

Minor: Lesbophobia and Homophobia

gellyreads's review against another edition

challenging dark sad slow-paced

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

2.25

This book feels so tough to review. I feel like I should have loved it and I just didn't. It felt so slow and it felt like a struggle to get through. I was telling my friend what was going on in the book about halfway and how it felt like nothing was happening, and she said it sounded like a lot was happening, and I was like yeah, okay, I guess it is. I just couldn't bring myself to care.

(In case you are wondering where I was, I was telling her how her grandmother had possesed her and she had just been drugged by her uncle. Which, upon reflection, having someone drug you is a pretty big plot point, so I did concede. Stuff is happening in this book.)

I wasn't invested in these characters at all. I will say that I didn't see everything coming, but I appreciated the thematic resolution, although I hated how the book ended - literally the last page of it.

Like, I can't believe I didn't realize that the Uncle was Ng Chee's son, even though I probably should have? I did like that Black Water Sister was subdued by like justice and peace/love. That felt nice. BUT LITERALLY IT TOOK THE ENTIRE BOOK FOR HER TO COME OUT?! ONLY FOR US TO NOT SEE HOW HER PARENTS REACT?! That felt like a GIANT "fuck you" to the reader!

I think I will try Cho's other books, but after a decent break from them.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Murder, and Violence

Minor: Homophobia

leannanecdote's review against another edition

dark mysterious reflective 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

3.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Cancer, Death, Injury/Injury detail, Lesbophobia, Infidelity, Medical trauma, Physical abuse, Emotional abuse, Domestic abuse, Homophobia, Murder, Gore, Violence, Racism, Grief, Xenophobia, Blood, Body horror, and Religious bigotry

miaaa_lenaaa's review

adventurous challenging dark emotional mysterious tense medium-paced

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

3.75

The premise of the was good and it was well written there was just something about it that just dragged a little slow for me

‘Maybe that was what true love meant: a bitterness that stayed on the tongue when everything else faded.’

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood, Sexual violence, Domestic abuse, Violence, Kidnapping, Sexual assault, Homophobia, Cancer, and Death

arialien's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional reflective sad 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

4.75

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Sexual assault, Kidnapping, Death, Violence, and Cancer

imaginingly's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional 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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood, Rape, Gore, and Murder

Moderate: Classism, Cancer, Toxic relationship, Torture, Stalking, Sexual violence, Sexual harassment, Pregnancy, Misogyny, Violence, Injury/Injury detail, Homophobia, Sexual assault, Outing, Kidnapping, Death, and Cursing

honuzbubbles's review against another edition

dark funny mysterious medium-paced

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

3.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Violence, Death, and Sexual assault

Moderate: Abandonment, Lesbophobia, Cancer, Grief, Blood, Kidnapping, Murder, and Sexism

rosemarygrace1211's review against another edition

dark mysterious 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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Kidnapping, Lesbophobia, Misogyny, Sexual assault, Domestic abuse, Death, Grief, Murder, and Sexual violence

sparklefarm's review against another edition

dark funny mysterious medium-paced

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

3.5

A very enjoyable modern ghost story. Some truly spooky moments. I am not interested in being haunted by a vengeful god any time soon. (Also, not a bad idea to consult the content warnings if you are sensitive to attempted SA.)

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Homophobia, Sexual assault, Death, and Blood

Minor: Cancer