Reviews tagging 'Drug use'

The Power by Naomi Alderman

135 reviews

leah_alexandra's review against another edition

fast-paced

2.5

This was pretty bad, overall. There’s so much going on that it leaves absolutely no room for nuanced explorations of some of the more interesting ideas that undergird the book. It’s pretty violent, and I really had a hard time getting behind the idea that in just a few short years of development this “power,” hordes of women would just flip to exacting the same kind of violence against men as men do against women in patriarchal societies. The book relies on a gender binary in a pretty problematic way, and religion (theoretically all religions, but in actuality Christianity) is very centered in a way I did not expect. I didn’t feel like I was able to connect with any of the characters, and they were written pretty unrealistically, powers aside. The writing itself was also quite juvenile. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual violence, Sexism, Sexual assault, Drug use, Murder, Rape, and Violence

haileearynn's review against another edition

challenging dark reflective sad tense medium-paced

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

3.75

Thought-provoking and well-written. But not something I particularly enjoyed reading due to the dark storyline and reminders of real-world injustices that left me angry and upset throughout much of the book. Glad I read it, but probably not one I would ever read again.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual content, Drug use, Sexual violence, War, Child abuse, Child death, Adult/minor relationship, Sexism, Violence, Genocide, Sexual assault, Sexual harassment, Torture, Religious bigotry, Rape, Trafficking, Slavery, Murder, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Pedophilia, Death, and Colonisation

waclements7's review against another edition

challenging dark 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? It's complicated

1.0

I found this really disappointing. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Death, Rape, Sexual assault, War, Blood, Hate crime, Torture, Sexual violence, Gore, and Trafficking

Moderate: Drug abuse, Medical trauma, Child abuse, and Drug use

cynthiaherring's review against another edition

medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? No

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Rape

Moderate: Child abuse, Blood, and Death

Minor: Drug use

kk_gotit_goinon's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional mysterious reflective 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

5.0

This book is incredible. I can't tell much without spoilers but it's awesome and I highly recommend it! 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, Hate crime, Addiction, Alcohol, Domestic abuse, Confinement, Emotional abuse, Medical content, Misogyny, Racial slurs, Child abuse, Cursing, Drug use, Gun violence, Religious bigotry, Mental illness, Sexual assault, Gaslighting, Medical trauma, Slavery, Torture, War, Violence, Abandonment, Classism, Death, Kidnapping, Rape, Sexism, Drug abuse, Gore, Injury/Injury detail, Racism, Murder, Physical abuse, Sexual violence, Sexual content, Toxic friendship, Sexual harassment, and Toxic relationship

alexandramiller's review against another edition

challenging dark tense 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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Rape, Drug use, Adult/minor relationship, Drug abuse, War, Violence, Torture, Physical abuse, Misogyny, Pedophilia, Medical content, Injury/Injury detail, Hate crime, Death, Xenophobia, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexism, Genocide, and Child abuse

Moderate: Suicide

genevieve_and_her_books's review against another edition

adventurous dark tense medium-paced

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

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Rape, Trafficking, Torture, Sexual violence, Violence, Sexism, and Murder

Moderate: Drug use

While Naomi Alderman is certainly a talented writer, and there was an interesting premise to this, it was a little too gender essentialist for my liking. Although she nods in the direction of gender being a construct, she also appears to be writing a world in which the 2SLGBTQIA+ community doesn't exist, which feels like a somewhat egregious oversight given the themes. I also just don't buy the premise of how the development of skeins occurred; had me down a Google rabbit hole about water tables and the human genome and how many generations for new traits to evolve... which, safe to say, took me out of the story. I found the first two thirds to drag quite a bit, but the final third very much grabbed me and I read it very quickly. TL;DR, great idea, middling execution.

amgarrido's review against another edition

adventurous dark fast-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? It's complicated

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual violence, Death, War, Blood, Drug use, Gore, Murder, Sexual assault, Slavery, Addiction, Injury/Injury detail, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Rape, Torture, and Violence

seh_c109's review against another edition

challenging dark reflective tense fast-paced

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

3.75

incredibly well written. very interesting commentary on global gender roles and power dynamics between men and women.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Injury/Injury detail, Sexism, Rape, Sexual assault, Domestic abuse, Drug use, Gore, Death, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Sexual harassment, Sexual violence, and Torture

Moderate: Transphobia

lazadaisical's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional sad tense medium-paced

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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Sexism, Sexual violence, Rape, Drug use, Physical abuse, Torture, and War