Reviews tagging 'Cannibalism'

Squad, by Maggie Tokuda-Hall

26 reviews

pam_'s review

adventurous dark 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

3.0

Was all the fat-shaming necessary?

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Fatphobia, Gore, and Murder

Minor: Body shaming, Death, Sexual harassment, Blood, Eating disorder, Bullying, Cannibalism, Misogyny, Murder, Gore, Sexual assault, and Violence

emilysreadingbooks's review

adventurous dark emotional mysterious 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? It's complicated

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Cannibalism, Injury/injury detail, Kidnapping, Murder, Blood, Death, Violence, Emotional abuse, and Infidelity

Moderate: Physical abuse, Sexism, Sexual harassment, Stalking, Toxic friendship, and Sexual violence

thebookbin's review

dark mysterious tense fast-paced

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

4.5

 At work yesterday I finished Squad by Maggie Tokuda-Hall. This is a YA graphic novel, which I would describe as a teen revenge fantasy à la Jennifer's Body. Becca has just moved to a new school and she's desperate to fit in. When she gives a stranger a tampon in the bathroom, she is launched into a whole new life wherein she is initiated into a pack of man-eating werewolves. Except these werewolves are a pack of teenage girls. The story is a lot darker than I'd expect, and honestly I thought it would be a lot better as an adult graphic novel rather than YA. In order to keep it YA they gloss over a lot of the horror elements, which almost makes it even more horror-y but unintentionally.

Spoiler

When the pack alpha upsets the leader of another pack, they kill her and Becca and her girlfriend eat her heart out, literally so they can stop being werewolves. Then Becca and her girlfriend go on a date to homecoming lol.

 

I mean I did like the themes of female rage, and I definitely appreciated how they only went after sleazy guys, but the fact that they couldn't confront some themes and plot elements because it was YA really took away from it for me. 
Overall I think I'm a fan of this sapphic spooky read, I just wish it embraced itself in all its gory glory. 

4.5/5 eat your heart out stars

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Violence, Cannibalism, Murder, and Sexual harassment

msradiosilence's review

adventurous dark emotional funny reflective sad tense fast-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

Tldr; supporting werewolf women’s wrongs are right up my alley.

Read my full review at: https://www.rainyreader.com/single-post/squad/.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Cursing, Gore, Homophobia, Injury/injury detail, Lesbophobia, Murder, Vomit, Violence, Body shaming, Bullying, Cannibalism, Classism, Death, Eating disorder, Infidelity, Self harm, Abandonment, Blood, Alcohol, and Toxic friendship

melliedm's review

dark funny hopeful sad fast-paced

4.0

A fun, fast take on coming out, identity and belonging, but like: with werewolves. I generally enjoyed Squad, though found the pace a little strange in some places, and there were times where panels and speech bubbles were difficult to parse the proper order of. 

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Blood, Gore, Sexual assault, Cannibalism, and Eating disorder

Minor: Homophobia

fanboyriot's review

dark fast-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

5.0

Honestly wasn't sure about the first two chapters.  I loved the art style but wasn’t sold on the plot at first.  Having finished this graphic novel in one sitting, I think it is safe to say I enjoyed it.  The story was cute, dramatic, and overall never boring.  And the happy ending was a nice bonus.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Murder, Death, Violence, Misogyny, and Cannibalism

Moderate: Body shaming, Blood, Sexual assault, Sexual harassment, and Toxic friendship

Minor: Lesbophobia, Eating disorder, Racism, and Sexism

tmcphetridge4's review

dark tense fast-paced

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

3.25

I won't lie. I did not like this book. What I thought would be a fresh new take on werewolf packs and being a teen girl was just a rehash of Mean Girls meets Heathers.

Spoiler

There is a girl squad who is ruthlessly pretty and it turns out they murder men who sexually harass/assault girls. This felt like it was trying too hard to make commentary on the sexual assault narratives of schools but in a toxic way. Should men who harass women be punished? Yes. But should they be straight up murdered? I also *hated* how they took the black girl of the group and really othered her. From not acknowledging how she wants to be called, to being belittled, I just kept asking myself, "Why?" The ending was the best part, but even then it felt rushed.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Murder and Sexual harassment

Moderate: Sexual assault, Sexism, Toxic friendship, and Violence

Minor: Lesbophobia, Alcohol, Gaslighting, and Cannibalism

ednam0dewannabe's review against another edition

adventurous dark lighthearted mysterious 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

3.5

This was an interesting, light and entertaining read. Despite becoming confusing in certain panels, the narrative is straightforward and clear. I loved the art style and the lgbtq+ representation (we need more of it) but I found the pacing too fast, leaving neither characters nor readers a minute to digest any new information or emotions. In conclusion, if you want a light and entertaining read I recommend this graphic novel.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Gore, Murder, Toxic relationship, Violence, Cannibalism, Death, and Toxic friendship

Moderate: Body horror, Sexual assault, Sexual harassment, Blood, Body shaming, Emotional abuse, and Injury/injury detail

Minor: Alcohol, Eating disorder, Fatphobia, Grief, Racism, Vomit, and Lesbophobia

foreverinastory's review

challenging dark fast-paced

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

3.0

I wanted to love this but this was not what I was expecting. There were so many toxic things in here and I was not prepared for it. Or the cannibalism.

Squad is the story of Becca, a transfer student to an elite high school. She doesn't expect to be adopted into the popular clique. But she is and now she has friends. Friends that are sometimes mean to each other, but that's the price of belonging right? Then Becca finds out her friends are werewolves and they prey on boys who sexually assault people. Becca agrees to be turned and together the four of them are unstoppable. When Arianna's predatory boyfriend is accidentally killed, cops begin looking for a serial killer and the girls world begins to unravel.

I guess in all this a good guide on what friendship shouldn't look like. You shouldn't be afraid of your friends. They should call you by the name you want them to use. They shouldn't insult your body or what you do with it.

I did like Becca's romantic storyline, even though it did feel a tad underdeveloped. Overall, I think this was not for me, which is par for the course with me and werewolf books honestly.

Rep: queer Asian American female MC, sapphic white female love interest, Black female side character, white fat female side character, BIPOC female side character, hijabi BIPOC female side character.

CWs: Murder, cannibalism, violence, attempted sexual assault, attempted rape, death, gore, blood, toxic friendship, bullying, sexual harassment, body shaming, slut shaming, misogyny, sexism, lesbomisia/lesbophobia, underage alcohol consumption, fatphobia, toxic relationship. Moderate: Racism and racial microaggressions, eating disorder mention, ableism, classism, grief.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual assault, Gore, Toxic friendship, Bullying, Sexism, Lesbophobia, Cannibalism, Sexual harassment, Misogyny, Body shaming, Toxic relationship, Murder, Violence, Rape, Death, Blood, Alcohol, and Fatphobia

Moderate: Ableism, Classism, Racism, Eating disorder, and Grief

bahyreads's review

dark emotional funny 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? Yes

5.0

This was the first graphic novel I’ve read in a really long time and it was one of my favorite things I’ve ever read. It’s fun, gay and has werewolves and cannibalism what more could I ask.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Cannibalism