Reviews tagging 'Terminal illness'

Elatsoe by Darcie Little Badger

5 reviews

throwback682's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional hopeful inspiring mysterious sad medium-paced

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

5.0

A murder mystery + ghosts and wizards, with a Lipan Apache protagonist who is canon asexual (and I suspect aromantic) and a boy cheerleader sidekick who is shown having both a(n ex) girlfriend, and a YouTube channel where he teaches tumbling and dance moves. 

There are also passing references to other queer characters that feel normalizing, not tokenizing.

(One of the characters, whose life has been irreparably altered, ends the book by moving in with friends - a married couple of women.)

The first half of the book is much slower, the second half is much more action packed. If you’re struggling with the slower start, I’d encourage you to hang in there. 

This book blends together a little bit of everything.

The good guys: an indigenous girl with a strong talent for ancestral magic, a fae boy who travels through fairy rings and his psychic aunt, a vampire who is disliked by his future in-laws, a ghost dog, and a ghost mammoth, among others. The bad guys? A rich “miracle working” doctor (actually an evil wizard), an indigenous vampire, colonizers, and… Teddy Roosevelt?! I love it.

 

I could tell that J had a crush on Ellie the entire book, and she was oblivious. I kept waiting for that to be a plot point, that he was going to confess his love to her despite knowing she’s asexual (and probably aromantic?).   But he never did!! It was so refreshing.

I feel like I could ramble on about this book forever. It has so much good stuff about it and it was exciting and enjoyable. I would especially recommend for young girls (who are old enough for monsters and violence). Ellie is a great role model. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Colonisation, Death, Kidnapping, Death of parent, Classism, Blood, Injury/Injury detail, Car accident, Gaslighting, Murder, and Violence

Moderate: Animal death

Minor: Cancer, Terminal illness, and Sexual violence

pastelkerstin's review

adventurous dark emotional hopeful mysterious sad tense medium-paced

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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood, Classism, Injury/Injury detail, Car accident, Chronic illness, Colonisation, Confinement, Death, Gore, Body horror, Genocide, Medical trauma, Murder, Religious bigotry, Stalking, Alcohol, Death of parent, Grief, Gun violence, Racism, Violence, and Xenophobia

Moderate: Alcoholism, Animal death, and Racial slurs

Minor: Cancer, Terminal illness, and Pregnancy

Police corruption

morganperks's review

adventurous dark emotional funny mysterious 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: Death, Grief, Car accident, Torture, Gaslighting, Murder, Injury/Injury detail, Xenophobia, and Child death

Moderate: Colonisation, Medical content, Addiction, Miscarriage, Animal death, Racism, Violence, Genocide, Medical trauma, Stalking, Hate crime, Terminal illness, Death of parent, Gore, and Body horror

Minor: Kidnapping, Confinement, Cancer, and Gun violence

bedtimesandbooks's review

dark mysterious sad 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? Yes

4.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death, Racism, Murder, Car accident, Violence, Blood, Death of parent, Grief, and Death

Moderate: Addiction, Terminal illness, Colonisation, and Gun violence

Minor: Cancer

willohreadz's review

adventurous funny hopeful mysterious reflective sad 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

5.0

I adore this book. It has been a long time since I was so tickled by a new book and author. The characters, the world building, the story - all amazing. A great mix of history and magic. There are characters that are LGBTQ+ - but it is not the focus of the story. The main character is Indigenous and it is a large part of the story. Myths and history and cultural practice make this story rich and powerful. Oh! And an adventure story featuring teen leads where the parents are present, involved, they trust their kid, the kid trusts their parents felt SUPER refreshing. The whole story felt hopeful and playful and sad and wonderful. I can not recommend this book enough.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death, Grief, and Death

Moderate: Blood, Car accident, Terminal illness, Racism, Murder, Medical trauma, Medical content, Genocide, and Gore