Reviews tagging 'Body horror'

Elatsoe by Darcie Little Badger

22 reviews

amberinpieces's review against another edition

adventurous emotional mysterious medium-paced

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

4.5

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Injury/Injury detail and Grief

Moderate: Racism, Violence, Blood, Murder, Death, Death of parent, and Body horror

Minor: Car accident, Colonisation, Gun violence, and Animal death

poppysoffe7's review

adventurous dark hopeful inspiring mysterious sad 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? No

4.25

Make sure to listen or read the intro because it explains a lot. The book is kind of confusing if you don’t.

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood, Grief, Death, Cursing, Body horror, Gore, and Murder

wickedgrumpy's review

adventurous challenging emotional mysterious tense medium-paced

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

5.0

The magical realism involving ghosts lent a dreamy quality to this book.  I’d love to read more about this world.

---

Content Warnings

Minor: Stalking, Violence, Bullying, Death of parent, Murder, Xenophobia, Animal death, Gaslighting, Injury/Injury detail, Kidnapping, Body horror, Trafficking, Medical content, Abandonment, Classism, Blood, Confinement, Cursing, Death, Car accident, Deadnaming, Gore, Grief, and Hate crime

sammysammsam's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional inspiring mysterious medium-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 mix of Native lore with an alternate United States where magic and the supernatural are even part of the court systems and law enforcement was intriguing for me. Main character was very relatable as a teenager, and her friendship with her friend Jay was heartwarming. Descriptions of the supernatural scenes were great, and the more scary ones were bordering on horrific and scary.

Her entire interaction with the spirit of vengence was very unnerving- I loved it!

Kirby is the best ghost-boy. I loved so many things about this story, but Kirby is probably my favorite. 

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Racism and Body horror

Moderate: Death, Grief, Violence, Injury/Injury detail, and Murder

avisreadsandreads's review

adventurous challenging dark emotional hopeful mysterious 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

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Confinement, Murder, Car accident, and Death

Moderate: Body horror, Animal death, Gore, and Injury/Injury detail

Minor: Gun violence

the_wistful_word_witch's review

adventurous challenging dark emotional funny hopeful lighthearted mysterious tense fast-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

All I can say is, "wow"! This is a great book for spooky season: familial magic passed down from one generation to the next, vengeful spirits, evil wizards, vamps, fae, a ghostly mammoth, and so much more!

I'm so glad I finally sat down and read Elatsoe. It's such a cool premise - a world in which magic and fantasy creatures are real! - and had my heart racing at times, in anticipation of what would happen next. Definitely a thrill ride. 

I really, really hope there are more books about Ellie's life because I would gladly read more about her, her faithful dogs, her family, and best fae friend Jay. 

---

Content Warnings

Moderate: Death, Blood, and Body horror

cowardthedog18's review

adventurous emotional hopeful informative reflective relaxing medium-paced

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

5.0

There had to be more; And boy the drawing at the end of the book is the best part. The best parting gift knowing your grandparents will always watch over you. I’m reading A Snake Falls To Earth now. Hope it meets my expectations just as this one did.

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Car accident, Colonisation, Cultural appropriation, Religious bigotry, Cursing, Body horror, Blood, Death of parent, Gun violence, Death, Grief, Hate crime, Murder, Racism, Genocide, and Gore

wends_nblw's review

adventurous emotional mysterious medium-paced

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

3.0

I will say. I went into this blind, and was expecting something a lot more compelling.

This book is okay; it's fine. Nothing I would rave about, but something I would casually recommend.
I'm not sure if it's just me, but this felt like a middle school read rather than young adult? I don't know why, but I keep imagining the MC as like.. 12-14 years old. (Actually, I think this book could've been better if it had been a MG haha!)

I was a huge fan of the concept, but not the plot. I don't care about vampires or cults or anything else. I wanted so bad to read more about Elatsoe's gift and the Lipan Apaches. I found it so much more interesting than the murder mystery that was happening in the foreground. 

However, I'm always rooting for representation as an asexual native myself LOL ! 
Would def recommend to a younger audience. Nice little murder mystery with fantasy elements.

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Grief, Car accident, Murder, Violence, Death, and Death of parent

Moderate: Body horror, Gun violence, Animal death, Racism, and Colonisation

Minor: Kidnapping and Genocide

katrinky's review

adventurous dark emotional mysterious sad tense medium-paced

3.5

good mystery, but got a little muddled sometimes (are they leeches? or vampires? or just magic evil humans?) and I didn't find the characters to be very deeply-drawn. I recommend it for YA fans, mystery fans, thriller fans, and anyone into vampire/mythical lore. and HIGHLY recommend for anyone looking to read more Native authors and see more Native protagonists.

---

Content Warnings

Moderate: Murder, Blood, Body horror, Death, Car accident, Gore, Injury/Injury detail, Cursing, Grief, and Violence

bluejayreads's review against another edition

3.75

 I very nearly DNF'd this one, because the main murder mystery plot just didn't vibe with me. Ellie's magic with ghosts means that her murdered cousin straight-up told her who killed him, and the mystery part was actually about finding why and how in a manner that law enforcement would accept. And I just didn't find it that interesting. However, then I realized that I did find everything else in this story interesting. The world of monsters and magic - fae magic, Indigenous magic, vampires, all sorts of stuff - along with the modern world was well-crafted and fascinating. I loved how it was the modern world just a little askew because, you know, magic. I loved learning about the Ellie's Lipan Apache traditions and magic, I loved having a protagonist who was explicitly aro/ace without it being a big deal, I even really enjoyed Ellie's relationship with her best friend Jay. And the murder mystery part did end up having a solid climax (although I'll be honest, I saw the big twist from a mile away). On the whole, I'm glad I finished reading it, because even though parts of it didn't do it for me personally, there's a lot to love in this book. 

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Grief and Death

Moderate: Murder and Racism

Minor: Car accident, Body horror, and Animal death