Reviews tagging 'Mental illness'

Manhunt by Gretchen Felker-Martin

40 reviews

klwilby's review

dark 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? Yes

5.0

Dark, gruesome, and unflinching. I don’t read much horror but I could not put this book down. There was beautifully, brutally complex relationships throughout — I will say I would’ve loved to spend even more time with the three main characters, particularly Robbie. I’ll also say that I was surprised to see so many negative reviews of this book. It seems many readers violently missed the point of this book, or simply find depictions of queer bodies and intimacy to be inherently more graphic than cishet bodies and intimacy. Don’t let that stop you from picking this (admittedly bloody) gem. 

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death, Deadnaming, Death, Domestic abuse, Genocide, Gore, Gun violence, Homophobia, Mental illness, Misogyny, Rape, Self harm, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Transphobia, Violence, Police brutality, Trafficking, Grief, Cannibalism, Outing, War, and Injury/Injury detail

erikathered's review

dark sad 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

This novel may not appeal to everyone as it's written from a very particular perspective and for a very particular audience. But if you're within that audience, if you're interested in dark, tense fiction that explores trans experience through a new lens, you'll love this book. 

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Cursing, Death, Gore, Gun violence, Hate crime, Mental illness, Rape, Sexism, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Transphobia, Violence, Blood, Police brutality, Trafficking, Grief, Pregnancy, Outing, Dysphoria, War, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Deadnaming, Eating disorder, Fatphobia, Slavery, Suicide, and Toxic friendship

Minor: Ableism, Cancer, Racism, Self harm, Terminal illness, Death of parent, and Colonisation

meaghanelizabook's review

challenging dark emotional mysterious tense medium-paced

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

0.25

No.

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Body shaming, Cursing, Death, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Fatphobia, Gore, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic relationship, Transphobia, Violence, Blood, Medical content, Murder, and Sexual harassment

Moderate: Deadnaming, Mental illness, Self harm, Grief, Death of parent, Fire/Fire injury, Toxic friendship, and Alcohol

Minor: Vomit and Pregnancy

bites_of_books's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional mysterious reflective sad tense medium-paced

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

3.25

An apocalypse book where a virus is triggered in people who have higher levels of testosterone, causing them to become feral beasts.

This is a book where the author has zero sympathy for the reader, they describe everything in raw and gory detail and hold back nothing. The atmosphere is rich in the toxic nature of the characters and also the general anxiety that it is to live in a world where various groups of people are trying to survive. We follow Fran and Beth, two trans women who are trying to survive in a world where they hunt men who have turned feral in order to harvest their organs for selling and also to acquire the hormones they need to avoid turning into these feral beasts. To top that, they also need to be wary of a group of TERFs who are building an army, trying to be the new law of the land. 

I highly encourage you to read and listen to trans reviewers since a lot of the book is from that perspective. Trans experiences are not represented in literature enough and even less in horror so this book is highly valuable because it does put those experiences front and center. 

The overall plot of the book jumped around a bit too much for my liking, it seemed like the first half of the book was about one thing while the second half focused on something completely different. While our main characters arcs do take precedence, there were a couple of other characters that came in and out of the story never fully solidifying their connection to the main characters.

I'd highly recommend checking all the content warnings, if you do want to venture into this book. I'd say that if you like apocalypse stories with a completely different perspective, full of gore that doesn't hold back, this might be the book for you. 

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Body shaming, Bullying, Child death, Confinement, Cursing, Deadnaming, Death, Domestic abuse, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Fatphobia, Gore, Hate crime, Homophobia, Infertility, Mental illness, Miscarriage, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Rape, Self harm, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Slavery, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Torture, Toxic relationship, Transphobia, Violence, Blood, Antisemitism, Medical content, Grief, Cannibalism, Medical trauma, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, Murder, Pregnancy, Lesbophobia, Outing, Toxic friendship, Sexual harassment, Dysphoria, War, and Injury/Injury detail

upperjackpain's review against another edition

challenging dark sad 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? Yes

4.0

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Gun violence, Rape, Transphobia, Violence, Blood, and Toxic friendship

Moderate: Mental illness, Self harm, Cannibalism, Pregnancy, and Outing

Minor: Racism, Slavery, and Alcohol

captainfez's review against another edition

dark sad fast-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? It's complicated

2.0

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Body shaming, Cancer, Child death, Confinement, Deadnaming, Death, Genocide, Gore, Gun violence, Hate crime, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Rape, Self harm, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Slavery, Suicidal thoughts, Transphobia, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Blood, Police brutality, Cannibalism, Medical trauma, Murder, Pregnancy, Dysphoria, War, and Injury/Injury detail

nixieba25f's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional 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

5.0

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Ableism, Body shaming, Bullying, Child death, Confinement, Cursing, Deadnaming, Death, Domestic abuse, Fatphobia, Genocide, Gore, Gun violence, Hate crime, Infertility, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Racism, Rape, Self harm, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Slavery, Suicidal thoughts, Terminal illness, Torture, Toxic relationship, Transphobia, Violence, Blood, Medical content, Grief, Cannibalism, Religious bigotry, Medical trauma, Death of parent, Murder, Pregnancy, Outing, Cultural appropriation, Toxic friendship, Abandonment, Dysphoria, War, and Injury/Injury detail

mistawenis's review

challenging dark 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? It's complicated

4.0

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Ableism, Addiction, Alcoholism, Biphobia, Body horror, Body shaming, Cursing, Deadnaming, Death, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Fatphobia, Gore, Gun violence, Homophobia, Infertility, Mental illness, Miscarriage, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Slavery, Suicidal thoughts, Torture, Transphobia, Violence, Xenophobia, Blood, Vomit, Cannibalism, Abortion, Murder, Outing, Abandonment, Alcohol, Sexual harassment, Dysphoria, War, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism

laurenkimoto's review against another edition

adventurous dark funny sad tense medium-paced

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

4.75

This book is unhinged, violent, vulgar, provocative, and wild in the best way possible. 
This dystopian/horror is the first one I have really enjoyed in a long time.
I will be thinking about this book until the apocalypse comes 

Very minor spoiler: JKR gets her comeuppance.    

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death, Biphobia, Body horror, Body shaming, Cursing, Deadnaming, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug use, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Fatphobia, Genocide, Gore, Hate crime, Homophobia, Infertility, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Transphobia, Violence, Blood, Excrement, Medical content, Trafficking, Grief, Cannibalism, Death of parent, Outing, Dysphoria, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism

Moderate: Drug use, Gun violence, Infertility, Mental illness, Miscarriage, Racism, Self harm, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide attempt, and Alcohol

emmague89's review

adventurous dark emotional funny inspiring sad tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• 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

5.0

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Biphobia, Body horror, Body shaming, Bullying, Cancer, Child abuse, Child death, Chronic illness, Confinement, Cursing, Deadnaming, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Drug use, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Fatphobia, Genocide, Gore, Gun violence, Hate crime, Homophobia, Infertility, Mental illness, Miscarriage, Misogyny, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Rape, Self harm, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Slavery, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Torture, Toxic relationship, Transphobia, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Blood, Excrement, Vomit, Police brutality, Medical content, Trafficking, Grief, Mass/school shootings, Cannibalism, Religious bigotry, Medical trauma, Stalking, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, Murder, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Pregnancy, Fire/Fire injury, Cultural appropriation, Gaslighting, Toxic friendship, Abandonment, Alcohol, Sexual harassment, Colonisation, Dysphoria, War, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism