Reviews tagging 'Physical abuse'

Manhunt by Gretchen Felker-Martin

72 reviews

jillaay_h's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional funny sad 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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Body shaming, Child death, Deadnaming, Death, Fatphobia, Gore, Gun violence, Hate crime, Homophobia, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Transphobia, Violence, Blood, Police brutality, Medical content, Grief, Cannibalism, Medical trauma, Dysphoria, Injury/Injury detail, and Pandemic/Epidemic

teganbeesebooks's review against another edition

dark emotional sad tense slow-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

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Body shaming, Confinement, Cursing, Death, Gore, Homophobia, Infertility, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Torture, Transphobia, Violence, Blood, Vomit, Medical content, Murder, Dysphoria, War, Injury/Injury detail, and Pandemic/Epidemic

hellotheremaryrose's review against another edition

challenging emotional sad tense 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

4.5

A really challenging and graphic book, but it had me completely hooked and emotionally invested. 
The characters were all so messy in a way that made them feel so flawed and human. 
I liked that it started a couple of years into the event, it made things really interesting!

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Body shaming, Deadnaming, Death, Fatphobia, Gore, Hate crime, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Transphobia, Violence, Medical content, Outing, Dysphoria, and Injury/Injury detail

rachelcg's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional inspiring 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? Yes

4.5

My only critique of this amazing book is that the switch between characters was particularly challenging to navigate and keep track of when listening as an audiobook. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Cursing, Deadnaming, Death, Emotional abuse, Genocide, Gore, Gun violence, Hate crime, Homophobia, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Torture, Transphobia, Violence, Grief, Cannibalism, Murder, Outing, Sexual harassment, Dysphoria, War, and Injury/Injury detail

analenegrace's review against another edition

adventurous dark sad tense fast-paced

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

4.0

This was a uniquely fascinating post-apocalyptic novel, especially to listen to. 

Often, post-apocalyptic novels are focused on survival but not on those whose survival looks very different, and this book, with a trans author and a trans narrator, examined a world where trans people's experiences are dictated by a disease that targets testosterone and turns people into zombie-like monsters. Currently, we are facing a serious problem of TERFS (trans-exclusionary radical feminists) who target trans people simply for existing, at times violently, and this book wonders if how much worse they could get. 

Our characters are not always likable, and it is questionable how many main characters this book has, although I would generally say five. Plot-wise, at times, it felt like things were moving a bit too fast, and the plot never really settled. There are no breaks in this book beyond the sex scenes, which are important to the plot anyway; instead, the characters are constantly physically and mentally on the move, never stopping. 

My biggest criticism was related to the pacing and how the audiobook did the narration. I haven't seen a physical copy, so maybe it's like this in the book as well, but the internal monologue would shift narrators constantly, mid-chapter, without warning, and often shift locations in the same way, and it made it somewhat hard to listen to. The audiobook narrator also did accents for some but not all of the characters, so when she did them, it came as quite a shock. 

I really recommend this one but with heavy warnings for brutality, violence, sexual violence, external and internal transphobia, and death. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Body shaming, Confinement, Cursing, Death, Gore, Gun violence, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Torture, Transphobia, Violence, Medical content, Grief, Murder, Outing, and Dysphoria

noonanjohnc's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark sad slow-paced

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

3.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Ableism, Addiction, Alcoholism, Biphobia, Body horror, Body shaming, Bullying, Confinement, Cursing, Deadnaming, Death, Drug use, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Fatphobia, Genocide, Gore, Gun violence, Hate crime, Homophobia, Infertility, Infidelity, Mental illness, Misogyny, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Rape, Self harm, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Slavery, Suicidal thoughts, Terminal illness, Torture, Toxic relationship, Transphobia, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Blood, Medical content, Trafficking, Kidnapping, Grief, Religious bigotry, Medical trauma, Abortion, Death of parent, Murder, Pregnancy, Lesbophobia, Fire/Fire injury, Outing, Gaslighting, Toxic friendship, Abandonment, Alcohol, Sexual harassment, Colonisation, Dysphoria, War, Injury/Injury detail, and Pandemic/Epidemic

breadhag's review against another edition

dark tense medium-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

I was really excited about this book and the new perspectives it could bring to horror, but it just wasn’t well-written and only about 40% of the book felt necessary/beneficial to character development or plot, in my opinion. If I wasn’t listening to an audiobook which made it easy for me to skip sections or tune out, I don’t think I would have finished this book.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Cursing, Death, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Torture, Transphobia, Blood, Cannibalism, Murder, and Injury/Injury detail

babayagareads's review

adventurous dark emotional sad tense fast-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? Yes

2.25

I don't think I'm going to make a habit of recommending this read. There are some jarring plot movements without transitional context. 

I'd also add that some of the quirks were a little too on the nose - like naming the ship the Galbraith. That would have been fine individually, but including that detail after specifically killing off Rowling in a side story was a little much. And I'm not a J.K. person either - it's more to say that one of those details would have been a more pure add to the plot and story, whereas both seems too pointed.

This book is definitely not for the weak-stomached.

I'm content with having read this piece, but it's not one that I'm going to recommend to others. If you're thinking of reading something that is going to make you uncomfortable, go ahead. 

The biggest content warning I've got is also a spoiler: very early in this book there is

one of the most graphic anal/yussy rape scenes I've ever encountered in a book or movie.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Biphobia, Body horror, Body shaming, Child death, Confinement, Deadnaming, Death, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Fatphobia, Genocide, Gore, Gun violence, Hate crime, Homophobia, Infertility, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Slavery, Suicide, Terminal illness, Toxic relationship, Transphobia, Violence, Medical content, Car accident, Murder, Pregnancy, Outing, Toxic friendship, Sexual harassment, Dysphoria, War, and Pandemic/Epidemic

You want to feel uncomfortable? This book has it all!

andykarnik's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional funny tense 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

3.0

Mind the trigger warnings! This book was pretty damn intense. The less intense moments where you, the reader, are meant to rest are almost exclusively sex scenes. There were a few satisfying cathartic moments at the ends of part 2 and 3

Bunker brat Sophie getting eaten by her "boyfriend", the ship Galbraith (WTF) being destroyed, and Teach's death

. 

A lot of this book was saying aloud the quiet parts of American society with regards to transgender people so sometimes it was a revelation that other people experience the same things I do and other times horror that things could be so much worse. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual content, Toxic relationship, Transphobia, Violence, Pregnancy, War, and Pandemic/Epidemic

Moderate: Body shaming, Child abuse, Deadnaming, Fatphobia, Slavery, and Cannibalism

chelbawamba's review

dark emotional tense fast-paced

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

2.5

Just wasn’t for me! The writing style and pace were confusing with massive time jumps that I didn’t realise had happened and had to keep going back and trying to find what I missed. There was also a lack of character and relationship development, with lots of new characters introduced towards the end. There are also constant explicit, rough sex scenes which isn’t a “bad” thing, just not my cup of tea.

I definitely see why there are people that love this book. I love a lot of weird gross unhinged horror books. Just not this one!

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcoholism, Biphobia, Body horror, Body shaming, Cancer, Child abuse, Child death, Chronic illness, Cursing, Deadnaming, Death, Drug use, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Fatphobia, Genocide, Gore, Gun violence, Homophobia, Mental illness, Miscarriage, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Rape, Self harm, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Slavery, Suicidal thoughts, Terminal illness, Torture, Toxic relationship, Transphobia, Violence, Excrement, Vomit, Medical content, Grief, Cannibalism, Medical trauma, Death of parent, Murder, Pregnancy, Lesbophobia, Outing, Gaslighting, Toxic friendship, Alcohol, Sexual harassment, Dysphoria, War, Injury/Injury detail, and Pandemic/Epidemic