Reviews tagging 'Police brutality'

Manhunt by Gretchen Felker-Martin

17 reviews

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. 

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Content Warnings

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

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

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

petricampp's review

challenging dark emotional sad tense slow-paced

• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Gore, Genocide, Medical content, Police brutality, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Transphobia, Body horror, Death, Cannibalism, Dysphoria, Fatphobia, Gun violence, Hate crime, Pregnancy, Rape, Murder, Sexual assault, Torture, and Violence

Moderate: Ableism, Self harm, and Body shaming

Minor: Cancer

blundershelf's review against another edition

adventurous dark funny sad fast-paced

4.0

horrific

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body shaming, Colonisation, Blood, Body horror, Bullying, Cannibalism, Child abuse, Cursing, Grief, Murder, Rape, Dysphoria, Emotional abuse, Fatphobia, Gore, Hate crime, Medical trauma, Outing, Toxic friendship, Police brutality, Racism, Self harm, Sexual violence, Transphobia, Sexual content, Violence, War, Suicidal thoughts, Deadnaming, and Death

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

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Content Warnings

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

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

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Content Warnings

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

agavemonster's review

dark emotional tense medium-paced

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

4.5

What a read! Touched and disturbed me, and made me confront the ways in which I have failed to live up to my values about my trans siblings. I found the book somber and cruel but not heartless, the depiction of apocalypse unusually clear-sighted, and the "victory" at the end more heartbreaking than victorious. The gore and body horror, which are indeed graphic, could not be removed without damaging our empathy and embodiment with the characters. Other reviewers have called the book's tone depressing or bitter; I think that the end of the world was/is/will be painful, and people suffer and make each other suffer, even people who love each other, and to depict that other than truthfully is an injustice.

A few minor annoyances:

• Semi-frequent image and phrase repetition: things and people smell or look like milk, the men-beasts are always described with the same few adjectives, hair is "cornsilk." The only niggling distraction from otherwise fabulously fluid and visceral prose
• Teach's motivation seemed flimsy and one-dimensionally rage monster, especially when compared to deputy Ramona, who was deeply grotesque and complex in her anesthetization, denial, anger, and self-pitying lashing out. Teach's one brief POV scene at the end weakened rather than strengthened her character. Would have liked her point of view to be more developed and three-dimensional. People who hate another type of person enough to commit genocide usually have a mess of complex thoughts about that type of person, not just one-dimensional disgust
• Several times, the men busted in at the perfect moment and "saved the day" for the protags by distracting or attacking their intelligent enemies in a way that struck me as a little contrived

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Torture, Transphobia, War, Cannibalism, Injury/Injury detail, Murder, Outing, Police brutality, and Gore

kylajaynebooks's review

challenging dark emotional funny sad tense slow-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

5.0

*wow* 

This read like a movie - it was brutal, nasty, horrifying, real, depressing, funny, reflective, sarcastic and I loved it so much. 

It has so much to say and really makes you question feminism and how it absolutely does not always include everyone. It explores gender identity, mental illness, toxic relationships, eugenics, sex work, genocide and dictatorships 

Just wow this was a gory disgusting sexy masterpiece 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Emotional abuse, Excrement, Fatphobia, Grief, Hate crime, Infertility, Mass/school shootings, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Police brutality, Racism, Self harm, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Terminal illness, Torture, Toxic relationship, Ableism, Child death, Deadnaming, Dysphoria, Eating disorder, Fire/Fire injury, Gaslighting, Gore, Gun violence, Homophobia, Murder, Pregnancy, Sexism, Trafficking, Violence, Vomit, War, Blood, Body horror, Body shaming, Cannibalism, Death, Genocide, Abortion, Cursing, Drug use, Injury/Injury detail, Medical content, Medical trauma, Mental illness, Rape, Religious bigotry, and Transphobia