Reviews tagging 'Police brutality'

Manhunt by Gretchen Felker-Martin

18 reviews

vexedfox's review

challenging dark sad tense 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? It's complicated

5.0

This book was impossible to put down in a grabbing an electric fence sort of way. The world-building was superb and the characters were heart-breaking. This was hard to get through but I'm glad I did.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Ableism, Body horror, Death, Fatphobia, Gore, Gun violence, Miscarriage, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Racism, Rape, Self harm, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Suicide, Transphobia, Violence, Blood, Vomit, Police brutality, Medical content, Grief, Cannibalism, Murder, Pregnancy, Outing, Dysphoria, 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. 

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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

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

Moderate: Ableism, Body shaming, and Self harm

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

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: 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

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: 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

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, Gore, Torture, Transphobia, Police brutality, Cannibalism, Murder, Outing, War, and Injury/Injury detail

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