Reviews tagging 'Deadnaming'

Everything Under by Daisy Johnson

12 reviews

spookyaz's review against another edition

challenging dark sad fast-paced

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

2.0

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Dementia, Pedophilia, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Adult/minor relationship, Incest, Abandonment, Deadnaming, Murder, Toxic relationship, Mental illness, Violence, and Transphobia

savvylit's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious reflective sad 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

3.5

Everything Under is a book in which the setting is the most key feature. The river Isis and its community of drifters make up the bulk of this ethereal story. Johnson effortlessly invokes the rhythms of river-living in a way that transports.

The mother-daughter dynamics in this book are well-explored and devastating. Gretel's perspective in particular is heart-wrenching and challenging. Johnson gives the book a mysterious element as we wonder alongside Gretel: who was Marcus and why did he change the trajectory of their life?

Overall, this is a lovely and genderfluid retelling of a classic myth. The characters and the setting were so real-seeming. My only complaint would be that something in the structure felt a little too confusing; it was o

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Deadnaming, Abandonment, Violence, Adult/minor relationship, Incest, Murder, Alcoholism, and Animal death

megwoods's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional mysterious sad

• 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

3.5

I found the book frustrating at first as it was very slow to get into and confusing to follow.  But I loved the ending, I did not expect the twist.  

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Dementia, Death of parent, Deadnaming, Abandonment, and Murder

imds's review against another edition

• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated

4.0

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Death of parent, Grief, Self harm, Abandonment, Adult/minor relationship, Cancer, Dementia, Incest, Infertility, Kidnapping, Suicide, Suicide attempt, Alcoholism, Deadnaming, and Dysphoria

bugle's review against another edition

dark emotional 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

3.5

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Incest, Suicide, Death, Adult/minor relationship, Animal death, and Dementia

Moderate: Deadnaming

Minor: Cancer

ohboysidd's review against another edition

challenging dark mysterious reflective slow-paced

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

3.0

I really loved the world this was in and found the idea of River life very interesting. However…. 

I started to lose faith in the story when it was becoming obvious that Marcus and Sarah were related, and also remembering that Marcus was a minor. I really feel like that was unnecessary in the story, and will pretty much always feel that way when stories try to include incest or pedophilia as if it’s profound. It marred what was a touching and emotional story about finding your lost mother who has Alzheimer’s. 

 

With that being said I still enjoyed the style of writing and would be willing to give other works by the author a chance. 

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Dementia, Self harm, Death, Grief, and Deadnaming

Moderate: Adult/minor relationship and Incest

akkun's review

challenging dark emotional mysterious 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? Yes

4.0

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Incest, Death, and Suicide

Moderate: Dementia

Minor: Deadnaming

slipstream's review against another edition

challenging dark slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Loveable characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

I have really mixed feelings about this one. I love Johnson’s use of language, but l feel like it was more effective for the short stories of Fen. There were some beautiful passages here, but the symbolism got repetitive. I also don’t love the way that the trans characters are handled. It sort of felt like their trans-ness was used as a plot twist.

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Deadnaming and Abandonment

Moderate: Death, Suicide, Incest, and Adult/minor relationship

kayannie's review against another edition

challenging mysterious slow-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? Yes

3.5

After thinking on it awhile, I'm still unsure how I feel about this book. I struggled at first to keep track of the timeline and once I adjusted to the style, became increasingly unsettled by the implications of the storyline and where it was headed. 

---

Content Warnings

Moderate: Suicide, Murder, Death, Dementia, Abandonment, Incest, and Deadnaming

Minor: Cancer

raquelbb's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional mysterious reflective 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? Yes

5.0

This book had everything I need to love a story: magical realism with folk tale terrors that go bump in the night, beautiful poetic language and writing, an unreliable narrator, complicated mother-daughter relationships and mystery on mystery. Really enjoyed the unravelling of the book and was found myself equally disgusted and engrossed by the characters, world and story. 

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Suicide, Toxic relationship, Abandonment, Adult/minor relationship, and Dysphoria

Moderate: Deadnaming and Dementia