Reviews tagging 'Death'

Dread Nation by Justina Ireland

66 reviews

centurylore's review against another edition

adventurous dark 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

3.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood, Death, Sexism, Slavery, Classism, Colonisation, Cursing, Injury/Injury detail, Physical abuse, Police brutality, War, Pandemic/Epidemic, Racial slurs, Child death, Medical content, Murder, Kidnapping, Racism, Religious bigotry, Violence, and Torture

Moderate: Death of parent

leafhead's review against another edition

adventurous dark mysterious tense medium-paced

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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Racial slurs, Classism, Child death, Injury/Injury detail, Torture, Violence, Death, Racism, Religious bigotry, Gore, and Kidnapping

Moderate: Police brutality, Trafficking, Gun violence, and Misogyny

Minor: Medical content, Blood, and Slavery

pinkalpaca's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional 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? No

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Racial slurs, Violence, Death, and Racism

Moderate: Misogyny and Slavery

brerreads's review against another edition

adventurous 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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Pandemic/Epidemic, Death, Blood, Racial slurs, and Racism

huirangdolly's review against another edition

adventurous tense fast-paced

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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death and Racial slurs

Moderate: Classism and Cursing

Minor: Injury/Injury detail, Religious bigotry, Murder, Gore, Domestic abuse, and Gun violence

bookishkellyn's review against another edition

challenging dark mysterious tense

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

5.0

A strong-willed heroine (Jane), her ex-fling (Jackson), and her former nemesis turned friend (Katherine) battle the undead (“shamblers”) in an alternate version of the Reconstruction era. This had political intrigue and great plot twists. Such a good read.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Violence, Blood, Colonisation, Death, Injury/Injury detail, and Racism

Moderate: Racial slurs, Religious bigotry, War, and Slavery

dragoninwinterfell's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional funny sad tense 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

It has been years since I was so fully captured by a book that I couldn't stop reading/listening to it until I reached the end. Straight from the first couple of lines, I was drawn in by Jane McKeene and her story. Justina Ireland has created a gritty alternate history where the Civil War ended when soldiers began turning into zombies, forcing both sides to come to terms to deal with the greater threat. Slavery has technically ended, yet Black Americans are still being exploited and racism is still normalized. Black and Native American teens are forced to attend schools where they are taught to fight zombies in preparation for jobs where they will protect people of European descent. 

Jane attends one of these schools where she has to learn etiquette (so as to be tolerable company for the people she will serve) alongside combat training with other teenage girls. As the story is told through her first-person POV, her dry wit, well-earned pessimism, practicality, and care for others are at the forefront. Jane is such a fascinating character full of acknowledged flaws alongside rarely acknowledged virtues. Had this been a book where she was just narrating her boring day at home in a world with no zombies, I still would have been attached enough to her to be enthralled. But this is a world with zombies as well as common human atrocities. So it was fascinating following along as she navigated the horrors of both zombies and racism, which equally threatened her life and the lives of those she loves.

I'm awed by Ireland's skill in creating a character and a world that felt so real and immersive. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Racism, Racial slurs, Police brutality, Slavery, Physical abuse, Murder, Death, and Kidnapping

greenlivingaudioworm's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional mysterious tense medium-paced

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

3.5

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Blood, Cultural appropriation, Death, Death of parent, Racial slurs, Racism, Violence, Classism, Gore, Slavery, and Murder

clr00's review against another edition

adventurous dark tense medium-paced

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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Racism, and Racial slurs

Minor: Sexual assault

sparklefarm's review against another edition

dark funny tense medium-paced

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

3.75

A friend described this as a romp, and that's accurate! Very fun zombie tale (but also doesn't shirk frank discussions of racism and slavery).

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Racism, Injury/Injury detail, and Racial slurs

Moderate: Violence, Murder, Slavery, and Death