Reviews tagging 'Racism'

Dread Nation by Justina Ireland

150 reviews

jackiemcguire's review against another edition

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adventurous hopeful tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0


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mermaidreef's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging dark mysterious tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.0

This was a slay. I think this protagonist was one of my faves of all time?? Like a lot of times in YA fiction/fantasy that are in first person, the main character is mega boring and doesn't really even seem like a person at all. That was soooooo not the case here. Jane is such a wonderful and well-developed character. She doesn't always tell us everything and there are times when she holds the reader at arms' length. She isn't modest, and shows us she has good reason not to be. 

To me, however, the real power of this book lies in the fact that it is a direct and searing deconstruction of the appeal of Donald Trump to the racism inherent in American white people. In the wake of the zombie apocalypse, a political party operating on a platform of Black people's racial inferiority and "God-ordained subservience" to white people attempts to set up settlements honoring the "old ways" (aka pre-Civil War slavery). Their slogan is "make America safe again" and they believe the way to do so is to force Black and Native American people to fight off zombies. They hold that the "zombie plague" is a punishment from God for "white infighting" (aka the Civil War) and they take it as a sign that God himself believes that Black people need to be enslaved. 

What I got out of this mostly is that in the face of a global crisis, white people turn to the structure of the racial caste system in blind faith as a way to weather the storm. In this book, white people literally choose death in order to reinforce this racial caste system which places them at the top. 

Very good very slay

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sshabein's review against another edition

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adventurous dark emotional funny hopeful mysterious 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? No

5.0

I don't remember who recommended this series to me, but I'm glad that they did because this was great. An alternate history set a few decades after the dead rising interrupts the US Civil War — sometimes this sort of thing is something I'd rather watch than read, but that wasn't the case here. The audiobook narrator also does a good job. The story keeps things moving, and the writing is direct, sometimes funny, and every character is a whole person.

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saemiligr's review against another edition

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challenging dark reflective sad medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.5


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whatcassiedid's review against another edition

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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
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

Oh boy I loved this so much! Jane is born immediately after the end of the Civil War and three days later, the dead rise up. This book's world building makes so much sense and is so well thought out. Can't wait to read the sequel.

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littlewishling's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging emotional medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

This was incredible. Ireland wrapped a rich story around challenging history and it is fantastic the whole way through. All of the characters are so nuanced and realistic. I can’t wait to read the sequel.

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lb2022's review against another edition

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adventurous dark mysterious 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? It's complicated

5.0


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barefootbetsy's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging dark emotional 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 was excellent! I’m so glad I bought the sequel before I finished this book. Looking forward to starting it!

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blkunicorn's review against another edition

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adventurous dark emotional inspiring 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

4.0


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dumaurier's review against another edition

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4.75

two (canonically) queer woc fighting zombies in the post-civil war south yeah i gobbled this up

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