Reviews tagging 'Child abuse'

Seasparrow by Kristin Cashore

21 reviews

betweentheshelves's review against another edition

adventurous emotional 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

3.5

I still think that Graceling and Fire are two of Cashore's best works, and I haven't felt that from these recent installments in the Graceling universe. Don't get me wrong, I love this world and I think it's fascinating. We get back to some of the politics towards the end of this book, which is when I think Cashore is at her strongest. Political intrigue, great characters. That's the magic for her.

Hava, the main character in this one, isn't the most likeable at the beginning, but her journey is one of reckoning with the abuse and neglect she faced as a child. Throughout, she's able to work through that, to allow herself to trust once again. It's a character arc that really works, and the addition of the foxes does wonders. The foxes were honestly my favorite part of this book!

However, I would love if Cashore focused on a different aspect of this world if she wants to keep writing Graceling books. Show me a different set of characters, with maybe a mention of those we already know. It would help build the world even more, and the world is one of the best parts of this series.

All in all, I enjoyed this, but not as much as the early Cashore books.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, and Grief

Moderate: Child abuse, Sexual assault, and Death of parent

Minor: Child death, Homophobia, and Rape

talonsontypewriters's review against another edition

adventurous emotional hopeful medium-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

3.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death, Violence, and Grief

Moderate: Animal cruelty, Child abuse, Confinement, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Gore, Medical content, Death of parent, Murder, Pregnancy, Gaslighting, and Injury/Injury detail

Minor: Addiction, Child death, Homophobia, Pedophilia, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Torture, Excrement, Vomit, Fire/Fire injury, and War

Needles, nonconsensual drugging. Near-drowning, distress at sea. Urination. Frostbite, amputation.

juju_99's review

adventurous reflective medium-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

3.5

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Content Warnings

Minor: Child abuse, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, and Sexual violence

sunshine_kait's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional funny informative reflective sad 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

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Animal death, Child abuse, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Kidnapping, Medical trauma, Death of parent, and Injury/Injury detail

bchallis's review against another edition

adventurous emotional mysterious 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

4.25

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Child abuse, Violence, Grief, and Death of parent

khymihr's review against another edition

adventurous challenging emotional 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

4.25

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Child abuse, Sexual assault, and Medical content

aseel_reads's review

adventurous dark slow-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

3.75

If this book was 100-200 pages shorter, it would have been fantastic. I liked the actual plot events and hava's character arc but because the book was so long and so slow, I started getting annoyed with hava and her behaviours. 

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Child abuse, Death, Rape, Violence, Blood, Grief, Death of parent, Abandonment, and Injury/Injury detail

catsloverain's review

adventurous dark emotional hopeful reflective sad 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

I want to wrap Hava in a little blanket and hold her forever. This book is harsh and filled with anger and grief, but also so full of love and kindness and forgiveness. I was worried at first that this book’s length meant that it was going to be overwritten or bloated, but I came away wishing it was twice, three times as long, and I would have happily still read it.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse and Death of parent

Minor: Sexual assault

donaghys1's review against another edition

adventurous emotional hopeful inspiring 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

4.5

This book is a fantastic addition to the series! I loved being inside Hava’s mind. I especially loved the tour of every character we know and love in this book. The balance and combination of magic and technilogical advances was beautiful and intriuging. I especially love how Kristin Cashore writes gender in this series. In this book especially, the way the foxes communicate with each other and people feels like a nod in agreement to the concept of intuition and vibes. Oh, and the ship was SO COOL. It took me right back to my Semester at Sea days :)

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal cruelty and Grief

Moderate: Animal death, Mental illness, and Violence

Minor: Addiction, Child abuse, Death, Sexual assault, Torture, Medical trauma, Death of parent, Pregnancy, and Injury/Injury detail

There is a shipwreck. The characters are in survival mode from about page 150 to about page 360.

careinthelibrary's review against another edition

adventurous emotional funny 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

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death, Death, Panic attacks/disorders, Violence, Grief, Death of parent, Murder, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Child abuse, Confinement, Drug use, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Kidnapping, and Pregnancy

Minor: Homophobia

Nonconsensual drugging, animal trafficking, post-partum depression, food insecurity