Reviews tagging 'Racism'

The River Has Teeth by Erica Waters

8 reviews

nodogsonthemoon's review against another edition

adventurous dark mysterious fast-paced

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

3.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Murder, Violence, Death, Blood, and Gore

Moderate: Child abuse, Kidnapping, Racism, Injury/Injury detail, and Torture

jjames_mal's review

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

This YA horror follows Della, a witch whose mother has transformed into a monster in a magical woods, and Natasha, an angry girl whose sister has gone missing in the same woods.

I have to admit that Erica Waters is becoming my favourite author. I loved how real and raw the characters of Della and Natasha felt. Much like Ghost Wood Song, the magic system in this book is so detailed and unique, and I absolutely loved it. Adding this book to the list of books that almost made me cry and definitely left me very emotional. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood, Death, Violence, and Death of parent

Moderate: Sexism, Body horror, and Emotional abuse

Minor: Racism, Confinement, Stalking, Classism, and Domestic abuse

pan_to_ffel's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional hopeful mysterious 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

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Confinement, Emotional abuse, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Gore, Abandonment, Death, Death of parent, Murder, and Kidnapping

Moderate: Gaslighting, Domestic abuse, and Toxic relationship

Minor: Racism, Alcoholism, Rape, Trafficking, Animal death, Classism, and Gun violence

flyingryndeer's review against another edition

dark tense fast-paced

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

3.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Murder

Moderate: Racism

Minor: Rape, Sexual assault, and Police brutality

alas0's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional inspiring mysterious 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

when I picked up this book I didn't know what to expect but now that I read it, I'm so happy I decided to pick it up it was soo good !!
the mystery !!! the creepy writing and atmosphere !! it was exactly my type of book.

Della was my favorite, I love the cold-hearted witch trope.
Natasha was ok, I'm guessing that she was not meant to be likable in a traditional scene, but that's ok even when she jumps to a conclusion with very little evidence 

like for example calling the police on Miles

but I love their dynamic! even if the romance felt a little fast-paced but after reflecting on it, it makes scenes with everything that's happened that emotions would be running fast.

and the plot twists!! admittedly it felt a little out of nowhere but if I were to reread it then the clue would most likely be more obvious probably. The ending overall was amazing and 

the Bloody Millers' death was wonderful, love that his victims got their revenge and in such a symbolic way too!!

 

Overall a 10/10 book would recommend !!

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Violence, Misogyny, Death, Blood, Body horror, Gore, and Grief

Moderate: Child death, Domestic abuse, and Kidnapping

Minor: Police brutality, Racism, and Torture

corriejn's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional mysterious tense medium-paced

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

4.5

Witchy, magic-laden young adult mystery fiction. It's hard to say too much about this book without spoilers, but it's a creative and engaging book for the genre.

A few non-spoiler-y notes: the LGBTQIA+ tag is not inappropriate for this book, but I will say that some of the earlier introductions of queer characters felt a bit self-conscious/gratuitous. By that I mean going out of the way to establish queer identities of characters in ways that didn't seem natural as part of conversations in the narrative, and felt more like pointing out those identities to tick a representation box than presenting characters naturally as whoever they were (i.e., them presented matter-of-factly in the ways they went about their lives and relationships). (Same with race; there is a Black character among the supporting roles, but that does not seem to a real/impactful part of the character's identity and life, but mentioned occasionally to remind the reader of the fact.) This is all still well ahead of books that treat all characters as white/cis/het by default, of course, but there are also books (including within YA fiction) that handle diversity better.

Another theme that felt a tad ineptly handled (again, without any major spoilers here) was one of the main character's pasts, as a child who was adopted later in childhood. The descriptions of the character's feelings about/relationship to their biological parents and adoptive family read as a bit trite and simplistic. Representation of a variety of life experiences is great, but again this was not dealt with with the greatest nuance or depth/complexity of characters (indeed, the adoptive family/said character's relationship to them get only the briefest of coverage).

All that being said, I'm still rating this 4.5 because for the genre/intended audience the inclusion of various identities and life experiences is still a plus and may not have been encountered in a lot of other fiction texts, even if they could have been more skillfully addressed. This remains an engaging and creative book (though do check the substantial CWs if any of those are a concern), and a recommended read for late-teen to adult readers. (The positive aspects of the story are more difficult to outline with plot spoilers!)

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Cursing, Death, Drug use, Gore, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Kidnapping, Blood, Body horror, Confinement, Murder, Violence, and Torture

Moderate: Alcohol, Classism, Death of parent, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Gaslighting, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Drug abuse, and Vomit

Minor: Child abuse, Sexual violence, Sexual assault, Rape, Lesbophobia, Addiction, Sexism, Sexual harassment, Outing, Biphobia, Racism, and Trafficking

spiritedfaraway's review

dark emotional mysterious sad tense medium-paced

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

3.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcohol, Blood, Body horror, Confinement, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Gore, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Kidnapping, Murder, Physical abuse, and Violence

Moderate: Torture, Stalking, Racism, Police brutality, and Panic attacks/disorders

ashleycmms's review

adventurous challenging emotional mysterious tense medium-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? It's complicated

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Alcohol, Blood, Body horror, Child abuse, Child death, Confinement, Death, Death of parent, Drug use, Drug abuse, Grief, Gun violence, Injury/Injury detail, Murder, Violence, and Sexism

Moderate: Domestic abuse

Minor: Suicidal thoughts and Racism