Reviews tagging 'Gun violence'

An Unkindness of Ghosts by Rivers Solomon

54 reviews

liter_aly's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional hopeful inspiring reflective sad 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

5.0

Definitely check the content warnings before you dive into this one. It takes on so many heavy topics, and yet they were so naturally, realistically integrated and I never felt like any were thrown in for shock value, tokenism, a cheap plot line, or a sermon. Solomon skillfully reflected the full crushing horror of white supremacy and state violence without erasing the power, ingenuity, and resilience of Black folks. The world building: exquisite. Every plot point, scene, and character held so much depth and I loved the sweet and silly moments sprinkled in. I wish the book were longer or that there was a sequel, not because it wasn’t perfectly paced and resolved, but because I want to still be reading it. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Mental illness, Racism, Self harm, Suicide, Violence, Police brutality, Suicide attempt, and Murder

Moderate: Ableism, Child death, Confinement, Domestic abuse, Homophobia, Incest, Racial slurs, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Torture, Abortion, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , and Dysphoria

Minor: Cancer, Gun violence, and Suicidal thoughts

mostlyvoidpartiallystars's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional mysterious sad 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? It's complicated

4.0

This book is incredible, thought-provoking, and devastating. There's a mix of terrifying worldbuilding, fascinating characters, mysterious plot, and deep emotional resonance. Make SURE to read the content warnings, though - it's a very heavy book. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Ableism, Child death, Confinement, Death, Gun violence, Hate crime, Homophobia, Misogyny, Racial slurs, Racism, Rape, Sexism, Sexual violence, Torture, Transphobia, Violence, Medical content, Religious bigotry, Suicide attempt, Toxic friendship, Sexual harassment, and Injury/Injury detail

riverrliam's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional funny hopeful mysterious reflective 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

This book is heavy on science terms, so be prepared to look things up! Some of the plot was confusing to me, but overall it was entertaining and a quick read. I liked all the queer representation. I love a dystopian story / escape for a better world and the setting was unique. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body shaming, Bullying, Child abuse, Child death, Chronic illness, Confinement, Death, Emotional abuse, Gore, Hate crime, Homophobia, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Racism, Rape, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, Blood, Police brutality, Medical content, Medical trauma, Death of parent, Murder, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Gaslighting, Toxic friendship, Dysphoria, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism

Moderate: Gun violence, Self harm, Grief, and Fire/Fire injury

leweylibrary's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional mysterious tense slow-paced

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

3.25

I really wish I liked this one more 😕 I think I would've liked it better not in audiobook (the quick, brief POV changes were a bit difficult), and I wasn't a big fan of the narrator or the MC really. I can tell it was good writing wise, it just wasn't hitting me much.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Bullying, Child abuse, Child death, Confinement, Death, Gore, Gun violence, Homophobia, Mental illness, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Racism, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Slavery, Suicidal thoughts, Torture, Violence, Police brutality, Medical content, Grief, Medical trauma, Abortion, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, Murder, Pregnancy, Lesbophobia, Sexual harassment, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism

angelbabe_cj's review against another edition

adventurous challenging hopeful 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

4.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, Death, Drug use, Gun violence, Hate crime, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Rape, Sexual violence, Slavery, Suicidal thoughts, Torture, Violence, Police brutality, Medical content, Religious bigotry, Suicide attempt, Murder, Lesbophobia, and Injury/Injury detail

discarded_dust_jacket's review against another edition

dark emotional 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? It's complicated

4.0

This is one of those books that I close after finishing and stare off into the middle distance for a solid ten minutes, just… processing.

I feel like I should have a bunch of really thoughtful reactions to this story, since there’s obviously so much going on thematically, but more than anything I just feel like my brain is stuck on the buffering screen, lol.

I loved the premise—an enormous space vessel acting as a sort of Noah’s ark, harboring a human population fleeing earth in search of the proverbial promised land. I appreciated the autistic, intersex, trans/non-binary, and asexual representation, as well as the allegorical interpretation of the antebellum south.

I struggled a little bit with some of the dense “science-y” terminology and just ended up skimming a lot of it, assuming I’d be able to get the gist. I had a similar issue when I tried to visualize some of the things described (in particular, the fields where lowerdeck workers harvest crops). The only other thing that threw me off sometimes was the quick jumps around through time, and not being able to sure when a “flashback” is being described and at what point have we jumped to the present again.

Other than that I really enjoyed this book, especially the second half. It’s beautifully-written, and the characters are nuanced and richly crafted.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Ableism, Body shaming, Bullying, Child death, Confinement, Death, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Racism, Slavery, Torture, Violence, Blood, Medical content, Grief, Religious bigotry, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, Murder, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Toxic friendship, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism

Moderate: Homophobia, Rape, and Sexual violence

Minor: Gun violence, Vomit, Abortion, and Fire/Fire injury

rcsreads's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional 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? It's complicated

3.5

The space ship is a great analogy for being trapped in slavery, you can't run away into a vacuum. The actual science of this space ship though, is insane like it has a tiny sun with floors for growing crops round it that all require drastically different environments and you can see people on other floors and they're upside down. What? If you take the ship purely as an analogy and don't think about science then this is a really interesting way to write about slavery and trauma full of diverse, queer and neurodivergent characters. The A deck ruling class are the white, heteronormative colonisers and the rest of the alphabet of decks represent the various cultures that the West enslaved and colonised. The analogy is good but the actual plot of the story gets confusing. 
 The story of Aster learning about her mother through the journals she left behind started out so well and then kind of got lost later. We just dropped it for the middle of the book and then it reappeared at the end with a lot of solutions which clearly happened off page. 
 I could see why Giselle was there to show us the effects of trauma but i have no idea why she was Aster's friend, she seemed to hate her a lot and they had nothing in common apart from living on the same floor of the massive ship. I have no idea what the Lieutenants motives were, he was a cartoon villain who just decided one day that a random child was his nemesis and he was going to mess with her for the rest of his life.
 It was very readable and I enjoyed it but this review seems to think otherwise...

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Body horror, Bullying, Child abuse, Child death, Death, Emotional abuse, Gore, Gun violence, Hate crime, Homophobia, Mental illness, Misogyny, Panic attacks/disorders, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Rape, Self harm, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Slavery, Torture, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Vomit, Police brutality, Medical content, Grief, Religious bigotry, Medical trauma, Stalking, Abortion, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, Murder, Lesbophobia, Fire/Fire injury, Gaslighting, Toxic friendship, Sexual harassment, Colonisation, War, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism

laguerrelewis's review against another edition

dark emotional funny mysterious reflective sad 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? Yes

4.75

Rivers Solomon has a way of tugging you by the soul, pulling you into the world they’ve lovingly and painstakingly crafted. An Unkindness of Ghosts is many things: a rumination on faith & oppression, on the afterlife and our ancestor’s legacy, a story of survival and rebellion and forcing a space for yourself when the system denies it, but most of all, it is a good book. I cannot stress enough to heed the content warnings, but if you can stomach them, this book will reward you.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, Confinement, Death, Drug use, Gore, Gun violence, Hate crime, Homophobia, Racism, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Slavery, Suicidal thoughts, Torture, Violence, Blood, Police brutality, Medical content, Grief, Religious bigotry, Medical trauma, Abortion, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, Pregnancy, Lesbophobia, Toxic friendship, Alcohol, Sexual harassment, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism

Moderate: Child abuse and Transphobia

jdianm's review against another edition

adventurous tense medium-paced

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

4.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Ableism, Child death, Confinement, Death, Physical abuse, Racism, Rape, Self harm, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Torture, Transphobia, Violence, Blood, Vomit, Police brutality, Medical content, Medical trauma, Suicide attempt, Murder, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Fire/Fire injury, Sexual harassment, Colonisation, Dysphoria, and Injury/Injury detail

Minor: Domestic abuse, Gun violence, Abortion, and Death of parent

pearlpool's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional funny mysterious sad 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

4.5

this was INSANE…….. so heartbreaking and beautiful :( WOULD HIGHLY RECOMMEND LOOKING AT THE CONTENT WARNINGS!!!!!

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Deadnaming, Gun violence, Hate crime, Homophobia, Mental illness, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Rape, Self harm, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Slavery, Torture, Transphobia, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Blood, Vomit, Police brutality, Religious bigotry, Abortion, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, Pregnancy, Lesbophobia, Sexual harassment, Colonisation, and Injury/Injury detail