Reviews tagging 'Hate crime'

The Fifth Season by N.K. Jemisin

52 reviews

galacticvampire's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional tense slow-paced

5.0

"Stupid, stupid woman. Death was always here. Death is you."

I was enamoured by the concept of The Fifth Season from the first time I heard about it years ago, added to overall praise for the series, I was coming with high expectations.

And it delivered. Everything and more.

The execution not only lives up to the concept, but surpasses it. The suspense isn't there to pull the rug from under your feet in a gotcha moment, it's carefully crafted into the story, where the reveals are satisfying and spark the need for more, even when you caught what the foreshadowing was trying to tell you.

The world is so rich and complex that the initial struggle to follow what was going on (including the recurrent second person pov) has an immense pay-off. The feeling of wonder didn't leave me for a second.

I'm very much on the transition from YA to Adult Fantasy, so the very real darkness and grittiness surrounding everything was unexpected, but I couldn't have picked a better book to make me fall in love with the genre.

This is a story about Pain. This is a story about Grief. This is a story about enduring them and surviving them, because you have no other option.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Child death, Emotional abuse, Child abuse, Death, Physical abuse, Slavery, Grief, Violence, and Blood

Moderate: Racial slurs, Abandonment, Sexual content, Rape, and Bullying

Minor: Alcohol, Hate crime, Sexual violence, Adult/minor relationship, Colonisation, Pedophilia, Racism, and Xenophobia

alexijai98's review against another edition

adventurous emotional 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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood, Body horror, Child death, Death, Grief, Racism, Sexual content, Suicide attempt, and Violence

Moderate: Cannibalism, Hate crime, and Child abuse

Minor: Sexual violence and Pedophilia

natalie_gumm's review

adventurous dark emotional sad tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• 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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Content Warnings

Graphic: Racial slurs, Hate crime, Sexual content, Toxic relationship, Classism, Racism, Child abuse, Emotional abuse, Grief, and Pregnancy

Minor: Body horror, Sexual assault, Kidnapping, Rape, Medical content, Child death, and Pedophilia

katievallin's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional hopeful reflective 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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Cursing, Death, Stalking, Suicide attempt, Gore, Grief, Hate crime, Child death, Racism, Rape, Violence, Child abuse, Emotional abuse, Sexual content, Toxic friendship, Suicidal thoughts, Trafficking, Bullying, Police brutality, Abandonment, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Slavery, Animal death, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Pregnancy, Panic attacks/disorders, and Body horror

Minor: Cannibalism, Alcohol, Blood, and Fire/Fire injury

xta_07's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional sad 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

A cruel society held together by a people who are feared, abused and discriminated against. (sound familiar?) It's a common them but told in a completely unique way.

A truly engrossing and well written novel about a dystopian society where earthquakes happen regularly. The story focuses on three women that can control the earths movements, all at different points in a timeline. This was an extremely well written book, and I really appreciated this authors unique voice. While her characters have been mistreated their whole lives they are still able to find hope and happiness at certain parts of the story. But, as the author states in the beginning happiness is temporary. While I can't exactly say I enjoyed this book, I'm glad to have read it.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Child death, and Hate crime

Moderate: Pedophilia and Sexual content

Minor: Cannibalism

vivavia's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional mysterious sad 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? It's complicated

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Abandonment, Blood, Child death, Death of parent, Gore, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Murder, Physical abuse, Sexual content, Bullying, Cannibalism, Child abuse, Slavery, Death, Emotional abuse, Hate crime, Torture, Vomit, Violence, and Classism

drips's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional mysterious reflective sad 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? It's complicated

4.75

so good

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Emotional abuse, Physical abuse, and Child abuse

Moderate: Murder, Misogyny, Mental illness, Kidnapping, Child death, Animal death, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Pregnancy, Sexism, Rape, Genocide, Death of parent, Pedophilia, Hate crime, Grief, Death, Cursing, Colonisation, and Sexual content

kheleesi's review

adventurous dark mysterious 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

5.0

A really interesting fusion of dystopia and fantasy. The genre is definitely the most unique aspect of this, and the world-building is subtle enough to hook you in the beginning and keep you reading to learn more about the world. The pacing felt a little weird near the last third of the book but overall was very enjoyable. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, Hate crime, and Sexual content

elizabeth_lepore's review

adventurous dark mysterious 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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Murder, Racism, Racial slurs, Injury/Injury detail, Xenophobia, Death, Emotional abuse, Forced institutionalization, Child death, and Grief

Moderate: Sexual content, Gaslighting, and Abandonment

Minor: Pedophilia, Pregnancy, Hate crime, and Transphobia

brycestevenwilley's review

adventurous dark mysterious 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

4.5

Interesting journey, the worldbuilding is very well integrated, and the rules don't feel like they're in flux as much as you, the reader, and ghe characters themselves are finding out the limits and mysteries.

I always forget that there's an appendix in the back, would have helped the first 75 pages.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Murder, Child death, Classism, Child abuse, Death, Forced institutionalization, and Genocide

Moderate: Cannibalism, Injury/Injury detail, Panic attacks/disorders, Suicide attempt, Hate crime, Violence, Racial slurs, and Torture