Reviews tagging 'Ableism'

Even If We Break by Marieke Nijkamp

27 reviews

nyoom's review

dark reflective slow-paced

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

0.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Ableism, Addiction, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Blood, Body shaming, Bullying, Car accident, Child abuse, Chronic illness, Confinement, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Fire/Fire injury, Gore, Grief, Hate crime, Kidnapping, Medical content, Mental illness, Murder, Panic attacks/disorders, Self harm, Stalking, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic friendship, Transphobia, and Violence

Moderate: Medical trauma and Toxic relationship

Minor: Colonisation

drp_moonlight's review

adventurous emotional mysterious sad tense medium-paced

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

3.0

I can't begin to say how underwhelming it was. The book markets itself as a thriller but the actual action is far too often put aside for teen drama and angst that tried to pass as character development but only served to drag the story to a complete halt. The villain was incredibly predictable and not even interesting at that. Still rated 3 stars because it was a quick read and entertaining enough. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Ableism, Blood, Bullying, Car accident, Death, Drug abuse, Hate crime, Murder, Transphobia, and Chronic illness

Minor: Animal death and Suicidal thoughts

plumpaperbacks's review

dark medium-paced

• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.5

I added Even If We Break to my tbr on impulse because it sounded intriguing. Unfortunately, I only liked three of the five leads, and I wasn’t really invested in the story. Not only am I hardly interested in roleplaying, but it was also quite easy, in my opinion, to guess who the antagonist was. By the time I was halfway done, I had two predictions, and one of them ended up being correct. If I’m being honest, it was disappointing. Said antagonist didn’t have a good reason for any of their actions.

I nearly gave the book two stars, but bumped it up by half because I did end up really liking Ever, Finn, and Maddy. Their friendship was sweet and genuine, and Ever and Finn’s budding romance was super cute.

Ultimately, I’m not sure I’d recommend this, and I’m not sure Nijkamp’s work is my cup of tea. Thrillers really are hit or miss.

Representation

• trans bisexual protagonist that uses they/them pronouns
• trans protagonist that uses he/him pronouns
• autistic bisexual protagonist with chronic pain
• bisexual protagonist

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Panic attacks/disorders, Gore, Blood, Ableism, Addiction, Drug abuse, Death, Mental illness, Chronic illness, and Suicidal thoughts

Moderate: Body shaming, Violence, and Transphobia

Minor: Physical abuse and Self harm

maisierosereads's review

dark mysterious tense medium-paced

• Strong character development? It's complicated
• 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: Ableism, Addiction, Blood, Confinement, Death, Drug abuse, Gore, Hate crime, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Self harm, Suicidal thoughts, and Violence

samusc's review

adventurous dark emotional mysterious tense fast-paced

• 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

Graphic: Blood and Panic attacks/disorders

Moderate: Addiction, Bullying, Violence, Suicidal thoughts, Death, and Ableism

kendallreadsbooks's review

dark mysterious fast-paced

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

3.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Gore, Ableism, and Addiction

booksthatburn's review against another edition

challenging dark mysterious reflective sad tense medium-paced

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

5.0

*I received a free review copy in exchange for an honest review of this book. 

Spooky and horrific, Even If We Break uses LARPing and a no-longer-quite-so-close friend group in a fancy cabin in the woods as the basis for a bloody introspection on privilege, jealousy, class, disability, fairness, and terror. 

It uses rotating narrators (divided by chapter) and explores friendship, betrayal, and privilege through LARPing and a “cabin in the woods” style spooky mystery. I love this, I’m here for it, but it’s so full of those elements that if you don’t like them you probably won’t have a good time. All the narrators are differently unreliable in a way that comes together to give a picture of what literally happened without invalidating any of their personal experiences. 

I like the interstitial narration, it makes it feel like there’s a GM for this weekend. It starts out feeling like the one that was planned by one of the characters and then slowly twists into something much more sinister and truly deadly. The way things get bad is a little predictable in spots, but how the characters react makes the story truly gripping. The ending is fantastic, I love all of it, it’s twisted and creepy and completely fits the rest of the book while also being surprising.

I appreciate the way it handles all the little things around class and casual wealth (or lack of money) which can add up to create small tensions and splinter friendships. Not every character focuses on it, and that’s part of the point; some of then don’t have to (they have cabins which are available anytime for a weekend getaway with friends) while others weigh every decision around whether they’ll be able to afford their next meal. There’s also a lot of focus on disability, both physical disabilities and neurodivergencies, especially when in a terrifying situation where the nearest road is a long walk away. Some of the characters are casually ableist but the book clearly portrays this as a bad thing. I can’t speak to whether the disability rep is good because I don’t have the relevant experiences, but it’s nuanced, complex, and seems to be filled with care on the part of the author. 

This was a stressful book to read, and I'm glad I read it in daylight because it created and sustained a creepy mood with a sense of danger and uncertainty. My threshold for spooky books is pretty low, so if you're a horror aficionado I don't know where this would fit. A lot of the horror is more psychological, enhanced by the rotation of narrators which allowed for continuous story without giving things away.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Ableism, Death, and Gore

Moderate: Transphobia and Addiction

CW for ableism, transphobia, addiction, murder, gore, major character death.