Reviews tagging 'Gun violence'

The Devil Takes You Home by Gabino Iglesias

84 reviews

wai's review against another edition

dark sad 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? Yes

3.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Body horror, Cancer, Child abuse, Child death, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Gore, Gun violence, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Torture, Violence, Blood, Grief, Murder, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism

Moderate: Pregnancy

Minor: Transphobia

scwilliams's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional tense fast-paced

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

3.5

The beginning grabbed my attention and held my interest, but the middle is where the story wavers for me, and the climatic fight didn't feel as emotionally jarring as other scenes. It reminded me a lot of "Razerblade Tears" by S. A. Crosby. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Body horror, Cancer, Child abuse, Child death, Death, Drug abuse, Gun violence, Hate crime, Racial slurs, Racism, Suicidal thoughts, Terminal illness, Violence, Xenophobia, Grief, and Injury/Injury detail

Minor: Transphobia

kingsteph's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark mysterious tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• 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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Death, Gore, Gun violence, Terminal illness, Blood, Grief, Murder, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Addiction, Child death, Cursing, Domestic abuse, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, and Classism

Minor: Suicidal thoughts and Transphobia

greyemk's review against another edition

dark tense

• Loveable characters? No

3.75

I’m not really sure how to rate this?

I’ve never read a book like this, but I also don’t really read this genre.

Parts of this book were disgusting, dark, horrible scenes that I hope I will forget. But I didn’t find them excessive for the book. I found the world and the plot gripping and once I got started I wanted to finish.

I think my biggest gripe is that the character, plot, and worldbuilding didn’t feel cohesive. There wasn’t an emotional arc here to connect to. Mario starts off sad and angry and gets sadder and angrier, but his reflections on his situation stay in his head and don’t really connect to the broader story except in obvious ways. I wanted some more synergy in theme, or some progress towards an understanding, or something. Even a bleak book like this can build nuanced layers of bleakness.

I appreciated the commentary on border life and the political situation, though at times it was heavy handed.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Death, Gore, Gun violence, Violence, Xenophobia, and Injury/Injury detail

morecrocs's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious sad tense medium-paced

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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Body horror, Child abuse, Child death, Cursing, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Gore, Gun violence, Terminal illness, Torture, Violence, Blood, Grief, and Murder

Moderate: Cancer, Racial slurs, Racism, Medical trauma, and Pregnancy

symabee's review against another edition

dark mysterious sad tense fast-paced

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

4.0

Wow. That was heavy. The writing was descriptive and visceral. The subject matter was violent and heartbreaking. The author did a wonderful job of weaving together reality and the supernatural. This book is definitely not for the squeamish. 

This was my August BOTM pick, so I was aware beforehand that a lot of Spanish was used in the book, and BOTM was nice enough to send me a translation guide in my box. However I don't see how the use of Spanish is a reason to give this book a lower rating. If you read the description, and possess critical thinking skills, it shouldn't have come as a surprise that the characters sometimes spoke Spanish. If I hadn't had my translation guide, I would have just used Google translate. Yes it would have slowed me down, but that doesn't make it a bad book. I know many people's entitlement has probably led them to believe this, but authors are not obligated to cater to English speakers.

I also saw several reviews stating that this book was racist and anti-white, which is laughably absurd. The main character is a Latino man living in the United States, and he does encounter several racist white men throughout the book. And? That's reality for a lot of people. No where in this story does it say all white people are bad and you should feel shame for being white. If that was your main take away from this book, then you need to spend more time with a therapist unpacking your own baggage, and less time giving negative reviews on the internet.

Anyway, if you like dark and gritty books, definitely read this one. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Cancer, Child death, Death, Gore, Gun violence, Racial slurs, Racism, Terminal illness, Violence, Xenophobia, Blood, Grief, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Addiction

Minor: Domestic abuse, Homophobia, Suicidal thoughts, Transphobia, and Pregnancy

elizabethpero's review against another edition

challenging dark sad tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• 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

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Gore, Gun violence, and Violence

Moderate: Cancer, Child death, and Racism

chloesnotscared's review against another edition

dark tense medium-paced

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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Child death, Death, Gun violence, Violence, and Grief

Moderate: Addiction, Racism, and Blood

grimdark_dad's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional mysterious sad tense fast-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

4.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Gore, Gun violence, Torture, Violence, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Addiction, Animal cruelty, Body horror, Cancer, Child death, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Blood, Grief, Murder, Alcohol, and Classism

jules44's review against another edition

dark mysterious reflective sad tense slow-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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Gore, Racial slurs, Racism, and Blood

Moderate: Addiction, Child death, Death, and Gun violence