Reviews tagging 'Blood'

The Marrow Thieves by Cherie Dimaline

34 reviews

sauvageloup's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional hopeful inspiring mysterious reflective 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

5.0

A gripping and beautiful book! 

Pros:
- the writing is gorgeous! if i highlighted books, it would be filled with highlighter. Some sentences and metaphors were just stunning, it's really poetic whilst still being grounded, brutal without being gratuitous, and really poignant too. The plot was perfect too, enough happening to keep it moving without it being rushed, the final twist totally surprising me.
- the characters were perfect too, especially Miigwans, Rose and the narrator, Francis/Frenchie himself. The trauma they've been through is obvious though not leaned heavily on, and Frenchie's crush is a reminder that he's still so young.
- the worldbuilding is original and brilliant, hugely awful but with hope through the Native Americans' survival.
- i loved the inclusion of Story, the language, the reverence the younger ones show their elders and the learning and how the community pulled together. I've never read a book by a Native American but this was a brilliant reason for why I should find more of them.
(- the worldbuilding and beautiful language reminded me loosely of Station Eleven, and that can only be a very good thing!)

Cons:
-

I wasn't too impacted when RiRi died... i don't rly know why, whether it was a fault with me or the writing. Was much more impacted when Miigwans and Isaac were reunited at the end <3

- sometimes the worldbuilding verged on a bit too tell-y for me and a little unoriginally presented maybe? but it was a minor detail

(not a pro or con, but I was suprised by how often the narrator/author used 'Indians' to describe themselves. I really thought that was considered a slur and Native American the "proper" term? something to look into i guess)

Overall, a wonderful book, i think maybe my first 5 star of the year, definitely want to read more by this author!

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Racism, Genocide, Gun violence, Hate crime, Colonisation, Blood, Violence, Child death, Death of parent, Grief, Animal death, Injury/Injury detail, Forced institutionalization, and Abandonment

Moderate: Rape, Sexual violence, Sexual assault, Gore, Addiction, Murder, Death, Death of parent, and Mental illness

Minor: Torture and Pregnancy

overall tone is hopeful, but some brief but very heavy bits, particularly with the sexual assault

nstew16's review against another edition

adventurous challenging emotional hopeful informative inspiring sad medium-paced

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

4.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death and Death

Moderate: Racism, Addiction, Blood, Colonisation, Genocide, Grief, Rape, and Sexual assault

caseythereader's review

adventurous challenging dark emotional mysterious 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? No

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death, Blood, Child abuse, Child death, Colonisation, Confinement, Death, Death of parent, Drug use, Fire/Fire injury, Genocide, Gore, Grief, Gun violence, Injury/Injury detail, Kidnapping, Medical content, Murder, Physical abuse, Pregnancy, Racism, Suicidal thoughts, Violence, and Rape

ivana's review

adventurous challenging dark informative tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? N/A
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes

3.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death, Blood, Death, Forced institutionalization, Murder, and Racism

jennikreads's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional hopeful reflective sad tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes

5.0

This is a brutal read. It highlights not only the horrified things that colonizers have done to indigenous people in the past, but the reality that it continues to happen now and into the future if we do nothing to fight it. 

 

There is also a very strong found family aspect to this book that I loved. It was nuanced and showed how a group of people can learn to work together and depend on each other in dire circumstances, and in turn, how that can contribute to their fierce love for one another. 

 

Overall this is an important and beautiful read. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood, Death, Forced institutionalization, Medical trauma, Racism, Genocide, and Grief

Moderate: Child death

sonygaystation's review

challenging dark informative mysterious reflective 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

I really, really liked this. It takes a familiar genre of YA post-climate change dystopian fiction and makes it fresh and interesting with indigenous characters and a compelling narrator in Frenchie. One of the things I struggle with most with dystopian fiction is that it so often feels like the things that make a world dystopian are hinged on how white people (myself, of course, included in this grouping) view and interact with the world. Lots of the things white characters experience in dystopian novels are things BIPOC experience right here and right now. It feels kind of telling that so many of the 1- and 2-star reviews I see on this book are overwhelmingly from white people. I think every aspect of this book feels infused with Dimaline, her culture, and her identity. I see it reflected in the story-telling, the entire plot, and the relationships of the characters with each other. The dystopian aspect more a backdrop for the characters, this book is overwhelmingly about the things you do for the people you love, and how you continue to connect and build community with each other when the world tries its hardest to extinguish you. It's pretty brutal in parts and it doesn't shy away from the nuances of systemic mistreatment of First Nations, indigenous, and Native people at the hands of white oppressors, but it ends timely and hopeful and packs a pretty intense punch.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood, Confinement, Death, Forced institutionalization, Genocide, Grief, Gun violence, Hate crime, Kidnapping, Medical content, Murder, Physical abuse, Racism, and Violence

Moderate: Child death, Death of parent, Sexual content, Sexual violence, and Torture

Minor: Animal death

lilymurph's review

challenging emotional informative 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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death, Blood, Death, Child death, Forced institutionalization, Gore, Grief, Hate crime, Murder, Physical abuse, Racism, Religious bigotry, and Violence

ginadapooh's review

adventurous dark emotional hopeful sad fast-paced

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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Blood, Death, Genocide, Gun violence, Torture, and Violence

bookcaptivated's review against another edition

hopeful mysterious 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? No

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood, Death, Death of parent, Child death, Genocide, Gore, Grief, Gun violence, Kidnapping, Murder, Racism, Suicidal thoughts, and Violence

Moderate: Forced institutionalization

Minor: Animal death and Rape

elinordashwood's review

challenging emotional mysterious reflective sad medium-paced

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

4.25

A really wonderful book that draws on the combined horrors of residential schools and environmental degradation through racial capitalism, albeit with a fantasy twist. Although I would have liked to see the fantasy aspect explored more in depth, as well as a greater sense of direction throughout the novel, (plus I could have done without the love triangle), it was overall a very good read.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Forced institutionalization, Genocide, and Grief

Moderate: Blood, Child death, Kidnapping, and Medical content

Minor: Death of parent