Reviews tagging 'Animal death'

The Marrow Thieves by Cherie Dimaline

31 reviews

spicycronereads's review

adventurous hopeful mysterious sad fast-paced

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

3.5

This was an interesting concept - a post apocalyptic North America where the apocalypse was a combination of climate change, colonialism, and capitalism. So…near future sci fi. The central concept - that non-indigenous people have lost the ability to dream and now hunt and try to harvest dreams from indigenous folks, killing them in the process - was really strong.

The story initially follows MMC Frenchie as his family is displaced and eventually lost. He joins a group of other indigenous folks in his quest to continue following his parents’ direction to travel North. But it feels more like an ensemble of characters rather than necessarily Frenchie’s story. We get glimpses of the backstories of a few of the secondary characters and as result they seem to almost have more dimension than Frenchie or his love interest Rose, the multi racial character who joins the band of travelers. There was a bit more showing rather than telling in terms of character development so I didn’t quite feel as drawn in as I could have.

I would have liked more back story on Minerva. Obviously her role as elder is really important but that and the brief story of her SA is kind of all we know. Similarly, there was no attention to where Frenchie’s dad had been all this time or how he came to be where he was. Same for Isaac. Though I was pleasantly surprised when it was him among the other group. I expected it to be someone else from Frenchie’s family

That said, it was still an enjoyable read. As I said, the concept is really interesting. It is well-paced. I read most of it in a day. And there are a few twists that are simultaneously predictable and surprising. Don’t want to say more for fear of spoiling.

In terms of diverse representation, the book is primarily indigenous characters, with a few multi racial characters here and there. There is a gay man among the main characters. 

There is a romance subplot but it is also suffers from the author telling rather than showing. It also goes from the character stating they are in love with the other person to later only really liking them. So that was a bit confusing.  I give it one swoony heart. 💖

Overall, I liked it, despite these issues. They didn’t accumulate to the light where I didn’t enjoy the book. I will likely read the second one. ⭐️⭐️⭐️.5 / 💖

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Violence, Racism, and Colonisation

Moderate: Rape and Sexual assault

Minor: Pandemic/Epidemic, Drug use, Forced institutionalization, and Animal death

Reservation schools, SA happens once on page (though not described in detail) and once mentioned in passing.

paperbacks_n_frybread's review against another edition

adventurous challenging emotional tense medium-paced

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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Minor: Death, Torture, Police brutality, Kidnapping, Hate crime, Grief, Animal death, Violence, and Racial slurs

triley's review against another edition

dark emotional hopeful sad tense medium-paced

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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Gun violence, Child death, Racism, Colonisation, and Trafficking

Moderate: Injury/Injury detail, Kidnapping, Blood, Grief, Murder, and Police brutality

Minor: Cannibalism, Car accident, Death of parent, Sexual violence, and Animal death

thebookkeepers's review

dark emotional mysterious sad slow-paced

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

2.0

I heard the author speak about this book at an event, so I went in with a premise, which was actually the big reveal. Knowing this helped me understand the story for it was very ambiguous and not clearly laid out what was happening to the indigenous people of this world right away. I read this with my 15-year-old son and while he loved it, I found it very slow-paced and not entertaining. The ending scenes were the most exciting and set this book up to continue more in the series. I think book 2 will cover more of what I expected book 1 to be about (victorious indigenous magic wielders overthrowing their oppressors). 

LGBTQ+ rep: M/M romance for side characters

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Genocide, Death, and Racism

Moderate: Rape, Child death, Animal death, and Sexual assault

lpdx's review against another edition

adventurous dark sad slow-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? No

3.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood, Abandonment, Alcohol, Child death, Forced institutionalization, Gun violence, Injury/Injury detail, Murder, Racism, Rape, Violence, Child abuse, Genocide, Grief, Kidnapping, Torture, Trafficking, Animal death, Colonisation, Death, Medical trauma, and Hate crime

Moderate: Confinement and Pandemic/Epidemic

Minor: Drug use and Cannibalism

readingwithkaitlyn's review against another edition

tense fast-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? No

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Violence, Blood, Death, Murder, and Grief

Moderate: Suicidal thoughts, Injury/Injury detail, Suicide, Forced institutionalization, Kidnapping, Religious bigotry, and Child death

Minor: Pregnancy, Alcohol, Genocide, Animal death, Sexual assault, Rape, Child abuse, Colonisation, Addiction, War, Sexual content, Racial slurs, Vomit, Excrement, Gun violence, and Stalking

Residential schools, global warming, pollution, starvation, disease.

zombiezami's review against another edition

4.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Medical content, Medical trauma, Grief, Death of parent, Religious bigotry, Physical abuse, Genocide, Forced institutionalization, Gun violence, Child abuse, Gore, Blood, Murder, Animal death, Death, Child death, Racism, Torture, Violence, and Kidnapping

Moderate: Colonisation, Vomit, Sexual violence, Stalking, Rape, Pregnancy, and Pandemic/Epidemic

Minor: Addiction, Alcohol, Drug use, Drug abuse, and Alcoholism

augustar14's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional 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

4.75

This book is so powerful. Very well done, hard to listen at times but all important because while set in the future, many of the experiences are based on reality or historic reality for indigenous Americans. Definitely recommend, if you're in a space for something that is heavy and strong.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual assault, Abandonment, Alcohol, Blood, Death, Death of parent, Drug abuse, Child death, Colonisation, Cultural appropriation, Cursing, Injury/Injury detail, Genocide, Grief, Gun violence, Kidnapping, Murder, Rape, Addiction, Forced institutionalization, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, and Violence

Moderate: Animal death, Alcoholism, and Vomit

Minor: Sexism, Xenophobia, Confinement, Medical content, Cannibalism, and War

hyggeandtea's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional reflective sad 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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood, Confinement, Genocide, Kidnapping, Police brutality, Colonisation, Grief, Gun violence, Racism, Death, Forced institutionalization, and Sexual content

Moderate: Animal death, Drug use, Gore, and Torture

erebus53's review against another edition

adventurous emotional hopeful mysterious reflective sad tense medium-paced

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

4.25

This is an award winner, no doubt. A rag-tag family of survivors journey through the wilds of Canada, evading the ever-present threat of those who would capture them and harvest their biological material. This is a story that is more about what it is to be human, than the speculative science of the future. Like many survivalist stories parts of it feel like (as one character puts it) "post-apocalyptic boy scouts" but this story is different from others in that the survivors are Indigenous North Americans, who are also trying to remember and rediscover how to live off the land, feeling the grievous loss of their language and their customs to the oppressive colonists.

spoiler alert.. ok not a spoiler at all; there are no zombies.

As the characters get to know each other and themselves better, it becomes clear that they have all suffered horrible trauma. The description of the physical sensations of trauma is real and visceral. This is the first time I have ever heard someone describe grief as living in the gut and in the backs of the knees. I have to agree (though I would say inside the knuckles also).

Although the teenagers in the group are scarred and damaged, they do have one thing that modern teens often don't and that is duty, and a feeling that they are desperately needed for the survival of their group. They have to look after the young and elderly, learn their languages to share them with future generations, and mind what the outcome of their "romances" might be. They are trained to move silently, to hunt and to track so that they don't go hungry.

Some parts of the book are magical, and based in the spiritual beliefs of Indigenous peoples. At no point is the book completely spelled out, or the rumours about the Schools where the people are detained, ever explained specifically, but I'm not upset by that. The ending is still satisfying, and the interpersonal drama is really what sells the whole experience.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood, Child abuse, Cultural appropriation, Child death, Kidnapping, Injury/Injury detail, Gun violence, Animal death, Colonisation, Grief, and Forced institutionalization

Moderate: Cultural appropriation, Cursing, and Abandonment

Minor: Alcoholism, Domestic abuse, Cannibalism, and Sexual assault