Reviews tagging 'Sexism'

An Ember in the Ashes by Sabaa Tahir

44 reviews

crybabybea's review against another edition

adventurous dark tense fast-paced

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

3.5

A good YA dystopian-ish scifi-ish fantasy-ish romance-ish read! I appreciated the unique setting based on West Asia and the inclusion of Arabic mythology. At first, I wasn't super into the story because it felt very typically YA to me, especially the info-dumpiness of the beginning, and I was expecting more immediate fantasy. The fantasy elements are subtle and the overall story leans more toward sci-fi/dystopia. Because of this the world-building doesn't feel as complex as I would like, and a lot of the settings don't feel fully fleshed out.

I had my doubts about the characters but I ended up liking the main characters for their individual arcs, especially Laia. I wish the side characters got more attention and felt more fully developed.

I was pleasantly surprised at the complexity of the themes explored and the story beats. I wasn't expecting anything crazy from YA but this book was very dark and the author made some crazy choices that really flipped the typical YA experience on its head. Of course it had its tropey moments but I enjoyed the story a lot and found it compelling. 

Definitely a page-turner, an intriguing thriller of a story with unique, subtle fantasy elements to get lost in for a few days.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death of parent, Grief, Blood, Injury/Injury detail, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Death, Murder, Sexual harassment, Torture, Violence, Confinement, Slavery, Child abuse, Misogyny, Child death, Sexism, and Kidnapping

amre23's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional mysterious sad 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? Yes

4.5

This book was dark and violent but believe the start to a great story. This starts about a girl thrown into conflict larger than simply finding and saving her brother and a boy who is trying to escape the expectations and confines of his life. She is adamant to find her brother but constantly is navigating who her true allies are and how to complete the requests from everyone around her. He is constantly navigating between the "mask" he wears for everyone and who he wants/wishes to be.

The Dual POVs made the story progress faster. Was nice to see when the 2 main characters weren't interacting how their actions and inactions impacted each other.

At times could truly feel her worry and anxiety through the pages. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Confinement, Violence, Slavery, Physical abuse, Gore, Kidnapping, Misogyny, Sexism, Genocide, Death, Emotional abuse, Injury/Injury detail, Torture, Sexual assault, Death of parent, Blood, and Classism

Moderate: Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual harassment, Colonisation, Grief, Toxic friendship, Sexual violence, and War

Minor: Medical content, Self harm, Abortion, Alcohol, and Pregnancy

risten's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional mysterious 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? No

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Xenophobia, Sexual violence, Sexual harassment, Sexism, Racism, Sexual assault, Violence, Torture, Slavery, Classism, Child abuse, Blood, Murder, Death, War, and Child death

Moderate: Injury/Injury detail, Rape, Pregnancy, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide attempt, Medical content, Kidnapping, Emotional abuse, Physical abuse, Misogyny, Grief, Gore, Genocide, Forced institutionalization, Death of parent, Trafficking, and Suicide

Minor: Stalking, Sexual content, Vomit, Self harm, Abortion, Alcohol, and Animal death

an_alaskan_fairy_tale's review against another edition

medium-paced

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

3.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Murder, Rape, Slavery, Sexism, and Colonisation

hiashleynine's review against another edition

adventurous dark hopeful reflective 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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Slavery, Death, Sexism, and Violence

Minor: Sexual violence and Rape

mar1333's review against another edition

adventurous dark 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

Although the pace of the story is quite slow at first, about halfway through the book I couldn't put it down. I enjoyed watching the characters grow and make better choices as the story progressed. The plot also gets more exciting toward the end, and I am looking forward to reading the next book to see what happens.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Violence, Child death, Sexual violence, Death, Torture, and Slavery

Moderate: Blood and Sexism

Minor: Abandonment, War, Suicide, and Death of parent

lydia_books's review against another edition

adventurous dark 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? Yes

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Injury/Injury detail, Rape, Sexism, Torture, Violence, Sexual assault, Slavery, Murder, and Sexual harassment

kriti's review against another edition

fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? Yes

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual assault, Sexism, Colonisation, Death of parent, Police brutality, Sexual violence, Slavery, Death, Injury/Injury detail, Murder, Torture, War, and Violence

Minor: Abandonment

violetreader's review against another edition

dark medium-paced

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

2.25

It felt like nothing was happening the entire book and all the good stuff I want from a story was happening in the last 50 or so pages. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, Sexual harassment, Sexism, Death, Classism, Murder, Death of parent, Violence, and Slavery

Moderate: Abandonment, Child abuse, Rape, and Blood

Minor: Abortion and Confinement

darlinglu's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional mysterious sad tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes

4.5

This was a suprisingly fast-paced book and got me out of my reading slump.

First, I did not expect this book to be dark and I'm not sure if this would be even considered YA given it doesn't beat around the bush when it comes to sensitive topics. 
I like both Laia and Elias as characters. I appreciate that Laia, as a character, has insecurities and fears that she wants to surpass through the book. I am hoping for more character development for them, as well as Helene. While I think there is good in her, I believe she mostly only helped Laia because of Elias.

In terms of plot, I think it'll expand more in the next plot, however, a lot of things have aleready happened, there are stoll some unanswered questions.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Slavery, Kidnapping, Physical abuse, Misogyny, Violence, Sexual harassment, and Sexism

Moderate: Colonisation, Death of parent, War, Rape, Physical abuse, Torture, and Blood