Reviews with content warning for Violence - Dread Nation

Reviews tagging 'Violence'

Dread Nation by Justina Ireland

102 reviews

eshepp92's review against another edition

challenging emotional hopeful informative reflective sad tense fast-paced

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

3.0

This was an entertaining read that did a good job of portraying what a zombie apocalypse would be like during the Civil War. The characters fell a little flat for me, but I found myself rooting for their survival towards the end of the book.

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anniehayez's review against another edition

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adventurous dark emotional reflective 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? It's complicated

3.5

I love the world of this book. I think it is such and interesting take on a zombie story set in an already tumultuous time in American history. I loved the satire of the zombie story line that in many ways is an exaggerated idea of the reconstruction period when southern democrats were still doing everything they could to maintain white supremacy and uphold slavery. This is shown in the combat schools in this book as well as the “survivalists” ideologies. Really interesting set up and I liked the characters a lot. I wish we saw more of Kate and Jackson in the middle third of the books but there was a lot to cover. I also found the end a tad unsatisfactory. I just wish more was resolved but it does a good job setting up the next book. I think I will continue with the series.

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littlepepperguy's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging dark emotional hopeful informative 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? N/A

4.75

Riveting from start to finish. The main character is complex, interesting and wildly wildly intelligent. Def the best portrayal of a smart character I've seen in books. I find that a lot of times authors just want to tell you the character is smart and not show bc a character can only be as smart as an author but Jane was def a shining example of what to do. A couple of characters are casually queer. And you can see in real time affection between characters blossom. Loved this book.

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ms_sarah621's review against another edition

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adventurous mysterious tense fast-paced

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

3.5

This is a fast-paced, fun read. Jane is a strong-willed and independent character. Most of the women are, but Jane really displays these qualities. Jane faces so much throughout this story. There is action (fighting zombies), enemies to friends, sexism, racism, abuse of power, and overcoming the impossible. There is rarely a dull moment in the story. There is fighting, plotting, or finding out new information. This is a young adult book, and that is my main reason for 4 stars. I am out growing the genre. It comes off as childish and repetitive in the language at times. However, it’s still a fun read, and I would recommend it to most people.

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pinkalpaca's review against another edition

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adventurous dark emotional 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

4.5

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bookishkellyn's review against another edition

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challenging dark mysterious tense

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

A strong-willed heroine (Jane), her ex-fling (Jackson), and her former nemesis turned friend (Katherine) battle the undead (“shamblers”) in an alternate version of the Reconstruction era. This had political intrigue and great plot twists. Such a good read.

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warlocksarecool21's review against another edition

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adventurous dark mysterious medium-paced

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

3.75

Overall I thought this was a fun book that talks about important topics of institutionalized racism and slavery. Using the idea of zombies, or shamblers, was interesting way to move the story forward and explore these themes. I thought the story did a good job with explaining how religion and pseudoscience were used to perpetuate racism, especially towards Black people. There were times where I wanted a bit more emotional depth regarding these topics, meaning I wished the author had more internal reflection on Jane’s part about the things she saw and experienced (and thus giving the reader space to ruminate on them) instead of just telling us how she felt. I think this style makes these themes more digestible for younger readers, so possibly that was the author’s intentions.

The rest of Jane’s characterization was kind of like what I described above as well. Don’t get me wrong, she’s a fun and lively character and I think her narration is really engaging but I wanted more in regard to her development. I felt like she always knew what to do or say, and while there were times of conflict or danger of the book, I feel that we don’t see the whole range of how those things affected her. While I wanted a higher degree of nuance, there were a few twists I didn’t see coming and I thought the action scenes were fun. I’m hoping the next book will be stronger.

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unequivocallyerica's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging funny hopeful inspiring 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? Yes

5.0

I really enjoyed reading this book. I have been an avid reader for a little over a year and this has been the first book where I've actually seen myself in the characters. The book was a little daunting at first because of the number of pages, but as soon a I started reading the pages flew by. I will say that some of the surprises were predictable but I was anxiously waiting for the characters to find out. There are some minor things that happen that don't get addressed. Its still a great book and I can't wait to read the second book in the series and hopefully get some answers to some of my question.

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sunny_afternoon's review against another edition

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adventurous funny tense medium-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? No

4.25

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onalark's review against another edition

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adventurous dark inspiring mysterious 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? Yes

5.0

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