Reviews with content warning for Violence - Dread Nation

Reviews tagging 'Violence'

Dread Nation by Justina Ireland

103 reviews

wordsareworlds's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional funny 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? No

4.0

I found Dread Nation riveting, and very difficult to put down almost from the very beginning. Ireland weaves plot tension with Jane's backstory and world building in a perfect balance that kept me excited to see how the story would play out. Ireland's writing style is excellent, and I enjoyed the combination of feeling like Jane was telling a story to the reader after the fact with the immediacy of it being in present tense.

While Ireland focuses on the cruelty and pervasiveness of racism in the book, I never felt like Jane and Katherine would be broken by it. The way their relationship evolved was wonderful, and I'm excited to get Katherine's PoV in the next book.

The one thing keeping this book from being pretty much perfect is the representation of other non-white races. The Native characterization is not good, and Native reviewers have gone into detail on why it can be harmful. There are two references to Chinese immigrants, both relying on stereotypes, and the second felt shoe-horned in as an afterthought.

Overall, this is an excellent book that I highly recommend to anyone looking for a unique take on alternate histories, YA adventure, and zombies. I am looking forward to reading Deathless Divide and Ireland's other works.

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jed_undead's review against another edition

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adventurous dark reflective 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? N/A

5.0

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bluejay21's review against another edition

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adventurous dark mysterious tense medium-paced

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

4.0

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lackadaisical_ally's review against another edition

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adventurous dark funny 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

4.0

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hazel_t23's review against another edition

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adventurous 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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missreadbeforebed's review against another edition

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adventurous dark funny informative mysterious sad tense 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

4.0

I really loved how ludicrous the whole concept was. An apocalyptic historical fiction about a bisexual biracial zombie killer ? Yes. All of the yes. While sometimes this book felt a bit clunky, I overall loved the story and the characters are really what keeps you in it. Even though the setting seems so unrealistic, it does such a great job of discussing the issues of the past (that are still relevant in our present) in such an honest way despite the dystopian background. This book brings up a lot of interesting conversations I think surrounding both rave and sexuality. There were moments of suspense that kept you on the edge of your seat; but the moments in between I felt were the most impactful. I took a star off because I kind of saw the ending coming but overall I really love what this story represents and I am excited to see where the sequel goes.

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