Reviews tagging 'Death'

Sanctuary by Paola Mendoza, Abby Sher

19 reviews

rinku's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional informative sad 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? No

3.0

Sanctuary was such a different book than I expected it to be. Being tagged as a dystopia, I thought it would be more like a classical YA dystopia. Instead, it was a much more contemporary book talking about the struggles of so-called illegal immigrants. In this aspect, the book was good, but the writing itself was lacking at some points, so I couldn’t give more than three stars. 

The general dystopian setting had so much potential, but this potential was barely used. Vali, her mother, and her brother live in a future America where so-called illegal immigrants like themselves are being persecuted. This setting was so creepy since it was not too unrealistic, just like the escalation of the situation which forces Vali and her family to flee. While trying to escape, their mom gets caught by the deportation unit and Vali and her brother are on their own. 

Around 80% of the novel thus just consists of them fleeing from their home and trying to find their way to California. Most of this was just so depressing, hopeless, and probably depicted the struggles of immigrants quite well. Besides this, Vali’s feelings are portrayed so well. Some parts were a bit over the top with the bad guys and also

Vali fell in love with Malakas way too fast

. At least,

they arrive at their destination in the end. It would’ve been so depressing if they died while trying

. I also wasn’t the biggest fan of the writing itself. At many points throughout the novel, there’s just too much telling, like about Vali’s past or the ending. Additionally, there were not many descriptions, so it wasn’t very vivid. 

Like I’ve said, I see what kind of story Sanctuary was trying to tell and I appreciate the authentic insight into the topic. Nevertheless, if the storytelling had been better, I would’ve given a better rating as well. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Confinement, Death, Police brutality, Xenophobia, Blood, Child death, Deportation, Gun violence, and Racism

Moderate: Death of parent, Murder, and Violence

Minor: Rape and Slavery

zoethebookworm's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional hopeful informative reflective sad 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? It's complicated

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Murder, Violence, Death of parent, Death, Police brutality, Racism, Child death, and Sexual harassment

theoceanrose's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional 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

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Violence, Death, Racism, Xenophobia, Grief, Child death, and Blood

funkylitchick's review

challenging dark emotional tense 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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Murder, Racism, Sexual violence, and Violence

Moderate: Trafficking, Rape, and Racial slurs

mirareadsbooksforfun's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional inspiring reflective sad medium-paced

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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Violence, Racism, Xenophobia, Child death, Death of parent, and Death

Minor: Rape, Sexual assault, and Pedophilia

reads_cats's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional inspiring 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

4.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, Death, Death of parent, Genocide, Hate crime, Murder, and Police brutality

Moderate: Sexual assault, Rape, Sexual harassment, Trafficking, and War

happilyeveralli's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional hopeful sad tense slow-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? No

4.5

I can't describe how much I love subtle dystopias. Sure, the Hunger Games is an almost-masterpiece, but sometimes I just want a dystopia that feels so much like our world that it makes you shake in your boots. That's what Sanctuary is. It feels like a nightmare—far from our world, but sadly not unreachable. Listening to the book also gave it another layer of emotion. I cried and laughed with the characters; felt their joy and pain. It's very likely and basically impossible that I'll ever experience anything like the main characters, but I could only hope that in their world, they end up just fine. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death of parent, Violence, Blood, Child death, and Death

Moderate: Trafficking

margaridapd's review against another edition

dark sad tense medium-paced

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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death of parent, Death, Hate crime, Police brutality, Slavery, Violence, Xenophobia, and Racism

abookandaspotoftea's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional sad 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? Yes

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Racism, Xenophobia, Violence, Child death, Police brutality, and Grief

Moderate: Blood, Death of parent, Death, Trafficking, and Sexual violence