Reviews tagging 'Murder'

War Girls by Tochi Onyebuchi

8 reviews

grapefruit_jazzie's review against another edition

adventurous emotional tense medium-paced

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

4.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Violence, Murder, Death, War, Gun violence, and Genocide

zombiezami's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional informative mysterious reflective tense medium-paced

4.25

I read this for a book club. It was hard for me to get into, but I did eventually get there. The part I liked best about this book was the worldbuilding. I especially enjoyed the author's approach to imagining tech that really doesn't work the way you want it to, or that you have to McGyver to make useful, or that wasn't made with you in mind. Even in other dystopias involving inadequate technology, I feel that Onyebuchi's approach is uniquely nuanced. 

All of the big emotional inflections in the book definitely hit, for example, "

Chinelo's death, Agu's death, finding out that Onyii killed Ify's mother and lied about where she came from

. Even so, there were a lot of characters, in my opinion, and I kept forgetting who was who.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Self harm, Gun violence, Death, Blood, Child death, Chronic illness, Torture, Hate crime, Murder, Confinement, Cursing, Violence, War, Death of parent, Body horror, Bullying, Abandonment, Medical content, Stalking, Animal death, and Addiction

Moderate: Racial slurs, Islamophobia, Drug use, Drug abuse, Slavery, Religious bigotry, Alcohol, Terminal illness, Vomit, Toxic relationship, Suicide, Suicidal thoughts, and Cancer

Minor: Misogyny, Domestic abuse, Colonisation, and Sexism

midnacine's review against another edition

adventurous challenging funny informative tense fast-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? It's complicated

3.0

While I enjoyed this, it's just not for me.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Xenophobia, Violence, Racism, Death of parent, Gaslighting, War, Death, Emotional abuse, and Murder

Moderate: Kidnapping and Body horror

bookbrig's review against another edition

adventurous challenging medium-paced

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

4.0

If you're in the mood for action packed sci-fi with intricate world building and real world parallels you should absolutely pick this up. It's got amazing mech fights, fascinating and heartbreaking interpersonal stuff, and wonderfully complex teen girls. Also it's set during a civil war, so the violence feels guttingly realistic at times (hi, when you get to the part with roses call me if you are also VERY UPSET).

My favorite bit is the first of the 3 segments, as I got to know the main characters and learn about the technology and world. I particularly love the balletic and cinematic way Onyebuchi writes the mech fights and the other battles, giving the story a hectic and overwhelming feel during those scenes. For my taste, some of the later parts a little slow after the opening action, but ymmv depending on how you like your sci-fi. I also have some spoilery thoughts about frustrations with a few characters' motivations, if you do read this and want to talk!

Finally, read the author's note. I knew so little about the actual history that inspired this story, so I'm planning to read several of the non-fiction titles referenced in the note. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Murder, Death, and Blood

emmykyhil's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark mysterious tense slow-paced

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

3.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, Colonisation, Confinement, War, Violence, Trafficking, Suicide, Slavery, Physical abuse, Murder, Kidnapping, Injury/Injury detail, Gun violence, Grief, and Gore

bookcaptivated's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional reflective tense fast-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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, Death of parent, Death, Blood, Violence, Gun violence, War, Genocide, Colonisation, Gore, Injury/Injury detail, Kidnapping, and Murder

Moderate: Body horror, Bullying, Drug use, Grief, Medical content, and Slavery

Minor: Cancer, Misogyny, Racism, and Vomit

woollyleanne's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional reflective fast-paced

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

4.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Confinement, War, Murder, Violence, and Islamophobia

sljordan313's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional informative medium-paced

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

5.0

I fell so easily into this story. It's based in the future but is about the Nigerian Civil War. It's not history ladden, but character driven with a mix of plot. Onyii and Ify found a way into my heart and I found myself thinking of them and missing them long after I finished the book. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Death of parent, and Murder