Reviews tagging 'Sexual assault'

Man Made Monsters by Andrea L. Rogers

4 reviews

katrinky's review

challenging dark emotional mysterious reflective sad tense

3.5

too gruesome for me, and I didn't think the extensive family tree added much. there were several really beautiful (sakonige) and poignant (deer woman, Ama's appearance in the zombie story, the dad of the girl with the abusive ex, the cousin in the carbon monoxide story) moments, and the artwork is gorgeous. the vocabulary on the back was wonderful.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Medical trauma, Body horror, Death, Death of parent, Murder, Blood, Gore, Injury/Injury detail, and Pandemic/Epidemic

Moderate: Colonisation, Domestic abuse, Medical content, Chronic illness, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, Car accident, Toxic relationship, Abandonment, Child death, Terminal illness, Mass/school shootings, Animal death, Grief, Violence, and Sexual violence

metaphorsandmisc's review against another edition

challenging dark reflective medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? N/A
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes

4.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood, Toxic relationship, Violence, Murder, Colonisation, Domestic abuse, Medical trauma, and Cancer

Moderate: Sexual assault, Rape, and Toxic friendship

jenna_smuszkiewicz's review

dark mysterious sad tense medium-paced

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

4.0

I picked this book up on a  whim and I'm glad I picked it up! The illustrations are gorgeous in this. I also think it is cool how we follow a family from the 1830s to the future in 2039. I'm not Cherokee, and I really enjoyed learning some Cherokee words and seeing the syllabary used in the art in particular. There are some classic monsters in here like

vampires and werewolves

but also ones that I think are from Cherokee folklore. Some of the monsters featured here are everyday horrors we face and some characteristics of humans as well. I'm not that big into horror, and I didn't find this book to be that bad. Definitely look at content warnings though. 

My biggest critiques or personal preferences are that while separating it into chapters and jumping around the family tree was cool, I didn't get to really connect with the characters. I'm a big character reader so that's a personal preference thing. I think the jumping around does work for this book though and I get why it was done. Also, one big thing from the family tree that I don't understand:

How is Will Wilson's branch of the tree there? I thought he was the baby that died from the vampire in the first chapter. So, that really confused me.

If you are looking for a unique horror book that showcases many types of things that go bump in the night, I would highly recommend this!

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, Physical abuse, Sexual assault, Death, Grief, Animal death, Blood, Toxic relationship, Violence, Child abuse, Death of parent, and Toxic friendship

Moderate: Mass/school shootings, Rape, Domestic abuse, and Cultural appropriation

devynvictoria's review

dark emotional mysterious sad 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? Yes

5.0

This was so good! This is the first short story collection I’ve read and I will definitely be picking up more. I loved the illustrations before every story and the incorporation of the Cherokee language. I like the premise of following the same family through almost 200 years. My favorites were Man Made Monsters, Snow Day, and Lens. And I love the relationship between the father and his children in Happily Ever After. I definitely recommend! 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood, Death of parent, Grief, Domestic abuse, Child death, and Death

Moderate: Medical content, Chronic illness, Sexual assault, Medical trauma, Sexual violence, Abortion, Pregnancy, and Terminal illness

Minor: Animal death, Animal cruelty, Lesbophobia, and Child abuse