Reviews tagging 'Mass/school shootings'

The Bad Ones by Melissa Albert

14 reviews

dutchessofbooks's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious tense

4.0

A fun YA horror read with lots of openings for discussion. I think the ending definitely left a little to be desired though, I felt everything was wrapped up a little too quickly, my students in the book club agreed. The

kiss at the end was a little cheesy. But ohwell, it's YA ;)

We talked about this book for a good 1,5 hours. I see what you did there, Melissa Albert,

with the story about the man who died in the mausoleum. Annabel Lee?

Well anyway that gave me an entry to introduce Edgar Allan Poe and the poem Annabel Lee to them. Once they saw the similarities, they saw where my hypothesis was coming from and they really appreciated their introduction to this writer ("whut, did gothics exist back then?! yes, my dear student, they certainly did").

The other subject we talked about for a good while was

Tate's story. We are in a high school, and we discussed whether something like that could 1. happen at our school and 2. to the present students. It was fascinating to hear some of their naivité. Because of course it could happen to anyone. What if a teacher gave them lots of compliments and lulled them into a sense of security.... A very good opening to talk about boundaries. Thanks to the author for including this story!

---

Content Warnings

Moderate: Death of parent, Murder, and Sexual harassment

Minor: Mass/school shootings

sophia_pearl's review

challenging dark emotional reflective sad 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? Yes

4.5

---

Content Warnings

Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Alcoholism, Body horror, Bullying, Cancer, Child death, Cursing, Death, Emotional abuse, Homophobia, Mental illness, Pedophilia, Violence, Blood, Medical content, Grief, Religious bigotry, Car accident, Death of parent, Murder, Gaslighting, Toxic friendship, Alcohol, and Injury/Injury detail

Minor: Drug use, Infidelity, Vomit, Mass/school shootings, and Stalking

kaylinvm94's review against another edition

dark

3.5

---

Content Warnings

Moderate: Death of parent and Murder

Minor: Adult/minor relationship and Mass/school shootings

kittykatruin's review against another edition

adventurous mysterious 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? Yes

3.5

---

Content Warnings

Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Death, Violence, Blood, Mass/school shootings, Murder, Alcohol, and Injury/Injury detail

venusreadshorror's review

dark mysterious 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

4.0

This book was dark and delicious, I read it in a single day.
This story is a lovely exploration into sinister magical realism and lite body horror. The Bad Ones feels like a perfect fit into the cult fanaticism of powerful teenage girls a la The Craft and Jennifer’s Body.
I really enjoyed the back and forth between timelines and the slow progression into the MC coming to understand that she wasn’t alone in her body, I also really enjoyed the way that the prologue was used to set up questions and give hints that we slowly resolved throughout the rest of the book.

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Death of parent and Murder

Minor: Mass/school shootings

veereads's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious 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? It's complicated

3.0

I've realized that I'm slowly moving away from YA novels these days and leaning more towards adult fiction. That being said, I actually enjoyed this book more than I was expecting.
It starts off as a bit of a slow-burn but after the first 1/3, it picks up pace and kept my attention. 
The story itself is on the more mature side of YA fiction, tackling difficult topics like grief and loss, alcoholism, and the individual growth that takes you away from that magical time of childhood and into adulthood. These themes really brought depth to the story and I liked the way the author presented them to readers. 
The characters were also well developed with nuanced personalities and the ability to communicate effectively - for once, we have a story that doesn't rely heavily on the misunderstanding trope! 
The descriptions were vibrant and eerie, really ramping things up for the readers. 

But after all the buildup, the ending left me wanting more. There was simply not enough development of the supernatural elements that had been hinted at throughout the story. The explanations were also not as satisfying as I had hoped and I wish the myth and legend had been given as much depth as the rest of the story. While I was glad for a more positive resolution of the events at the end, I did feel slightly cheated by how conveniently things were wrapped up. 

At the end of the day, I did enjoy the story so I'm giving it 3 stats for that reason. 

---

Content Warnings

Moderate: Pedophilia, Grief, and Death of parent

Minor: Mass/school shootings

i_love_fob's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional mysterious reflective tense medium-paced

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

4.75

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Blood, Car accident, Death of parent, Toxic friendship, and Alcohol

Moderate: Mental illness, Religious bigotry, and Murder

Minor: Pedophilia and Mass/school shootings

megnut's review

dark emotional mysterious sad tense medium-paced

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

4.0

---

Content Warnings

Moderate: Death, Grief, Death of parent, Murder, and Alcohol

Minor: Adult/minor relationship and Mass/school shootings

avidreaderandgeekgirl's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious tense medium-paced

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

3.5

    When 3 students and a teacher go missing one night, one of their best friends, Nora, and the mysterious boy James, get pulled into an old town myth, the Goddess Game.
    Well, I found the book partly predictable. I figured out what was up with the connection to the old game, or who was now in the story was connected to it pretty easily.
    There were some good parts, like the interesting twist as to why these particular people disappeared, and what exactly was going on with Becca being a bit harder to guess.
    I didn't like the "evil Goddess" thing. It's an anti-Pagan trope that rubs me the wrong way, even though I do not identify as Pagan.
    Overall, the book wasn't terrible, it was just a bit too anti-Pagan and predictable for me. Though at least it wasn't preachy it was more overall anti-religion.

Narrator Rating: 4 stars
   The narrator was excellent but not spectacular. Her voice can also be a bit annoying at certain points; it just depends on her tone.

Elemental Levels:  Heartfelt-3/5   Mystery-3/5     Predictability-3.5/5   Suspense-1/5   Tear- 2.5/5     Thrill-1/5 

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Medical content, Grief, Lesbophobia, and Alcohol

Moderate: Body horror, Bullying, Child abuse, Death, Gore, Misogyny, Violence, Blood, Religious bigotry, Car accident, Death of parent, Murder, Toxic friendship, Sexual harassment, and Injury/Injury detail

Minor: Adult/minor relationship, Cancer, Child death, Infidelity, Self harm, Sexual violence, and Mass/school shootings

blacksphinx's review

dark emotional mysterious medium-paced

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

5.0

This beautiful fantasy-tinged horror has changed my opinion about YA. This book has some of the most real and authentic teens I've seen in fiction. It took me right back through my own life, my own intense girlhood friendships, and the rituals of childhood I had almost forgotten. And it was a good story too!

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Grief and Alcohol

Moderate: Death, Misogyny, Car accident, and Death of parent

Minor: Adult/minor relationship, Homophobia, Sexual assault, and Mass/school shootings