Reviews tagging 'Antisemitism'

Juniper & Thorn by Ava Reid

114 reviews

mirifairy's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional tense medium-paced

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

4.0

Dark and beautiful prose 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual assault and Eating disorder

Moderate: Antisemitism, Cannibalism, Death of parent, Self harm, and Xenophobia

cameronreads's review against another edition

4.0

This book was so oddly compelling. The both the writing style and atmosphere were haunting and wonderfully gothic. I outwardly cringed in disgust multiple times. Even the main character, although you’re rooting for her, feels spooky somehow. Her point of view felt almost twisted, as she’s biased by living with her father. I thought it explored its themes so well, especially those of trauma, desire, and story. I felt a little detached from the characters, but I think this is personal preference whether you’d be bothered by this or not (in some ways it adds to the haunting atmosphere). This did extend to the romance as well; there were times when I wasn’t even sure whether we were supposed to be rooting for the couple, but I do like where they ended up. There was also a fair bit of repetition - especially the ‘I’m the third sister and my sisters are beautiful and clever and I’m plain and stupid’, but whilst this was annoying to read it also emphasised just how much Marlinchen’s been brain washed to think this way. Overall I really enjoyed this book. It was the creepy, atmospheric almost horror-esque fantasy I was looking for. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Cannibalism, Emotional abuse, Gore, Injury/Injury detail, Blood, Body horror, Eating disorder, Sexual content, Medical trauma, Misogyny, Sexual violence, Alcoholism, Animal death, Death, and Murder

Moderate: Xenophobia, Panic attacks/disorders, Death of parent, Grief, and Antisemitism

Minor: Pedophilia

readwithria's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious tense medium-paced

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

4.0

Juniper & Thorn is a haunting and deeply disturbing book, and I enjoyed it a lot.

Marlinchen is such a complex character, and I love how she changes throughout the book. Sevas reminds me so much of how dance was both a great love of mine and also how it wrecked my body and my confidence for many years. There was so much truth in this book that really shook me to my core, and I would definitely recommend it.

That said, this book is fantasy horror and has quite a few potential triggers. Ava Reid has a list of content warnings on their Tumblr, and I highly encourage everyone to check them before reading this book. I have included them in the content warning section of this review as well.

Ava Reid has such poetic prose, and I love reading what she writes. I’ll definitely be reading more from them in the future. 4 stars.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Gore, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Gaslighting, Physical abuse, Child abuse, Adult/minor relationship, Emotional abuse, Blood, and Vomit

Moderate: Death, Antisemitism, Racism, Sexism, Sexual content, Eating disorder, Death of parent, Xenophobia, Suicidal thoughts, Incest, Self harm, Pedophilia, Cannibalism, and Animal death

lynnw's review against another edition

challenging dark mysterious sad tense medium-paced

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

3.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual assault, Injury/Injury detail, Bullying, Eating disorder, Sexual content, Gore, Antisemitism, Body horror, Vomit, Gaslighting, Blood, Murder, Death, and Emotional abuse

Moderate: Child abuse

Minor: Pedophilia

ale24's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death, Body horror, Blood, Physical abuse, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Gore, Violence, Eating disorder, Child abuse, Emotional abuse, Antisemitism, Sexual harassment, Animal cruelty, and Alcoholism

Moderate: Death of parent, Incest, Sexism, Cannibalism, Classism, and Rape

morgangd's review against another edition

challenging dark sad tense slow-paced

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

3.0

An intense tale of trauma in dark fairy tale mode, with every trigger warning under the sun and maybe, just maybe, actually too crass. But it did move me at parts.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death of parent, Domestic abuse, Drug use, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Pedophilia, Cannibalism, Child abuse, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Sexual harassment, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Murder, Body shaming, Gore, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Death, Injury/Injury detail, Racism, Self harm, Sexual assault, Racial slurs, Rape, Gaslighting, Sexism, Antisemitism, Misogyny, Panic attacks/disorders, Abandonment, Alcohol, Adult/minor relationship, Blood, Body horror, Suicidal thoughts, and Alcoholism

cepbreed's review against another edition

dark emotional 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? Yes

4.5

"People want to ruin things that are clean and new. It's no fun stamping through old dirty snow."

“You would rather me eat your heart than look away in disgust?” 
“Of course,” he breathed. “Every time.”

Ava Reid surprised me. Her detailed and atmospheric prose still hit the same sweet spots as in The Wolf and the Woodsman, but somehow Juniper & Thorn is vastly better. I'm trying desperately to pinpoint what exactly made her sophomore publication so much better and I'm not coming up with anything substantial. The characters were more compelling and I found myself falling for Sevas alongside Marlinchen. Parallelly, as she bloomed under his eye I found myself liking her more and more. Reid's worldbuilding was already impressive in The Wolf and the Woodsman, but she worked magic with an even smaller setting. Somehow constraining her descriptions to one estate (+occasional traipsing around the city) allowed her writing style to really shine. Everything flourished on the page and my immersion was heightened tenfold. Her attention to detail never fails to amaze. I'm not a dancer, but I know exactly what happens to professional dancers' feet, so her mentioning this feature of Sevas was wonderful to see. Oh my god, that exact scene was so UGH. Sevas embodies perfection, strength, and beauty. He exposed his shame to Marlinchen and she never once patronized him, only offering her unconditional acceptance no matter how stupid being insecure of your feet is when you're the principal dancer of a famous ballet.

I vanquish all reviews accusing this book of being "gross" or "overly sexualized." Those people just cannot understand how much Marlinchen means to the girls. To love someone/thing so much you need to consume it. To choose to put your head down and labor for the sake of others. To be pushed to your limits by that tolerance. If you've watched Yellowjackets you'll understand. She embodies girlhood. She is a woman forced to toil at the will of her father and thank him when he punishes her. She is looked down upon by those who are supposed to love her the most (her sisters) and still offers them only compliance. She got everything she deserved in the end and I completely stand behind her. Every woman has imagined that turning point, the one where they finally snap. Nothing was more satisfying to me than watching Marlinchen have that moment.

Ava Reid is the queen of Ethel Cain connoted books.

Songs: 

• Strangers - Ethel Cain 
• notre dame - Paris Paloma
• illicit affairs - Taylor Swift 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Classism, Antisemitism, Misogyny, Blood, Body horror, Bullying, Eating disorder, Cannibalism, Child abuse, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Sexism, Sexual assault, Murder, Sexual violence, Gaslighting, and Sexual content

Moderate: Medical trauma, Mental illness, Violence, Medical content, Alcoholism, Vomit, Alcohol, and Body shaming

Minor: Pedophilia

neens_m's review against another edition

dark mysterious medium-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

3.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Cannibalism, Gore, Death, Sexual content, and Sexual assault

Moderate: Antisemitism

hprimo12's review against another edition

medium-paced

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

This book was supposed to be a gritty retelling of a fairytale, but the topics that made it "gritty" were not handled well and left me hating the main character. I did not find any part of the story compelling, and it pained me to finish it. I stongly do not recommend.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Body shaming, Cultural appropriation, Death, Domestic abuse, Antisemitism, Mental illness, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Sexism, Adult/minor relationship, Alcoholism, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Blood, Cannibalism, Child abuse, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Gaslighting, Gore, Grief, Homophobia, Incest, Racism, Sexual harassment, Sexual content, Violence, and Xenophobia

The "love" story part of this book was only really based on trauma bonding, as the characters frankly do not really spend much time together before being madly in love. Additionally, the story is seemingly centered on how much the main character is suffering at the hands of her sisters despite the fact that they are also being abused by her father. Granted they suffer a different kind of abuse, but the author and the main character make no mention of this at all. To the point where the main character kills one of her sister and shows no remorse. The last thing that I will say is that I found any LGBT+ representation to be layered in negative stereotypes or villainized. There are many other things that I could point out about the world or the overtly sexualized situations, but I don't want to give this book much more thought.

dariusmortee's review against another edition

challenging dark sad tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• 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

Let me start by saying this isn’t a bad book. However, I had quite a bit of trouble reading it. 

Ava’s writing is amazing. It is compelling and makes you think. The brutality of this story was clearly a well thought out choice. You will need a bit of a strong stomach, although I didn’t have any trouble with that. 

I did have a problem with the oversexualisation in this story. The fact that Marlinchen masturbates in the very first chapter was a big turn off for me. This happened more often. I was getting into the story and was enjoying myself and then a tasteless sexual remark would be made. 
I understand part of that has to do with what the trauma and abuse Marlinchen had to go through, did to her and there is something to say for that. It did however influence my reading experience a lot. 

This book will make you feel uncomfortable. If you don’t mind the sexual comments and if you do. I missed quite a lot of trigger warnings as this is a very triggering book. I believe that was done on purpose. I did however expect a trigger warning from Ava Reid.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Rape, Antisemitism, Gore, Pedophilia, Cannibalism, Child abuse, Eating disorder, Self harm, Sexual assault, Vomit, Body horror, Incest, and Sexual content