Reviews tagging 'Animal cruelty'

Whalefall by Daniel Kraus

18 reviews

pvp_niki's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional informative reflective sad tense fast-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? Yes

4.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Cancer, Emotional abuse, Gore, Suicide, Terminal illness, Blood, Grief, Death of parent, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Cursing and Vomit

Minor: Alcohol and Pandemic/Epidemic

laurantor's review against another edition

adventurous challenging emotional reflective sad tense fast-paced

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

2.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Confinement, Gore, Violence, Blood, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Cancer, Vomit, and Death of parent

Minor: Suicide

atalea's review against another edition

dark reflective tense fast-paced

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

3.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Confinement, Terminal illness, Toxic relationship, and Death of parent

Moderate: Alcoholism, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Bullying, Cancer, Death, Panic attacks/disorders, Suicide, Blood, Grief, and Abandonment

Minor: Homophobia, Misogyny, Vomit, and Injury/Injury detail

meganpbell's review against another edition

adventurous emotional informative reflective 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

A teen finds himself in the belly of a whale when diving for his estranged father’s remains in this intense science thriller and extended meditation on fathers, sons, and the life-saving legacy that lives on in us long after those we’ve lost. As someone who lost an estranged parent as a teen, it was hard for this book to gain my trust—and it did in the bigger picture, but not in the finer details. Still, a thrilling and moving read.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death of parent and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Emotional abuse, Suicide, Terminal illness, Blood, Medical content, Grief, and Alcohol

skilb's review against another edition

dark emotional reflective sad tense 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? Yes

4.75

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Child abuse, Confinement, Death, Emotional abuse, Suicide, Toxic relationship, Violence, Vomit, Grief, and Death of parent

phantomgecko's review

adventurous dark slow-paced

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

3.0

One of the blurbs I read for this claimed it was scientifically accurate. With a story so fantastic, that doesn't sound right, but I don't know enough about whale anatomy and scuba diving to dispute it.

Gritty detail. This kid gets messed up. 

But it's not all gnarly mishaps. There is a lot a lot of interpersonal trauma packed into this book. Via many many flashbacks. But all the flashbacks are okay because, while it's a lot of exposition, really interesting things are happening in the present as well. And the flashbacks do tie into the action.

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Alcoholism, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Body horror, Child abuse, Blood, Death of parent, and Injury/Injury detail

jaygabler's review against another edition

dark emotional sad tense medium-paced

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

2.0

You may have seen this coming, but the whale is a metaphor.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal cruelty, Emotional abuse, Suicide, and Injury/Injury detail

desireewoodwhite's review against another edition

adventurous emotional informative mysterious tense fast-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? No

4.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Animal cruelty and Animal death