Reviews tagging 'Violence'

The Free People's Village by Sim Kern

25 reviews

alsoapples's review

adventurous dark emotional funny inspiring 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? No

3.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Rape, Police brutality, Suicidal thoughts, Colonisation, Classism, Racism, Toxic relationship, Cultural appropriation, Drug abuse, Drug use, Forced institutionalization, Grief, Outing, Panic attacks/disorders, Self harm, Suicide attempt, Toxic friendship, Violence, Transphobia, Death, Alcohol, Alcoholism, and Addiction

blue_txt's review against another edition

slow-paced

2.0

 There's a review on here, by Kendra, in which they suggest that Sim Kern's characters were ideas. I think that's spot on. This book is a hard read - the first 1/3 alternates between expositions of Maddie Ryan's backstory (with toxic relationships reminiscent of Colleen Hoover characters) and didactic dialogue. Every conversation is pedantic lecture from a different character representing some concept to teach Maddie, who I guess is supposed to represent the "reader", a white Christian cis woman.
I've never wanted to experience fictional leftist in-fighting.

I don't enjoy books with thought-experiment based plots, so I knew it wasn't going to be a great read for me. I guess I expected more from the characters since the plot was so paper-thin. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Biphobia, Emotional abuse, Drug use, Alcoholism, Police brutality, and Religious bigotry

Moderate: Classism, Gun violence, Racial slurs, Sexual assault, Suicide attempt, Violence, Suicide, War, Death, Confinement, Racism, Toxic relationship, Self harm, Transphobia, and Xenophobia

decie's review

adventurous challenging inspiring reflective medium-paced

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

4.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Classism, Suicidal thoughts, Drug abuse, Forced institutionalization, Violence, and Drug use

Moderate: Colonisation, Panic attacks/disorders, Police brutality, Death, Grief, and Racism

Minor: Transphobia, Rape, War, Suicide, and Suicide attempt

chaoticreadingclub's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional informative inspiring reflective sad 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? It's complicated

4.0

I had quite a reading journey with "The Free People's Village."

I must admit, during the first quarter of this book I struggled. The first person narration from Maddie with her constant self-deprecation was, initially, frustrating and fatiguing. Halfway through the novel, however, I realized that I had grown attached to the plot and the characters (even Maddie). Once I finished the novel I understood the various reasons why Maddie developed the way she did, and how her experience not only reflected poor-self esteem and an insecurity with her orientation to white privilege, but also to her mental health. I feel fortunate that this book was my first read of 2024, because now I have a book that I can definitively recommend for the rest of the year. This novel has a special kind of momentum that left me feeling compelled, informed, somewhat devastated, but ultimately inspired. 

What I liked most: 
-Gestas. He was a very quality character because the author wrote him with authenticity and conviction that remained consistent throughout the novel. 
-The concept of Gore winning the 2001 election, rather than George W. Bush Jr. was engaging as a concept. The author managed to maintain the world that he had built, while managing to convey that systemic and social issues would remain the same because of what the United States, and capitalism, was built upon: protecting white supremacy.  

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Violence, Sexual violence, and Police brutality

isitnaptimezo's review

challenging emotional hopeful inspiring reflective sad tense 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

4.5

I loved this book. The alternative timeline made the plot feel different enough from reality while still being realistic. Being set in the city I grew up in, yet having extremely mixed feelings about, was somehow a healing balm to my heart. The characters were very relatable and I learned so much from each of them. The story is raw, heart wrenching, while also being immensely inspiring, especially as we head into what will undoubtedly be a tumultuous election year. Will the conditions be right for Free People Villages to sprout across the world in 2024 for a revolution? I hope so. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Rape

Moderate: Addiction, Sexual assault, Panic attacks/disorders, Suicide attempt, Suicidal thoughts, Death, War, Transphobia, Violence, Racism, and Sexual content

mxfahrenheit's review against another edition

challenging emotional hopeful inspiring reflective fast-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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcohol, Confinement, Death, Sexual assault, Suicide attempt, Drug use, Police brutality, Vomit, Drug abuse, Suicidal thoughts, Alcoholism, Addiction, and Rape

Moderate: Classism, Violence, Emotional abuse, Panic attacks/disorders, Grief, Colonisation, and Deadnaming

Minor: Body shaming, Animal death, and Animal cruelty

emilyeslomski's review

adventurous challenging dark sad tense medium-paced

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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual violence, Violence, War, Addiction, and Rape

alienskiesabove's review

emotional hopeful informative inspiring reflective 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

4.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Police brutality and Violence

Moderate: Emotional abuse, Death, Alcoholism, Drug use, Rape, Drug abuse, and Sexual assault

Minor: Grief, Homophobia, Medical trauma, Hate crime, Panic attacks/disorders, Child abuse, and Blood

free_the_bookshelf's review

adventurous emotional funny informative inspiring medium-paced

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

4.5

 The Free People’s Village is set in an alternate timeline where Al Gore wins the 2000 presidential election, and the War on Terrorism is replaced with the War on Climate Change. Throughout this book, you follow a group of characters who are trying to same a party venue from being destroyed by the government building a new hyperway. It’s very Empire Records vibes.
This book was so good, for what it tries to do. If you are curious about how this timeline would relate to reality, this is a fun illustration of that. It’s interesting to see how things aren’t so different, since a lot of society’s problems are systemic.
I really enjoyed the parallels that Sim pulls between their timeline and reality. You would think that with a War on Climate Change, the US would be a utopia, but of course, capitalism exists, so we can’t have nice things. And the ending, perfect for each character. If you are looking to read about a revolution, this right here should be your jam.
The only reason I couldn’t give this book a 5 out of 5 stars, is the narrator, Maddie Ryan, so really annoying. She’s meant to be a way to view and learn about all the intricacies of social justice, but it comes off like she’s never left her house in her life. Maddie’s naivety makes the book come off a kind of preachy. The story arc does make sense for her character, but if this book was told from a 3rd person perspective, I wouldn’t have missed her at all.
 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Drug abuse, Suicide attempt, Addiction, Alcohol, Violence, Toxic friendship, Toxic relationship, Grief, and Alcoholism

sky130's review

challenging dark emotional informative reflective sad tense fast-paced

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

4.5

This book starts out kind of slow, but make no mistake: by the end, you will be rapt and horrified, watching it spiral out of control and knowing full well it will end badly. It's like watching a train wreck - it's violent and tragic and you can't look away for a second. For all the painful turns the story takes, it never feels like the violence and misfortune is written in just for the sake of tormenting the characters. Unfortunately, it's pretty true to life despite being speculative fiction. I would still really recommend checking the trigger warnings, as the book is an absolute onslaught of trauma of every variety. If you feel like you can handle that, I would give this book a shot. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Toxic relationship, Police brutality, Drug use, and Racism

Moderate: Suicidal thoughts, Suicide attempt, Sexual assault, Violence, War, Rape, and Addiction

Minor: Colonisation and Deadnaming