Reviews tagging 'Police brutality'

Dread Nation by Justina Ireland

14 reviews

shaun_dh's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional funny reflective sad 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? No

4.0

YA is not my usual genre, but I really enjoyed this! Books from this time period are hard for me bc I’d rather read books about Black joy than Black resilience, but the twist of zombies drew me in

I really only read this in the first place bc it was listed as a book for the Queer Lit Readathon and I was under the impression that the MC is bisexual. She talks an awful lot about interest in boys/men and only a mere two sentences about her having kissed a girl, so idk that I would call this queer representation

The author’s note about Indigenous boarding schools was appreciated bc Idk if that is being taught in schools and if the young audience would know about that otherwise

Overall, this was a good read. I liked it enough to want to pick up the sequel. Almost every content warning you can think up for how Black people were treated during that time is applicable, so heed that

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Kidnapping, Injury/Injury detail, Police brutality, Racial slurs, Slavery, Torture, Child death, Pandemic/Epidemic, Gore, Murder, Cannibalism, Death, Emotional abuse, Violence, Classism, Colonisation, Hate crime, Racism, Blood, Gun violence, and Religious bigotry

Moderate: Animal death and Confinement

Minor: Child abuse, Cursing, Abortion, Alcohol, and Domestic abuse

centurylore's review against another edition

adventurous dark medium-paced

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

3.75

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood, Death, Sexism, Slavery, Classism, Colonisation, Cursing, Injury/Injury detail, Physical abuse, Police brutality, War, Pandemic/Epidemic, Racial slurs, Child death, Medical content, Murder, Kidnapping, Racism, Religious bigotry, Violence, and Torture

Moderate: Death of parent

stardust_heidi's review against another edition

adventurous dark funny mysterious sad 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? No

5.0

I love nothing more than a strong, sassy as fuck FMC who has no patience for men in power. 

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Slavery, Physical abuse, Blood, Injury/Injury detail, Classism, Police brutality, Racial slurs, Gore, Gun violence, Confinement, Racism, Misogyny, and Violence

leafhead's review against another edition

adventurous dark mysterious tense medium-paced

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

4.5

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Racial slurs, Classism, Child death, Injury/Injury detail, Torture, Violence, Death, Racism, Religious bigotry, Gore, and Kidnapping

Moderate: Police brutality, Trafficking, Gun violence, and Misogyny

Minor: Medical content, Blood, and Slavery

dragoninwinterfell's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional funny sad tense 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

5.0

It has been years since I was so fully captured by a book that I couldn't stop reading/listening to it until I reached the end. Straight from the first couple of lines, I was drawn in by Jane McKeene and her story. Justina Ireland has created a gritty alternate history where the Civil War ended when soldiers began turning into zombies, forcing both sides to come to terms to deal with the greater threat. Slavery has technically ended, yet Black Americans are still being exploited and racism is still normalized. Black and Native American teens are forced to attend schools where they are taught to fight zombies in preparation for jobs where they will protect people of European descent. 

Jane attends one of these schools where she has to learn etiquette (so as to be tolerable company for the people she will serve) alongside combat training with other teenage girls. As the story is told through her first-person POV, her dry wit, well-earned pessimism, practicality, and care for others are at the forefront. Jane is such a fascinating character full of acknowledged flaws alongside rarely acknowledged virtues. Had this been a book where she was just narrating her boring day at home in a world with no zombies, I still would have been attached enough to her to be enthralled. But this is a world with zombies as well as common human atrocities. So it was fascinating following along as she navigated the horrors of both zombies and racism, which equally threatened her life and the lives of those she loves.

I'm awed by Ireland's skill in creating a character and a world that felt so real and immersive. 

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Racism, Racial slurs, Police brutality, Slavery, Physical abuse, Murder, Death, and Kidnapping

chronicacademia's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional funny hopeful informative mysterious tense fast-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

5.0

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Gore, Injury/Injury detail, Murder, War, Body horror, Hate crime, Medical content, Slavery, Violence, Blood, Cannibalism, Colonisation, Death, Gun violence, Police brutality, Racial slurs, Racism, and Torture

Minor: Animal cruelty and Death of parent

breesbookmark's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional hopeful inspiring reflective tense slow-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

5.0

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Violence, Child death, Racial slurs, Gun violence, Gore, Colonisation, Racism, and Murder

Moderate: Slavery, Sexism, Injury/Injury detail, Forced institutionalization, War, Torture, Police brutality, Misogyny, and Grief

The book delves into very important issues, both from a modern and a historical perspective. The author handles them with respect, but does not sugarcoat them.

zoepagereader's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional mysterious reflective sad 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

4.0

I’m not going to lie, this is not what I was expecting from this book. I thought it would just be like classic zombie apocalypse style with the MC and crew going around and killing with style. I was NOT expecting the false utopia that was actually presented in this. But hey, unexpected stuff can be fun, and this was.

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood, Gore, Religious bigotry, Death, Murder, Police brutality, Racism, Gun violence, Injury/Injury detail, Racial slurs, and Violence

Moderate: Confinement and Child abuse

Minor: Cursing and Child death

romiress's review against another edition

adventurous dark slow-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

3.75

Did I like it? Yeah. Did I enjoy the reveals? Yep. Did I like the characters? Sure. Do I actually want to read the next book? Not really. I think this book had pacing issues, and it never quite sucked me in.

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexism, Murder, Racism, Racial slurs, Slavery, Religious bigotry, Police brutality, and Physical abuse

Moderate: Pregnancy

Minor: Homophobia and Acephobia/Arophobia

c_dmckinney's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional inspiring 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? Yes

4.25

Jane is apparently bi or pansexual and it looks like Katherine is asexual. That was a delightful surprise even though I'd love to see it explored more. Hopefully in the sequels it will be.

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Gore, Hate crime, Gun violence, Murder, Racial slurs, Racism, Slavery, Domestic abuse, Death of parent, Child abuse, War, and Xenophobia

Moderate: Blood, Body horror, Cannibalism, Child abuse, Colonisation, Cursing, Death, Emotional abuse, Gaslighting, Gore, Grief, Gun violence, Medical content, Murder, Physical abuse, Police brutality, Racism, Racial slurs, and Religious bigotry