Reviews tagging 'Murder'

Dread Nation by Justina Ireland

44 reviews

directorpurry's review against another edition

adventurous dark mysterious 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

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Confinement, Gun violence, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Slavery, Violence, Kidnapping, and Classism

Moderate: Child abuse, Medical content, Medical trauma, and Murder

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. 

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Content Warnings

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

greenlivingaudioworm's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional mysterious tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes

3.5

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Death, Gore, Racial slurs, Racism, Slavery, Violence, Blood, Death of parent, Murder, Cultural appropriation, and Classism

sparklefarm's review against another edition

dark funny tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes

3.75

A friend described this as a romp, and that's accurate! Very fun zombie tale (but also doesn't shirk frank discussions of racism and slavery).

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Racial slurs, Racism, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Death, Slavery, Violence, and Murder

lisashelves's review against another edition

medium-paced

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

3.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Racial slurs, Racism, Torture, Violence, and War

Moderate: Slavery and Injury/Injury detail

Minor: Murder

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

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Content Warnings

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

Minor: Animal cruelty and Death of parent

arken_rose's review against another edition

adventurous challenging hopeful medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Loveable characters? Yes

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Racism and Slavery

Moderate: Violence

Minor: Domestic abuse, Murder, and War

carolinejane29's review against another edition

adventurous challenging funny mysterious 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? It's complicated

4.5

Was a fabulous read, the characters are all excellently written. It has humor that is appropriate to the content and section of the book, and lightens the mood where it needs to be. I devoured this book in one day, I couldn’t put it down.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Racism and Violence

Moderate: Death and Murder

Minor: Sexism

mickij's review against another edition

adventurous dark medium-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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Racial slurs and Racism

Moderate: Child abuse, Slavery, Torture, and Injury/Injury detail

Minor: Child death and Murder

barefootbetsy's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional 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? It's complicated

5.0

This was excellent! I’m so glad I bought the sequel before I finished this book. Looking forward to starting it!

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death, Body horror, Child death, Death, Emotional abuse, Genocide, Gore, Racial slurs, Racism, Slavery, Torture, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Blood, Trafficking, Grief, Mass/school shootings, Religious bigotry, Murder, Gaslighting, Colonisation, War, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism