Reviews tagging 'Bullying'

The Fifth Season by N.K. Jemisin

77 reviews

atomicrobin's review against another edition

adventurous dark 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? Yes

4.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse and Physical abuse

Moderate: Child death, Kidnapping, Suicidal thoughts, Emotional abuse, Adult/minor relationship, Bullying, Violence, Blood, Body horror, Death, Sexual content, Murder, and Gaslighting

gandalf_a's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional mysterious sad 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

Wow. I didn't really know what to expect from this book other than I had heard much praise for it. I wasn't prepared for it to be that good ! I don't really know how to express how in love I am with this story.

First, I want to say I really liked Jemisin's writing style and the characters' cynicism (especially Syenite's). The second person narration in some of the chapters didn't bother me at all, on the contrary, if found it to be a nice change and also helped me feel closer to the main character.

Talking about characters, I found them all really great, as well as their dynamics. For example, Syenite and Alabaster don't have the kind of romance you might expect in a subplot but their bond takes another, nonetheless strong, form. I applaud Jemisin for risking the unconventional and doing it so well.
Speaking about the unconventional... the world and magic system ! I admire how unique and thoroughly researched it was. Jemisin really succeeded to make me interested in geology 😂.
The three POVs served the mysterious aspect of the story perfectly as it allowed the author to lead the reader step by step (or should I say hint by hint) to the reveals.

(I do want to add that I don't know why I find the cover so mesmerising but I just do... anyone else ?)

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Grief and Child abuse

Moderate: Child death, Murder, Bullying, Death, and Violence

Minor: Pregnancy, Sexual content, and Torture

f18's review against another edition

adventurous dark mysterious medium-paced

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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Injury/Injury detail, Death, Torture, Child death, Bullying, Murder, and Violence

Moderate: Classism, Medical trauma, Blood, Abandonment, Slavery, and Gore

Minor: Cursing, Sexual content, Transphobia, Vomit, Animal death, Cannibalism, Alcohol, and Rape

unwanted pregnancy

emeraldrina's review against another edition

adventurous dark mysterious 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

5.0

Wow this book was incredibly put together. The way the story unfolds and all comes together at the end is so detailed and intricate and glorious. The world is dark and fascinating and a joy to discover as you read. I was very skeptical about the 2nd person POV at first but I’m so glad I kept reading! The writing is amazing, I love the style and humor and even the little ways Jemisin uses formatting to shape the tone of characters’ thoughts. And I love Syenite so much!! She’s such a badass. I can’t wait to continue the series!

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, Gore, and Murder

Moderate: Blood, Bullying, Death, Grief, and Injury/Injury detail

Minor: Animal death, Cannibalism, Cursing, Excrement, Kidnapping, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Pregnancy, Sexual assault, and Vomit

delphinaris's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional mysterious 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

what the fuck, like actually. There's genuinely so many different moving pieces to this book. I have so many questions, just like, wow. I fucking called it that all POVs were the same person, I knew it. Also Syenite pissed me off so much, like it was just one stupid move after the other. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal cruelty, Body horror, Blood, Murder, Bullying, Animal death, Alcohol, Infertility, Infidelity, Child death, Abandonment, Cannibalism, Xenophobia, War, Vomit, Violence, Transphobia, Trafficking, Toxic relationship, Toxic friendship, Torture, Suicide attempt, Suicide, Slavery, Stalking, Sexual violence, Sexual harassment, Sexual content, Sexual assault, Sexism, Rape, Racism, Racial slurs, Pregnancy, Physical abuse, Pedophilia, Misogyny, Mental illness, Medical content, Kidnapping, Injury/Injury detail, Gore, Grief, Genocide, Forced institutionalization, Fire/Fire injury, Excrement, Emotional abuse, Drug use, Domestic abuse, Death of parent, Death, Cursing, Colonisation, Classism, Confinement, and Child abuse

This book is majorly fucked up; especially the scenes in the Fulcrum. Read at your own risk.

galacticvampire's review

challenging dark emotional tense slow-paced

5.0

"Stupid, stupid woman. Death was always here. Death is you."

I was enamoured by the concept of The Fifth Season from the first time I heard about it years ago, added to overall praise for the series, I was coming with high expectations.

And it delivered. Everything and more.

The execution not only lives up to the concept, but surpasses it. The suspense isn't there to pull the rug from under your feet in a gotcha moment, it's carefully crafted into the story, where the reveals are satisfying and spark the need for more, even when you caught what the foreshadowing was trying to tell you.

The world is so rich and complex that the initial struggle to follow what was going on (including the recurrent second person pov) has an immense pay-off. The feeling of wonder didn't leave me for a second.

I'm very much on the transition from YA to Adult Fantasy, so the very real darkness and grittiness surrounding everything was unexpected, but I couldn't have picked a better book to make me fall in love with the genre.

This is a story about Pain. This is a story about Grief. This is a story about enduring them and surviving them, because you have no other option.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Child death, Emotional abuse, Child abuse, Death, Physical abuse, Slavery, Grief, Violence, and Blood

Moderate: Racial slurs, Abandonment, Sexual content, Rape, and Bullying

Minor: Alcohol, Hate crime, Sexual violence, Adult/minor relationship, Colonisation, Pedophilia, Racism, and Xenophobia

ghostofefrant's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional 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? Yes

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Confinement, Physical abuse, Death of parent, Classism, Death, Body horror, and Child death

Moderate: Bullying, Torture, Sexual violence, Sexual content, Sexual assault, Rape, and Pregnancy

Minor: Pedophilia, Adult/minor relationship, Medical trauma, and Pandemic/Epidemic

malisac16's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional mysterious sad tense 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? It's complicated

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Pandemic/Epidemic, Abandonment, Bullying, Death, Emotional abuse, Gaslighting, and Grief

Moderate: Racial slurs and Murder

Minor: Cannibalism

abmochapman'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
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

incredible world-building and characterization

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, Injury/Injury detail, Physical abuse, Sexual assault, Violence, Blood, Murder, and Child abuse

Moderate: Body horror, Racism, Misogyny, Bullying, and Xenophobia

Minor: Cannibalism and Slavery

katievallin's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional hopeful reflective 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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Cursing, Death, Stalking, Suicide attempt, Gore, Grief, Hate crime, Child death, Racism, Rape, Violence, Child abuse, Emotional abuse, Sexual content, Toxic friendship, Suicidal thoughts, Trafficking, Bullying, Police brutality, Abandonment, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Slavery, Animal death, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Pregnancy, Panic attacks/disorders, and Body horror

Minor: Cannibalism, Alcohol, Blood, and Fire/Fire injury