Reviews tagging 'Police brutality'

In the Lives of Puppets by TJ Klune

4 reviews

handful_of_frogs's review against another edition

adventurous 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? It's complicated

2.0

A huge disappointment, Klune seems to be regressing as a writer- this is coming from someone who loved Under the Whispering Door and The House in the Cerulean Sea. If he wants to write an asexual character accurately maybe he should find a premise for them that doesn't involve being attracted to androids. This entire book is a mix of material stolen from Spielberg's AI film, Pinocchio (of course), and a bland d&d campaign. The most interesting character is an anxious Roomba but even a quipping vacuum can't make this novel worth the time it took to read it.

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Animal death, Blood, Body horror, Death of parent, Dysphoria, Excrement, Fire/Fire injury, Genocide, Gore, Grief, Police brutality, War, Violence, Bullying, Death, Injury/Injury detail, Medical content, Panic attacks/disorders, and Sexual content

starsnstitchin's review against another edition

dark emotional reflective sad tense slow-paced

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

2.5

This book was different than his other books, and had more (for lack of ability to think of a more clear word choice) "adult content," talking about genitals, pooping, and sex more than expected (and more than necessary or comfortable). The world building didn't make sense in some parts, which made it hard to get immersed in the story. It's painfully clear that the ace character was written from the perspective of a non-ace author. It's not the worst rep I've read, but it didn't feel like an actually ace character. The whole book was a bit of a let down, and the ending feels a bit loose and lacks a lot of desired closure, with some story elements that had been built up left hanging and anticlimatically unaddressed. It felt like the story was building up around something, but the something never arrived or got explained. The acknowledgements at the end by the author sounded very bitter, but made me wonder if the slightly out of tune feel to the book as well as the loose ending was because there's supposed to be something more to the book than we're given. Not his best work, but it did make me laugh at times, and it was enjoyable in parts.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Murder, Sexual content, Violence, Blood, Confinement, Genocide, Grief, Death of parent, Injury/Injury detail, Panic attacks/disorders, and Abandonment

Moderate: Self harm, Animal death, Death, Excrement, Police brutality, Cursing, Bullying, Terminal illness, and War

keya_caivalur's review

adventurous challenging emotional funny hopeful inspiring lighthearted mysterious reflective relaxing sad tense 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: Panic attacks/disorders, Fire/Fire injury, Blood, Death of parent, Violence, Xenophobia, Grief, Dementia, and Murder

Moderate: War, Slavery, Abandonment, and Animal death

Minor: Police brutality, Cancer, Dysphoria, Sexual content, Death, Genocide, Chronic illness, Confinement, Torture, Excrement, Gaslighting, Injury/Injury detail, and Self harm

tiernanhunter's review against another edition

adventurous emotional funny hopeful medium-paced

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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death of parent, Death, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Blood, Police brutality, Medical content, and Violence

Minor: Animal death