Reviews tagging 'Child abuse'

The Gilded Ones by Namina Forna

131 reviews

chezler24's review

adventurous dark emotional hopeful inspiring reflective 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

3.75

I really enjoyed this book's world-building and the attention Namina Forna put toward the land's religion and history. We got a taste of the different personalities and cultures of different geographic regions and groups through our main character's, Deka's, point of view. (I would love to see a prequel book diving directly into the history of the gods and goddesses.) Deka is an easy main character to root for throughout the early challenges she faces as well as her growth in training and unlearning certain things she believed to be undeniably true. In some sections, I felt like she teetered towards being too overpowered but certain training sessions and lack of information did help curtail some of those fears. Of course, the alaki ARE pretty heightened individuals anyway. For character relationships, the warrior sisterhood aspect was nice; it felt very akin to the movie The Woman King. I was (as always) nervous about the romance introduced and that it would detract from the woman-focused aspect of the novel; however, the reason for the male character to be introduced made sense in this world AND Deka always maintained that her alaki sisters would be her primary and longest relationship moving forward. I'm excited for the sequel to see the events after the final battle and hear how the country has changed regarding new information revealed toward the end of the book (no spoilers). 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood, Gore, Body horror, Injury/Injury detail, Physical abuse, Death, Torture, Child abuse, Child death, War, and Misogyny

Minor: Sexual violence, Trafficking, Sexual assault, and Abandonment

gotem's review

adventurous challenging dark emotional slow-paced

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

3.75

Get past the first 100ish pages, and its a riveting book about found family, the exposure of intense indoctrination, and magical girl powers all wrapped in one.

Unsettlingly gory at parts, and strikingly vague in others. This would work well for someone who reads with a heavy focus on action and dialogue. Please do mind the trigger warnings.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Slavery, Sexism, Vomit, Trafficking, Body horror, Pedophilia, Misogyny, Murder, Forced institutionalization, Confinement, Injury/Injury detail, Gore, Death, Child abuse, Torture, War, Violence, Sexual violence, Sexual harassment, Sexual assault, Religious bigotry, Rape, Physical abuse, Panic attacks/disorders, and Blood

teabella's review

adventurous challenging dark emotional hopeful mysterious sad tense medium-paced

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

4.25

Overall loved the story and how it unfolded. a bit repetitive in some parts but was very engaging! 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Slavery, Violence, Emotional abuse, Genocide, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Blood, Death of parent, Medical trauma, Misogyny, Murder, Sexual violence, Body horror, Sexual harassment, Xenophobia, Child abuse, Fire/Fire injury, Gaslighting, Gore, Torture, Vomit, and War

lpdx's review against another edition

adventurous dark 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? No

4.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Confinement, Gore, Death, Death of parent, Injury/Injury detail, War, Blood, Body horror, Child abuse, Sexism, Child death, Misogyny, Slavery, and Violence

Moderate: Bullying and Grief

mwass's review against another edition

adventurous inspiring mysterious medium-paced

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

3.25

I thought the book had a very cool concept! I loved the themes of fighting the patriarchy and strong female friendships! However, the world building and character development felt flat. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexism, Genocide, Misogyny, Blood, and Violence

Moderate: Child abuse and Sexual assault

dannoboy's review against another edition

dark mysterious 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? No

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Child abuse, Death, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Sexism, Sexual violence, Blood, Trafficking, Torture, Violence, Gore, Rape, Murder, and War

Moderate: Sexual assault, Slavery, Vomit, and Pedophilia

natsbooknook's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark mysterious medium-paced

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

4.25

The Gilded ones was an excellent piece of YA; the concept was unique - I didn't feel like I was reading the same story as something else, just with different names. The underlying themes and feminist undertones were so on point.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood, Gore, Injury/Injury detail, and Violence

Moderate: Child abuse, Pedophilia, Rape, and Sexual assault

leonormsousa's review against another edition

adventurous inspiring mysterious fast-paced

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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Blood, Genocide, Grief, Racism, Rape, Religious bigotry, Terminal illness, Violence, War, Hate crime, Misogyny, Murder, Physical abuse, Child abuse, Death, Death of parent, Gaslighting, Gore, Injury/Injury detail, Sexism, Sexual assault, Slavery, Torture, Trafficking, and Vomit

holodrum's review

adventurous dark 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? Yes

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Misogyny, Violence, and Physical abuse

Moderate: Sexual violence and Child abuse

josieruby1's review

adventurous dark 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? It's complicated

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Death, Gore, Hate crime, Confinement, Misogyny, Body horror, and Blood

Minor: Rape and Sexual assault