Reviews tagging 'Racism'

Winter Counts by David Heska Wanbli Weiden

55 reviews

lanid's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional mysterious tense

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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Racism, Blood, Murder, Bullying, Child abuse, Cultural appropriation, Drug use, Genocide, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Violence, Addiction, Alcoholism, Child death, Death, Domestic abuse, Gore, and Gun violence

geriatricgretch's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional funny mysterious 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

5.0

I loved this mystery. The characters were excellent, the action and pacing was great, and the educational aspect was very deftly done. It reminded me a lot of Reservation Dogs (a lot in here only for Indigenous audiences, but also a lot for everyone else, and a great mix of entertaining and reverent). Virgil is an amazing antihero (though that feels a little too negative). 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Violence and Racism

hazelgirl21's review against another edition

dark emotional tense fast-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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Racism and Violence

Moderate: Child death and Rape

Minor: Racial slurs

ibeforem'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? Yes

5.0

Virgil is a guy who gets by by doing odd jobs for people, usually involving violence. His latest job, which he takes reluctantly due to it coming from his ex-girlfriend's father (a tribal leader), is to track down the guy who is bringing drugs onto the Reservation and "convince" him to stop. But when his nephew, who is under his care, unexpectedly overdoses on heroin, this mission becomes much more personal than Virgil expected.

I really enjoyed this debut novel and the peek it gives into life on a Reservation. Weiden expertly weaves issues that Native Americans face into this story of violence and revenge but also gives us beautiful portrayals of the Lakota culture.

Back in the time before Columbus, there were only Indians here, no skyscrapers, no automobiles, no streets. Of course, we didn't use the words Indian or Native American then; we were just people. We didn't know we were supposedly drunks or lazy or savages. I wondered what it was like to live without that weight on your shoulders, the weight of the murdered ancestors, the stolen land, the abused children, the burden every Native person carries.

This book is well worth the time. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Racism

Minor: Drug use and Alcoholism

angherr2009's review against another edition

dark mysterious sad 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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Violence, Murder, Genocide, and Racism

Moderate: Domestic abuse and Torture

Minor: Suicide and Kidnapping

librarianinacardigan's review

challenging dark reflective 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 one of the books that got me back into reading after a long hiatus due to college/grad school, and boy am I glad I read this book. The characters are flawed and real while also being people you can root for, and the themes of family and the desire to protect your loved ones resonated with me deeply, since I come from a (different type of) broken family myself. I was hooked all the way through. 

The author also beautifully and hauntingly weaves throughout the book aspects of Lakota culture as well as the troubling realities of how the government (and many people in general) approach and treat indigenous people and tribal lands. This juxtaposition is remarkably powerful, and I will certainly snatch up whatever book the author writes next.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Violence, Kidnapping, Gun violence, and Drug use

Moderate: Racism

Minor: Sexual assault and Sexual violence

voxelbee's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional 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? Yes

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Violence, Injury/Injury detail, Drug abuse, Child death, Addiction, and Murder

Moderate: Alcohol, Alcoholism, Blood, Child abuse, Death of parent, Grief, Hate crime, Kidnapping, Medical content, Physical abuse, Racism, Terminal illness, and Torture

Minor: Racial slurs, Colonisation, Bullying, Car accident, and Genocide

ofbooksandechos's review against another edition

dark mysterious 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

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, Death, Gun violence, Racism, and Violence

Moderate: Drug abuse, Kidnapping, and Racial slurs

Minor: Pedophilia, Rape, and Sexual assault

caidyn's review against another edition

dark hopeful mysterious 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? Yes

4.25

Wow, what a read. This is a snippet of modern life on reservations with the incoming of drugs. It tackled racism and not being enough, whether Native or White. I really appreciated the addition of nonfiction books that I'll definitely be picking up in the future as further reading!

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death of parent, Drug use, Grief, Gun violence, Kidnapping, Racism, and Racial slurs

Moderate: Domestic abuse

maregred's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark inspiring mysterious reflective 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

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Addiction, Alcoholism, Alcohol, Bullying, Violence, Injury/Injury detail, Drug abuse, Drug use, Death of parent, and Colonisation

Minor: Adult/minor relationship, Child death, Death, Gun violence, Racism, Suicide attempt, and Suicide