Reviews tagging 'Kidnapping'

Das begabte Kind by Juno Dawson

74 reviews

puttingwingsonwords's review against another edition

dark tense slow-paced

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

3.0

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Violence, Child abuse, Death, Kidnapping, and Transphobia

Moderate: Grief, Sexual content, Sexism, Dysphoria, Cursing, Confinement, Racism, War, Alcohol, Abandonment, Car accident, and Injury/Injury detail

Minor: Adult/minor relationship and Domestic abuse

amberinpieces's review against another edition

adventurous dark mysterious 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

4.0

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Transphobia

Moderate: Murder, Injury/Injury detail, Alcohol, Cursing, Misogyny, Toxic friendship, Blood, Body horror, Confinement, Death, Death of parent, and Fire/Fire injury

Minor: Dysphoria, Emotional abuse, Hate crime, Outing, Child abuse, Infidelity, Racism, Animal death, Classism, Grief, Car accident, Colonisation, Gaslighting, and Kidnapping

kathaarinaa's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional mysterious sad tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: War, Transphobia, Toxic friendship, Racism, Kidnapping, Murder, Misogyny, Child abuse, and Torture

kateyhb's review against another edition

adventurous dark hopeful mysterious slow-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

4.25

Personally, I loved this book. It is very in your face about transphobia, sexism, and racism. I think it addresses many of the real life harms experienced by marginalized people. I love subtle commentary in books, but this commentary is not subtle at all. It’s spelled out for you by the characters and it was surprisingly refreshing. I can get past how not subtle and sometimes cheesy this book is because it’s honestly so nice to have an antagonist who represents the harm done by Cis-het white women.

TERFs are the villain in so many real people’s stories, and i was all about the way this book was a big FUCK YOU to TERFs. And also a big I LOVE YOU to trans women.

I really liked most of the main characters, and this book is bursting with queer allyship (despite the excruciating bits of TERF garbage we are forced to read).  If you’re a left-leaning queer/ally who likes fantasy, this will be an enjoyable read for you. 

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Transphobia

Moderate: Death, Kidnapping, Racism, and Violence

Minor: Physical abuse

zluke's review against another edition

adventurous emotional 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

3.5

A quick, enjoyable read, but a few things let it down for me. 

The transphobia was a bit heavy-handed and clumsy in places, as were some of the discussions of racism. While the message was good, it came across as overly preachy at times. I also think it's a shame that we never get to see from Theo's point of view and rather it's all told through the perspectives of the other witches. 

Theo, a trans girl, mainly being talked and gossiped about by cis people felt voyeuristic and off to me. It didn't give her much of her own agency.

Theo and Leonie are probably the most interesting characters and I would have liked more time getting to know them. Hopefully in the next book we will. 

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual content and Transphobia

Moderate: Injury/Injury detail, Racism, Violence, Child abuse, and Kidnapping

Minor: Domestic abuse and Sexual violence

questingnotcoasting's review against another edition

adventurous dark 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

I think this is my favourite book of 2023 so far. I loved the premise and luckily the execution really lived up to my hopes for it. I found the structure and bureaucracy of the magic system so interesting and I became very attached to some of the characters. Juno Dawson also does a great job mixing urban fantasy and contemporary social justice issues. I listened to the audiobook which was brilliantly narrated by Nicola Coughlan. I sometimes don't feel like I'm as invested in stories I listen to rather than read with my eyes but I was so absorbed in this. The different character POV chapters felt so distinct because Coughlan's accents were great. Although I usually hate

a cliff-hanger ending

I can respect it and I'll definitely be picking up the next one. 

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Murder, Torture, Blood, Body horror, Kidnapping, Car accident, Death, Grief, Animal death, Mental illness, Outing, Transphobia, Violence, and War

taleofabibliophile's review against another edition

adventurous dark hopeful mysterious reflective 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

5.0

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexism, Child death, Gaslighting, Transphobia, Alcohol, Homophobia, Blood, Bullying, Death of parent, Cursing, War, Misogyny, Racism, Kidnapping, Deadnaming, Grief, Death, Confinement, Suicide, Animal death, Violence, Murder, and Dysphoria

Moderate: Medical content, Fatphobia, Colonisation, Toxic friendship, Infidelity, Fire/Fire injury, Car accident, and Outing

Minor: Gore, Emotional abuse, and Vomit

crookedspines's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional hopeful mysterious reflective sad 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

4.25

---

Content Warnings

Moderate: Animal death, War, Violence, Kidnapping, Sexism, Injury/Injury detail, Animal cruelty, Transphobia, Car accident, Murder, Outing, Toxic relationship, and Dysphoria

Minor: Fatphobia, Self harm, Racism, Infidelity, Abandonment, and Child abuse

mynx's review against another edition

emotional mysterious 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

4.25

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Transphobia

Moderate: Toxic friendship and Violence

Minor: Cursing, Death, Injury/Injury detail, Kidnapping, Medical content, War, and Grief

blueberries's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense fast-paced

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

2.0

This author uses trans people for entertainment value & gives TERFs equal time to talk in this book. The constant misgendering is a reason to avoid it: it's painful to read.

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Kidnapping, Death of parent, Confinement, Murder, Outing, Racism, Child abuse, Hate crime, Transphobia, Deadnaming, and Forced institutionalization

Moderate: Car accident, Injury/Injury detail, and Fire/Fire injury