Reviews tagging 'Torture'

Dread Nation by Justina Ireland

27 reviews

mermaidreef's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark mysterious tense 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

4.0

This was a slay. I think this protagonist was one of my faves of all time?? Like a lot of times in YA fiction/fantasy that are in first person, the main character is mega boring and doesn't really even seem like a person at all. That was soooooo not the case here. Jane is such a wonderful and well-developed character. She doesn't always tell us everything and there are times when she holds the reader at arms' length. She isn't modest, and shows us she has good reason not to be. 

To me, however, the real power of this book lies in the fact that it is a direct and searing deconstruction of the appeal of Donald Trump to the racism inherent in American white people. In the wake of the zombie apocalypse, a political party operating on a platform of Black people's racial inferiority and "God-ordained subservience" to white people attempts to set up settlements honoring the "old ways" (aka pre-Civil War slavery). Their slogan is "make America safe again" and they believe the way to do so is to force Black and Native American people to fight off zombies. They hold that the "zombie plague" is a punishment from God for "white infighting" (aka the Civil War) and they take it as a sign that God himself believes that Black people need to be enslaved. 

What I got out of this mostly is that in the face of a global crisis, white people turn to the structure of the racial caste system in blind faith as a way to weather the storm. In this book, white people literally choose death in order to reinforce this racial caste system which places them at the top. 

Very good very slay

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Torture and Racism

barefootbetsy's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional 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? It's complicated

5.0

This was excellent! I’m so glad I bought the sequel before I finished this book. Looking forward to starting it!

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Forced institutionalization, Gore, Injury/Injury detail, Body horror, Animal death, Blood, Classism, Death, Emotional abuse, Genocide, Gaslighting, Mass/school shootings, Racism, Racial slurs, Religious bigotry, Violence, Child death, Grief, Slavery, Torture, Colonisation, Murder, Trafficking, and War

uhhlexiconic's review against another edition

adventurous dark tense medium-paced

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

3.75

As hard as it is to swallow real life evil in a zombie apocalypse, Dread Nation still manages to find thrills in its adventure.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Racial slurs, Death, Torture, Slavery, Racism, and Violence

breadwitchery's review against another edition

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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death and Violence

Moderate: Misogyny, Racism, Religious bigotry, and Gun violence

Minor: Child death, Slavery, War, Colonisation, Racial slurs, and Torture

spriteluver's review against another edition

dark 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? It's complicated

4.0

this book is equally charming and uncomfortable. i thoroughly enjoyed reading it. although some describe the book as slow, i enjoyed even the "boring" parts. the characters are amazing, jane is a perfect protagonist. i love her personality, especially her wit. 

and yes, it is VERY uncomfortable to read. it should be, especially for white readers like me. america's history is deeply disturbing, even without zombies thrown into the mix. the real history is considerably worse—those atrocities are real, so real, and still affecting Black and Indigenous people today. white supremacy is violent outside of fiction, too. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Torture, Racism, Racial slurs, Xenophobia, Gore, and Violence

Moderate: Slavery

anaguana's review against another edition

adventurous tense medium-paced

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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Racism, Religious bigotry, Slavery, Torture, War, and Violence

Moderate: Child death, Colonisation, Death, and Gun violence

Minor: Alcohol, Sexism, and Sexual content

thenonmouse's review against another edition

adventurous dark 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

3.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Cannibalism, Colonisation, War, Torture, Slavery, Sexual harassment, Sexism, Religious bigotry, Physical abuse, Murder, Injury/Injury detail, Death of parent, Death, Racism, and Racial slurs

laurenleigh's review against another edition

adventurous emotional funny tense fast-paced

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

4.5

Dread Nation was a last minute pick to fulfill some lingering 2021 reading challenge prompts, but I ended up thoroughly enjoying it! This is why I do these challenges. In this YA historical fiction, the Civil War ended because zombies rose up on the battle of Gettysburg. I found this sci-fi alternate history take fascinating. It makes me think about how slavery “came back from the dead” in the forms of Jim Crow laws, segregation, and forced labor as criminal punishment. Black Americans still had to fight to survive, with or without a zombie apocalypse. The novel clearly has some deeper meanings to explore, but even on just the surface level, this was an enjoyable, action-packed read. I love when an author can keep up the quick pace of a fight scene while also taking the time to fully explain all the details of what’s going on. The characters were all very well-formed and distinct, especially our heroine Jane. I absolutely adore her! Bahni Turpin’s narration did a fantastic job of capturing all the accents of course. I am interested to read the sequel, mainly just to spend more time with these characters!

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood, Racism, Racial slurs, Violence, Gun violence, Torture, and Slavery

Moderate: Violence, War, Gore, and Murder

Minor: Child death

kengiedamali's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional 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? It's complicated

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Racism, Torture, and Violence

mlindley's review against another edition

adventurous challenging 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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, and Torture