Reviews tagging 'Child abuse'

Monstress, Vol. 1: Awakening by Marjorie Liu

53 reviews

alcoholic_frog's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional mysterious tense fast-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

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Torture, Violence, War, Body horror, Slavery, Blood, Cannibalism, Death, Child abuse, Genocide, Gore, Grief, and Murder

pastel_princess's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional hopeful mysterious 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? No

5.0

To start, the artwork in this book is amazing. Sana Takeda (Artist) did a wonderful job detailing the many characters you meet in this book. The story line is very clear and well written. Watching Maika learn about her past and reveal her story is sad and hard, but it is also besetting. I can't wait to read book 2!

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Child abuse, Child death, Classism, Confinement, Death of parent, Torture, Physical abuse, Slavery, Blood, and Death

Moderate: Murder, War, Injury/Injury detail, and Emotional abuse

Minor: Fire/Fire injury

ithladin's review against another edition

dark mysterious 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

4.5

Gorgeous art, good worldbuilding, interesting history... but all the triggers!! 

I would love to read something more happy/hopeful with the same art/worldbuilding though.

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood, Violence, Torture, Slavery, Religious bigotry, Rape, Physical abuse, Death, Child abuse, and Child death

millie's review against another edition

challenging dark tense slow-paced

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

3.0

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Blood, Child abuse, War, Torture, Child death, and Slavery

nutmegandpumpkin's review against another edition

adventurous dark mysterious tense medium-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

4.0

definitely mature readers only! graphic violence and gore, some nudity, heavy topics, and horror (definitely check content warnings)
- complex and interesting world building 
- morally grey protagonist 
- very dark and gory
- character design and setting design were really amazing 
- it dragged a bit in some parts

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death, Confinement, Torture, Sexual harassment, Child death, Cursing, Death, Gore, Violence, Slavery, Suicidal thoughts, Fire/Fire injury, Blood, Body horror, Child abuse, Injury/Injury detail, and Murder

Moderate: Medical content, War, and Grief

Minor: Death of parent

isabelborges's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional tense medium-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

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Child death, Death, Torture, and War

melsmagicalreads's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark funny 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? N/A

4.75

Kicking off 2022 with a graphic novel and I couldn't have chosen a better way to start my year! The world is on the brink of war, with humans and witches of the Cumaea against the Arcanics, half-human half-Ancient hybrids. Monstress follows a 17 year old girl, Maika, who travels deep into enemy territory. While doing this, she is fighting to keep a literal monster at bay who is residing inside her. With the unlikely traveling companions of a sentient cat and a cute little half-fox, she seeks answers to her unknown past while dodging all the different people who want her and her monster dead. 

I was so impressed by the depth of world-building in this graphic novel! It is so complex with multiple sentient species, warring factions, complex systems of power, and of course, monsters. The art is absolutely outstanding, unlike any other graphic novels I've read. It's definitely got a dark and gory steampunk vibe.

The story had the potential to be too dark for me, but the addition of sentient cats and a cute little half-fox sidekick for our monstress added much-needed comic relief. I imagine I will be flying through the next few volumes this week!

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death, Child abuse, Child death, Death, Gore, Slavery, Trafficking, and Violence

fictionalportal's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional mysterious tense fast-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

For real one of the best books I've read, graphic novel or otherwise. Astonishingly good. 

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Violence, Trafficking, Torture, Suicidal thoughts, Slavery, Physical abuse, Murder, Kidnapping, Genocide, Emotional abuse, Confinement, Child abuse, and Blood

Moderate: Rape and Sexual violence

syllareads's review against another edition

adventurous dark

• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.0

Monstress is a beautiful Graphic Novel series and the first volume alone shows that beautifully. I'm in love with that artstyle!

Sadly, the story itself was extremely confusing to me and I found it very hard to follow it. I'm not that great with Graphic Novels to begin with, so I don't 100% fault the series, but I had a hard time trying to understand what was happening and who these people were. The worldbuilding itself felt great but I was given no time to try and understand it and the weird and long history lessons in between only helped to a certain degree. I was also left feeling emotionally unattached to the characters (which was probably because I literally forgot every single name and had a hard time assigning faces to things that were happening).

It did intrigue me enough to continue on, though, so...goal achieved?

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Gore, Violence, Cannibalism, Child death, and Slavery

Moderate: Child abuse

Minor: War

destdest's review against another edition

adventurous dark fast-paced

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

1.0

 I don’t know what’s happening. Mass enslavement, maiming of bodies and kids, and violence/death everywhere. Okay, but it feels like shock value at some points. Pretty artwork and women are the forefront of the story. Women are the baddies, the antiheroes, and everything in between. The monster spirits look mighty cool and their eyes will haunt you. I felt physically creeped out looking at them. 

Basically, witch-nuns are fighting against Arcanics (humans with animal characteristic, like anime-girl cat ears, fox tails, etc).  Arcanics are being killed and forced in to enslavement for a great deal of evils. MC chick, Maika, is oh-so-special and becoming monstrous. She also has a parasitic demon god in her arm. 

when she gets super hungry, she feeds on other people. Usually, kids.

 

Unfortunately, this series isn’t for me. It’s too drenched in darkness. 

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Child death, Child abuse, and Violence

Moderate: Slavery