Reviews tagging 'Blood'

The Marrow Thieves by Cherie Dimaline

35 reviews

elinordashwood's review against another edition

challenging emotional mysterious reflective sad medium-paced

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

4.25

A really wonderful book that draws on the combined horrors of residential schools and environmental degradation through racial capitalism, albeit with a fantasy twist. Although I would have liked to see the fantasy aspect explored more in depth, as well as a greater sense of direction throughout the novel, (plus I could have done without the love triangle), it was overall a very good read.

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Forced institutionalization, Genocide, and Grief

Moderate: Blood, Child death, Kidnapping, and Medical content

Minor: Death of parent

bekah445's review against another edition

adventurous emotional reflective sad slow-paced

• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Blood, Child abuse, Child death, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Genocide, Gore, Grief, Gun violence, Kidnapping, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Torture, Violence, and Vomit

Moderate: Cannibalism, Confinement, Excrement, Medical content, Miscarriage, Religious bigotry, and Sexism

gabbygarcia's review

dark emotional sad medium-paced

• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

"He'd lost someone he built a life with right in the middle of that life. Suddenly, I realized that there was something worse than running, worse than even the schools. There was loss. I'd wait for him to tell me the rest in his own time, if that time ever came, I fell asleep watching the rise and fall of Rose's breaths and tried to imagine us in another time, building instead of running".

This beautiful book. Oh my. It will consume you entirely and you won't be able to put it down until you've finished it. This book is a gift everyone should read. It is devastating and yet so hopeful. The ending! The endingggg!!! 

I would have loved more character development for the secondary characters, though I loved many of the main characters, who were written with such thoughtfulness and were given the space to be whole, imperfect people. Additionally, although I felt deeply entrenched in the world Dimaline created, I was a little disappointed that she did not explore and explain the loss-of-dreaming phenomenon and how the bone marrow stored dreams. 

I was so moved by the realization of the key: dreaming in their heritage language (though I also wish this had been explored further!!). The themes surrounding language loss and that deep, sorrowful need for language and homeland was so immediate and heartwrenching. Beautifully written and woven into the plot.

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death and Death

Moderate: Blood, Genocide, Grief, Kidnapping, Violence, and Sexism

Minor: Drug use, Rape, and Sexual assault

alexture's review against another edition

adventurous dark reflective fast-paced

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

5.0

 Je ne savais pas à quoi m'attendre. Une dystopie jeune adulte normale. Un divergente, un hunger games. J'ai pris une bonne claque en travers de la tête. Sous prétexte de littérature young adult, Dimaline traite de sujets terribles, et elle n'adoucit rien. Les horreurs de la guerre, les réfugié·es climatiques, le génocide des autochtones dont elle rappelle qu'il a bien existé, dans une histoire encore toute récente, et que rien n'empêche sa reprise. Une lecture difficile psychologiquement, qui nous emporte avec sa passion et son héros adolescent. Un young adult pas comme les autres, que je ne peux que recommander, avec pas mal d'avertissements de contenu. 

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Genocide, Rape, and Child death

Moderate: Gun violence and Blood

+ climate crisis.

lenaricharz's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional 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

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Death of parent, Child death, Colonisation, Racism, Violence, Death, Genocide, Blood, and Forced institutionalization