Reviews tagging 'Panic attacks/disorders'

The Weight of Blood by Tiffany D. Jackson

20 reviews

snowiceblackfruit77's review against another edition

dark emotional hopeful mysterious sad tense fast-paced

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

4.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Violence, Misogyny, Child abuse, Blood, Abandonment, Cursing, Murder, Bullying, Death of parent, Death, Gaslighting, Gore, Hate crime, Physical abuse, Sexism, Injury/Injury detail, Police brutality, Racism, Animal death, Body horror, Racial slurs, Emotional abuse, Gun violence, Panic attacks/disorders, Torture, and Vomit

squids_can_read's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional informative tense medium-paced

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

4.0

Mad Mad Maddy has been hiding her identity from the little town of Springville. But a freak rainstorm reveals the secret that Maddy had been viciously trying to hide. Now this small town is tearing itself apart and Maddy is dead in the middle of it. 

I have mixed feelings about this book. I think that the overall plot of this book, with the characterization, was really amazing. But I didn't really believe in the setting. 

The plot of this book is basically Carrie by Stephen King if Carrie was African American. Which is fine but I thought that it focused a lot on the beats of Carrie without the author really making it her own. It just seemed like every time that an important plot point came up, I immediately was thinking which part of Carrie it related to. I just wish that the author made the story a bit more her own overall. I'm not going to talk about the characterization except for that I really enjoyed the characterization of the people that were supposed to be good but I thought there was a lack of characterization for the people that are going to be bad. 

Finally the setting. I want to preface this by saying that I do not know if this setting was realistic in 2014. I just want to say that it didn't seem to me to be realistic to me but if it is then the setting in the book is done amazingly. So in Springville(small town Georgia) in 2014 there is still an institution of separate but equal. This just seemed really unbelievable to me that a town would outright implement racist institutions instead of the town trying to hide it. One of the characters says that the racism of the school board is full of microaggressions but to me it just read as aggressions. I think that the overall setting would make more sense if the racism was supposed to be more covert than overt. But overall the setting was just really unrealistic to me. 

Overall, though, I set aside my belief and really enjoyed this book. I think great read, especially if you enjoyed Carrie by Stephen King but wanted it to discuss more current issues. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Grief, Police brutality, Racism, Violence, Fire/Fire injury, Bullying, Blood, Physical abuse, Child abuse, Emotional abuse, Gore, Hate crime, Panic attacks/disorders, and Racial slurs

sahramahtab's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional sad 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

5.0

"The Weight of Blood" by Tiffany D. Jackson is an emotional rollercoaster from start to finish, leaving me in awe of its depth and impact. While labeled as young adult, the themes tackled are undeniably important and resonate far beyond age demographics. The narrative skillfully underscores how microaggressions can build up, leading to explosive consequences—a poignant reflection of real-life dynamics.

The finale, with its devastating consequences, felt like the culmination of actions and the refusal to acknowledge their repercussions. I found myself unsympathetic to the majority of those who met their demise, feeling that it was a direct result of their own actions.

This book served as a powerful teacher, shedding light on issues I might never have encountered otherwise. Learning about the existence of segregated proms in certain parts of the US as recently as 2014 was eye-opening and deeply unsettling.

The dichotomy between Maddy's and Kenny's characters, their differing yet intertwined paths, added layers of complexity to the narrative. Despite the trauma they endure, the ending felt hopeful to me, envisioning Madison and Kendrick finding solace and healing together in a peaceful place.

I struggle to find any criticisms of this book—it's a wild ride that I would recommend to anyone. Tiffany D. Jackson has crafted a masterpiece that challenges, educates, and ultimately leaves a lasting impact on its readers.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Fire/Fire injury, Police brutality, Grief, Racism, Bullying, Hate crime, Blood, Death, Gore, Racial slurs, Injury/Injury detail, Murder, Panic attacks/disorders, Violence, and Death of parent

fkshg8465's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional sad tense medium-paced

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

5.0

From the cover, it was easy to see this would be a retelling of Stephen King’s Carrie. I loved it. I loved the story but didn’t care for the way the story was told through interviews. Really great way to study race. Another book I would like to teach to high school students. Unfortunately, I’m pretty sure Texas has banned good book in the schools. Grrr…for that reason alone, I’m upgrading this to a five.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Injury/Injury detail, Outing, Blood, Death of parent, Gaslighting, Suicide, Bullying, Classism, Emotional abuse, Fire/Fire injury, Gun violence, Hate crime, Racism, Body horror, Panic attacks/disorders, Torture, Abandonment, Child abuse, Death, Gore, Grief, Murder, Police brutality, Physical abuse, Toxic friendship, and Violence

brittanybeereads's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional 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? Yes

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Bullying, Racism, Toxic friendship, Death, Blood, Death of parent, Police brutality, Injury/Injury detail, and Racial slurs

Moderate: Panic attacks/disorders

librarybookscene's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious reflective sad fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Bullying, Child abuse, Death of parent, Death, Body shaming, Emotional abuse, Panic attacks/disorders, Racism, Religious bigotry, and Violence

delphinaris's review against another edition

dark sad medium-paced

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

4.75

the fact that Jules lives is a crime. I needed her dead, yet, here she is, living.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Panic attacks/disorders, Fire/Fire injury, Body horror, Racial slurs, Racism, Violence, Physical abuse, Emotional abuse, Bullying, Blood, Death of parent, and Hate crime

Moderate: Abandonment and Religious bigotry

wrensreadingroom's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional sad tense fast-paced

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Grief, Gore, Gun violence, Racial slurs, Mental illness, Murder, Gaslighting, Abandonment, Adult/minor relationship, Blood, Alcohol, Animal death, Body shaming, Bullying, Classism, Racism, Car accident, Child abuse, Colonisation, Confinement, Cursing, Death, Death of parent, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Fire/Fire injury, Hate crime, Injury/Injury detail, Medical content, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Toxic relationship, Toxic friendship, Police brutality, Pregnancy, Violence, Sexual content, and Vomit

lasafica_reads's review against another edition

dark mysterious medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Racism, Fire/Fire injury, Classism, Suicide, Bullying, Child abuse, Emotional abuse, Police brutality, and Racial slurs

Moderate: Abandonment, Blood, Cancer, Gore, Injury/Injury detail, and Toxic friendship

Minor: Confinement, Panic attacks/disorders, and Religious bigotry

chloseencounter's review against another edition

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? Yes

5.0

This was not only the best book I read this month but one of my new favorite novels of all time. I actually read it twice. The Weight of Blood is a stunning retelling of Stephen King’s Carrie told through the lense of a young black girl in a very racist town. I read this novel and immediately felt this was everything Carrie should’ve been in the first place. The added racial tension gave so much more depth and motivation to each character while keeping the core character archetypes. This book was stunning, emotional, and important. I would recommend The Weight of Blood to literally everyone, though it’s not very graphic I will say it’s painful. I could see why it would be a difficult read for those effected by racism. I actually cried until I thought I was gonna vom near the end but then I still picked this book up and read it a second time this month as well as ordered my own copy

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Bullying, Death of parent, Emotional abuse, Fire/Fire injury, Grief, Murder, Racial slurs, Hate crime, Injury/Injury detail, Police brutality, Confinement, Racism, Violence, Blood, Classism, Cursing, Death, Panic attacks/disorders, and Physical abuse