Reviews tagging 'Sexual content'

The Weight of Blood by Tiffany D. Jackson

19 reviews

thisisemily's review against another edition

dark sad tense medium-paced

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

4.5

The Weight of Blood is a modern re-telling of Carrie centered around systemic racism and the impact that these outdated and backwoods values have on the youth of our nation.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Cultural appropriation, Death, Emotional abuse, Physical abuse, Mental illness, Injury/Injury detail, Racism, Religious bigotry, Sexual content, Toxic friendship, Violence, Racial slurs, Bullying, Child abuse, Domestic abuse, Hate crime, Gun violence, Gore, Police brutality, Forced institutionalization, Blood, and Classism

talonsontypewriters's review against another edition

dark emotional 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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Racism, Murder, Blood, Gore, Death, Toxic friendship, Child abuse, Physical abuse, Injury/Injury detail, Fire/Fire injury, Emotional abuse, Police brutality, Bullying, Racial slurs, Hate crime, Violence, and Religious bigotry

Moderate: Child death, Car accident, Gun violence, Grief, Sexism, Misogyny, Infidelity, and Death of parent

Minor: Slavery, Sexual content, Cancer, Vomit, Alcohol, Fatphobia, Pregnancy, and Animal death

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

bites_of_books's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional mysterious 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

This was a fantastic book that delves into social horror. This is really about what fear can do to people who feel like things are getting out of their control. We follow Maddie, a young girl who passes as white and is suddenly found out to be Black. This starts a series of events that start with Maddie finding out she has the power to move things with her mind and end with a tragic prom night to top it all, many years later, a true crime podcast that's trying to find out what "really happened" that night. 

The supernatural aspect of this book was done so well, it doesn't overpower our main character and also gives us a lot of intrigue as to what really is happening with her powers. This has been described as a Carrie retelling and I feel like it keeps the spirit of Carrie while Jackson gives it her own twists and style. 

I listened to the audiobook, which was awesome because it has a whole production with almost a full cast, and really helped immerse me in the story. 

This is a very difficult book to read because there is a lot of outright racism, bigotry, mysoginy, etc etc. Do take care when reading, check for all content warnings! 

I'd recommend this to anyone who enjoys horror that focuses more on the horror that humans are capable of and also if you want characters who are multidimensional and who go beyond what you expect from them. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Gaslighting, Gore, Body horror, Bullying, Grief, Gun violence, Blood, Murder, Child abuse, Classism, Emotional abuse, Physical abuse, Cultural appropriation, Death, Death of parent, Fire/Fire injury, Police brutality, Self harm, Toxic relationship, Hate crime, Injury/Injury detail, Misogyny, Racial slurs, Racism, Religious bigotry, Sexual content, Sexism, Toxic friendship, and Violence

natnat_7's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious sad tense medium-paced

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

4.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Gore, Racial slurs, Blood, Fire/Fire injury, Cursing, Death, Death of parent, Religious bigotry, Slavery, Suicide, Car accident, Ableism, Child abuse, Misogyny, Racism, Emotional abuse, Sexual content, Sexual harassment, Toxic friendship, Violence, Toxic relationship, Injury/Injury detail, Classism, Domestic abuse, Bullying, Genocide, Gun violence, Hate crime, Murder, Physical abuse, Police brutality, Sexism, and Vomit

emzhay's review against another edition

dark emotional reflective 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? Yes

5.0

“You said I was powerful.” 

I was in tears. Tiffany D Jackson put her whole foot in this book. She seamlessly weaved so many aspects and experiences with racism together and presented it with dynamic and engaging storytelling. I devoured this book in two days. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death of parent, Emotional abuse, Fire/Fire injury, Injury/Injury detail, Racism, Child abuse, Blood, Hate crime, Police brutality, Racial slurs, Bullying, Child death, and Physical abuse

Moderate: Gore

Minor: Sexual content and Ableism

vanadiumbean's review against another edition

dark sad tense slow-paced

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

2.75

The horror in this is mostly quarantined to the back quarter of the book. 
It's a faithful retelling of the events of Carrie. 
The prose is functional, but it started to drag the longer the book went on. I noticed the author has a habit of tagging on these little "filter" phrases ("it seemed like," "he might have felt") that pulled me out of the flow of narrative. 
I enjoyed the faux-multimedia aspect of the book and the dramatic irony, although I wish it had been used to better effect. I also, and this is a more personal issue, found the "true crime (but also ooky spooky paranormal)" slant to the media as pretty distasteful, especially given that in-universe the events of Bloody Prom are less than a decade old. I also found it hard to read how seriously we were meant to take the "Maddy Did It" podcast.

The whole "brought on people to talk really vaguely about how real and also Christian Telekinesis is made me roll my eyes. I personally don't care for them trying to make the events seem Grounded in Science, because the introduction of kooks just made the events seem absurd rather than Potentially Real.

 
Ultimately, it's just kind of okay. I think where it works best is the conflict between all the teen characters and the descriptions of prom. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Bullying, Hate crime, Injury/Injury detail, Physical abuse, Racism, Blood, Child death, Death, and Emotional abuse

Moderate: Religious bigotry, Toxic friendship, Animal death, and Police brutality

Minor: Alcohol, Gun violence, Fire/Fire injury, Suicide, Racial slurs, Death of parent, Sexual content, Murder, Cursing, and Car accident

ashylibrarian's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional 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? Yes

4.5

Another stellar novel from Tiffany D. Jackson.

This modern-day Carrie retelling brings in classic Stephen King pops with the well-known Tiffany D. Jackson surprises.

I have not read Carrie, but I believe I watched the original movie a few years ago. Jackson did a fantastic job creating a modern retelling of this horror story while integrating in important conversations around race and the oppression that Black individuals still face today. This story may be fantasy but it is relevant. The events take place in 2014, not too far back from where we are today, though we are still seeing the racial bullying, the white supremacy mindset, and the horrific treatment of black folks (male-presenting, specifically) by police officers.  

Like many have said before me, though I knew mostly what the ending would bring, I was not able to put this book down. Jackson expertly knows how to keep a reader invested in the story.

I also want to note that this book does come with a heavy content warning list, so please glace over that before reading if you feel this book might be triggering in any way. 

Thank you, Ms. Jackson, for creating yet another powerful, emotional, relevant, and capturing story. I will absolutely be recommending this to my readers in the library. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death of parent, Bullying, Physical abuse, Injury/Injury detail, Toxic friendship, Body horror, Racism, Gaslighting, Racial slurs, Confinement, Child abuse, Classism, Child death, Murder, Emotional abuse, Gore, Violence, Police brutality, Death, Blood, Hate crime, and Religious bigotry

Moderate: Suicide, Fire/Fire injury, Toxic relationship, and Gun violence

Minor: Sexual content, Abandonment, Cancer, Animal death, Cursing, and Alcohol

summer_19_'s review against another edition

dark mysterious sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• 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

I literally read this book in one day because I couldn't put it down. I did have to take tiny breaks sometimes because the scenes depicting racism were a little graphic. However, I think that was the point. I also like how the ending was open and ambiguous. Also everyone in this book was the absolute worst except Kenny, Maddy, and Kali.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Racial slurs, Racism, Murder, and Child abuse

Moderate: Emotional abuse and Panic attacks/disorders

Minor: Sexual content, Toxic friendship, and Alcohol

hubes's review against another edition

dark medium-paced

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Gore, Police brutality, Child death, Racism, Blood, Bullying, Emotional abuse, Fire/Fire injury, Gaslighting, Racial slurs, and Injury/Injury detail

Minor: Sexual content