Reviews tagging 'Bullying'

We Ride Upon Sticks by Quan Barry

6 reviews

elderwoodreads's review against another edition

dark funny mysterious reflective slow-paced

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

5.0

This is the most unique book I read this year, possibly ever. Bray's writing style was a little odd at first but once I was in I was in. Everything I have found listed as cons by other readers were pros to me. I loved the plural first person narration, the slow burn, and the overly verbose descriptions. Please give this one a try. 

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Stalking, Body horror, Bullying, Cursing, Infidelity, Animal death, Eating disorder, Child abuse, Injury/Injury detail, Adult/minor relationship, Fire/Fire injury, Alcohol, and Homophobia

Minor: Blood, Misogyny, Outing, Pregnancy, Racism, Sexual assault, Drug use, Sexual harassment, Vomit, Medical content, Classism, Death of parent, and Racial slurs

talonsontypewriters's review against another edition

funny lighthearted 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? It's complicated

2.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcohol

Moderate: Sexual content, Fire/Fire injury, Pedophilia, Body shaming, Misogyny, Animal death, Bullying, Drug use, Racism, Stalking, Homophobia, Sexism, Medical content, Injury/Injury detail, and Religious bigotry

Minor: Fatphobia, Racial slurs, War, Gun violence, Sexual assault, Excrement, Terminal illness, Pregnancy, Death, Cancer, Infidelity, Rape, Lesbophobia, Vomit, Child death, and Suicide

saintyeehaw's review against another edition

funny mysterious reflective 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

2.75

Had to really force myself to finish this one as the writing style confused me a lot of the time. Despite only being 360 pages, this book feels really long for some reason (30+ page chapters?). The witchcraft was cool and cute in equal measure, but the sports talk was very boring for me personally. I liked several of the characters but since the focus kept changing between the whole team, I never felt like I got to really know any of them. Unfortunately, by the end I was also completely done with the romanticization of high school girls in sexual relationships with adult men and was ready to put the book down and never pick it up again.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcohol, Adult/minor relationship, Fire/Fire injury, Racism, Religious bigotry, Sexual content, Animal death, Bullying, Cursing, Injury/Injury detail, Infidelity, Stalking, and Toxic friendship

Minor: Death, Drug use, Homophobia, Lesbophobia, Medical content, Toxic relationship, and Gun violence

professorbadger's review against another edition

dark funny fast-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? It's complicated

3.5

I have tremendously mixed feelings about this book. It was a great idea (with a truly perfect title!), and many of the story elements were enjoyable. I enjoyed the cast of characters and their different takes on the world. With a strong editor to force the author to cut about 10% across the board, including the handful of jokes that didn’t really land, it would have been so, so much better. As is, it’s more of a mixed bag. I found the ending stronger than the beginning, so if you start reading and aren’t sure (like me), it may help to know that it *does* get stronger. 

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Content Warnings

Minor: Adult/minor relationship, Bullying, and Racism

peachani's review against another edition

adventurous lighthearted mysterious medium-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

2.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Cultural appropriation, Cursing, Fire/Fire injury, Infidelity, and Stalking

Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Body shaming, Bullying, Cultural appropriation, Homophobia, Lesbophobia, Racism, Sexual harassment, and Violence

Minor: Alcohol, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Blood, and Vomit

yavin_iv's review against another edition

adventurous funny 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? Yes

3.75

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Alcohol, Homophobia, Infidelity, Racism, Sexual content, Drug use, Bullying, Blood, and Animal death

Minor: Rape, Pregnancy, Death of parent, and Lesbophobia