Reviews tagging 'Violence'

The Storm We Made by Vanessa Chan

53 reviews

pran's review against another edition

adventurous dark sad 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

2.0

This is a very ambitious book. It is trying to be a historical, espionage, family-drama, wartime thriller.

Unfortunately I think the tension-building could've been better as I just did not feel it was very propulsive. I think this was due to a combination of the writing style, character-building and pacing. 
I didn't feel attached to the characters, I think because Cecily was really just built of everything she hadn't done or wasn't, rather than qualities or traits she had. I thought the characterisation of the children was much better, and I certainly felt more attached to them and they felt more life-like.

However, I think the book was too short to actually explore everything it did, and had it been longer, it would've made more sense and felt less stilted.

Abel's alcoholism, Yuki's abuse and disfigurement and Gordon's death

felt like they were basically just trauma porn and plot-driven, rather than experiences that the characters go through which develop them. You could see through almost every interaction in the book as being purposeful for the plot rather than being seamlessly weaved together and capturing early 1940s Malaysia.

And then the ending just felt hastily tied together because books like this need to have a neat ending. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, Alcoholism, Death, Violence, and Death of parent

Moderate: War, Child abuse, and Sexual content

internationalreads's review against another edition

adventurous dark informative sad 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

3.0

This one didn’t quite work for me. The characters felt one-dimensional and like they were written for the white gaze. I appreciated the setting in WWII Malaya though, which we need more books about.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Injury/Injury detail, Fire/Fire injury, Colonisation, Slavery, Blood, Confinement, Gore, Sexual violence, Child abuse, Child death, Sexual content, Death of parent, Toxic relationship, Abandonment, Addiction, Alcohol, Alcoholism, Animal death, Death, Racism, Grief, Infidelity, Medical content, Mental illness, Misogyny, Pregnancy, Sexism, Murder, Rape, Sexual assault, Terminal illness, Sexual harassment, Torture, Violence, War, and Vomit

emorreti's review

dark emotional reflective sad fast-paced

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

4.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: War, Violence, and Rape

audaroundtheworld's review

dark emotional tense medium-paced

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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual assault, Infidelity, Violence, Rape, War, and Murder

evawondergem's review against another edition

challenging dark informative sad slow-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

3.5

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Racial slurs, Racism, Murder, Child death, Toxic relationship, Xenophobia, Pregnancy, War, and Violence

jasminegalsreadinglog's review

challenging dark emotional informative tense medium-paced

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

4.0

The Storm We Made by Vanessa Chan, a historical fiction, is a story of a family who is affected by the Japanese invasion of Malaya, currently Malaysia. It's a story of survival amid the knowledge that one evil was traded for another.

Set in the period 1930s and 1940s, this novel is Cecily's and her children's story. Alternating between timelines and characters, this book gives us a glimpse of both the British rule and the Japanese rule of Malaya during this period. 

This book is not an easy read by no means. But then, topics of colonialism, marginalization, and colorism are not supposed to be easy. Topics of slave labor camps, racial profiling, and child exploitation are handled this book. My heart literally broke into pieces for Jasmin and Yuki. Without expressing the emotions of these characters, the author has conveyed a lot because the reader is prompted to think.

Thank you, Simon Element, MarySue Rucci Books, for this book.

CW: Infidelity, Spying, SA, graphic description of child abuse, betrayal, starvation, death

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Slavery, Blood, Sexual violence, Bullying, Violence, War, Kidnapping, Confinement, Child abuse, Sexual assault, Pedophilia, Classism, Racial slurs, Infidelity, Animal death, Racism, Hate crime, Rape, Grief, Death, Cultural appropriation, and Colonisation

beranceknows's review

challenging dark emotional informative sad slow-paced

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

2.25

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Content Warnings

Moderate: War, Racial slurs, Violence, Trafficking, Misogyny, Vomit, Torture, Sexual harassment, Rape, Sexual assault, Racism, Physical abuse, Child abuse, Drug use, Sexism, Pedophilia, Excrement, Pregnancy, Blood, Sexual violence, Drug abuse, Classism, Alcohol, Xenophobia, Death of parent, Self harm, Injury/Injury detail, Infidelity, Alcoholism, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, Emotional abuse, Hate crime, Police brutality, Medical trauma, Kidnapping, Death, Confinement, Colonisation, and Child death

theoceanrose's review

emotional sad slow-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? It's complicated

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: War and Violence

Moderate: Rape, Death, Death of parent, Child death, and Blood

Minor: Infidelity and Sexual assault

soljovis's review

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Rape, Sexual violence, and Violence

Moderate: Injury/Injury detail, Child death, Death, Alcoholism, and Pedophilia

bookmaddie's review

emotional mysterious sad tense fast-paced

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

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: War, Torture, Child death, Death of parent, Pregnancy, Sexual violence, Violence, Vomit, Blood, and Death