Reviews tagging 'Blood'

The Storm We Made by Vanessa Chan

27 reviews

shay43geek's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious reflective sad tense medium-paced

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

4.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Physical abuse, Sexual content, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Trafficking, and War

Moderate: Child death

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

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

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

katrinaslibrary's review

challenging dark emotional reflective sad tense slow-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

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcoholism, Genocide, Slavery, Blood, Kidnapping, Grief, Murder, Colonisation, and War

Moderate: Child abuse, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual violence, Trafficking, and Pregnancy

Minor: Racism

This book is set during the Second Sino-Japanese war where the Japanese Imperial Army committed war crimes, across Asia. Please be mindful that for some readers can be triggered by generational trauma.

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: Violence and War

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

Minor: Infidelity and Sexual assault

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