Reviews tagging 'Toxic relationship'

Pet by Akwaeke Emezi

4 reviews

gwenswoons's review against another edition

challenging dark sad tense slow-paced

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

5.0

So unusual and truly marvelous in the most literal sense. I LOVED You Made A Fool Of Death With Your Beauty, one of my favorites of the last many years, and thought Vivek Oji was amazing too; but this is my first YA of Emezi’s, and I wasn’t sure what it might be like. But it’s gorgeous - their writing always stuns me and leaves me breathless and this is no different. I thought it was truly incredible, in a work that is so accessible for younger readers, to have language so eloquent and perfumed in the way Emezi’s always is, and to be able to approach the heaviest and most devastating topics of humanity with a light enough touch that a younger reader could live inside this story. I’m not someone who loves fantasy  - I don’t read a lot of sci-fi and fantasy, and sometimes supernatural elements lose me a little bit - but Emezi’s writing is just so beautiful and so compelling at every turn that I didn’t even give a thought to whether or not I believed what was happening (I just: did). Same, somehow, too, with the allegorical/archetypal elements: these could be so obvious and heavy-handed on another writer’s desk, and yet Emezi’s world building and story crafting are so exquisite that every element of the story - every word, every turn of phrase and plot - feels inevitable. Such a gorgeous read, and I thought the audio was gorgeously narrated, too, by Christopher Myers (something about this book as a dark fairytale/ parable worked really beautifully for me in audio format and I feel like Myers really captured for readers that feeling of listening to a story - so good).

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Child abuse, Gaslighting, Blood, Dysphoria, Grief, and Gore

Minor: Child abuse, Incest, Sexual violence, Torture, Toxic relationship, War, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Pedophilia, and Transphobia

tyra16572's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional hopeful informative inspiring mysterious reflective sad tense fast-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

Minor: Sexual harassment, Vomit, Emotional abuse, Toxic relationship, Physical abuse, Child abuse, Bullying, Sexual assault, Panic attacks/disorders, Sexual violence, and Violence

lynxpardinus's review against another edition

adventurous challenging emotional reflective tense

4.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Murder, Child abuse, and Violence

Moderate: Police brutality, Medical content, Sexual violence, Pedophilia, Sexual assault, Panic attacks/disorders, Gaslighting, Racism, Injury/Injury detail, and Incest

Minor: Drug abuse, Emotional abuse, Gun violence, Religious bigotry, Toxic relationship, War, Mental illness, Sexual content, Abandonment, Child death, Forced institutionalization, Mass/school shootings, Ableism, Confinement, Gore, Suicide, Transphobia, and Vomit

Ableism warning is to err on the side of caution, for disability framed as a punishment near the end.

ofbooksandechos's review against another edition

dark emotional inspiring 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? It's complicated

Brilliant and hopeful, but terrifying nonetheless.

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Child abuse, Domestic abuse, Pedophilia, and Toxic relationship