Reviews tagging 'Gaslighting'

Pet by Akwaeke Emezi

41 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

ebp's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional hopeful medium-paced

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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Violence, Injury/Injury detail, Blood, Grief, Child abuse, and Panic attacks/disorders

Moderate: Gaslighting, Dysphoria, Sexual violence, Pedophilia, Rape, and Child abuse

Minor: Physical abuse

pm_me_book_recs's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional hopeful inspiring tense medium-paced

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

4.0

How can something be absolutely heart-shattering and optimistic at the same time??

Beautiful portrayals of Autistic, Neurodivergent, Disabled, Queer, and Non-binary people. No one being singled out for any of the above, disability being accommodated naturally, and queerness is normalized. 

The idea of "monsters" is a great way to convey dangerous traits and is probably an easier way for kids to understand how racism, ablism, pedophilia can curdle and consume when not addressed. I absolutely loved Jam's pushback of eradicating monsters- in an age of purity politics, we absolutely need revision! True justice over prosecution, and the elimination of the prison industrial-complex. Big big topics scaled to be digestible for adults and kids alike. I am just so impressed.

Mentions and allusions to pedophilia and violence against children, but none really depicted or described. Gaslighting referring to adults not believing a monster is again present. 

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Child abuse, Pedophilia, and Gaslighting

Minor: Self harm and Panic attacks/disorders

guessgreenleaf's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional hopeful inspiring mysterious reflective sad tense fast-paced

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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Minor: Grief, Sexual assault, Transphobia, Blood, Pedophilia, Child abuse, Gaslighting, Dysphoria, and Body horror

te_ss_i's review against another edition

dark emotional fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes

3.5

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Gaslighting, Emotional abuse, Panic attacks/disorders, Child abuse, Pedophilia, Dysphoria, Violence, Injury/Injury detail, and Transphobia

Minor: Rape

livelaughlesbian99's review against another edition

challenging dark sad slow-paced

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Gaslighting

Moderate: Sexual assault and Child abuse

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.

oddlyghoul's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional hopeful inspiring mysterious reflective sad fast-paced

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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood, Child abuse, Dysphoria, Panic attacks/disorders, Pedophilia, and Violence

Minor: Gun violence, Police brutality, Transphobia, Death, Emotional abuse, Forced institutionalization, Gaslighting, Genocide, Ableism, Religious bigotry, Addiction, Adult/minor relationship, Antisemitism, Child abuse, Colonisation, Cultural appropriation, Drug abuse, Classism, Drug use, Hate crime, Homophobia, Incest, Islamophobia, Violence, and War

modernmatilda's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional reflective sad tense slow-paced

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

3.0

Hmm I have mixed feelings about this. 

On one hand, NPR compared it to Wrinkle in Time (my fav) and I very much think it's a readalike. It has biblical undertones, kids having to handle things with the adults help, and this overall feeling of doom.

As another reviewer wrote, "Pet is the gorgeous story of a young black trans woman taking it into her own hands to see the unseen, and to protect the vulnerable, even when it means upsetting the balance of her life.".

I loved the first half; watching Pet come out of the painting, getting to know Jam, seeing them interact with other characters through sign language, it was all fantastic. 

But I had no idea this story was explicitly about child abuse. The emotions in this book were heartbreaking and big and messy and raw and HEAVY. I don't know if the message was clear and helpful for a middle grade reader... 

I thought the "perfect world can still be impect, need to grow, and have hidden flaws" was another sad part of the book. The story deserves the accolades it has received for its originality, representation, and heart.

But overall, it made me feel hopeless...

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Physical abuse, Adult/minor relationship, Child abuse, Sexual violence, Sexual assault, Pedophilia, Gaslighting, and Emotional abuse

abbyluvsfrogs444's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional inspiring mysterious reflective tense fast-paced

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

5.0

I am in complete awe. What a brilliant novel. I will be thinking about this book until the end of time. Perfect. Just perfect.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Gaslighting, and Grief

Moderate: Body horror, Blood, and Physical abuse

Minor: Cursing and Vomit