Reviews tagging 'Animal cruelty'

Travelers Along the Way: A Robin Hood Remix by Aminah Mae Safi

6 reviews

spacerkip's review against another edition

adventurous tense fast-paced

4.0

Robin Hood has been a favorite story of mine since childhood, and I'm happy to add this novel to the list of adaptations I truly enjoyed.

I thought this was a very clever adaptation, and the way the author reimagined the Robin Hood mythos was genuinely delightful. Mirroring the story into a different part of the crusades really served to bring something new to a story that's been retold countless times - expanding upon the same themes, but adding new insights. I also liked how there were chapters sprinkled in from the pov of important political figures - it provided historical context for a time period I (and likely few other readers) only have a vague impression of, and really made it feel like our heroes were skirting through all these big, moving parts.

Since this was published as part of Macmillan's Remixed Classics series, I don't know if there were any limitations placed on the author in terms of length or page count. However, I think the story would have benefited from being longer. One or two more isolated adventures with the group all together would have helped solidify character dynamics, and would have solidified their reputation before the climax. The "original" Robin Hood is a serial story told across many legends and ballads, and I would have liked to see what else this merry band of misfits could get up to.

Even though this book was historical fiction, I'm more eager to get to all the Middle Eastern-inspired fantasy that's on my tbr. This was a lot of fun, and I'm looking forward to reading more things that will scratch a very specific itch in my brain.

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Violence, Religious bigotry, Grief, War, Racism, and Death

Minor: Animal cruelty, Injury/Injury detail, Misogyny, and Antisemitism

sophie221010's review against another edition

adventurous emotional hopeful inspiring sad fast-paced

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

5.0

Loved the ending, perfect and idyllic! 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Violence, Blood, Xenophobia, and War

Moderate: Violence, Colonisation, Animal cruelty, Genocide, Confinement, Death of parent, Hate crime, Injury/Injury detail, Religious bigotry, Torture, and Trafficking

careinthelibrary's review against another edition

adventurous fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot

3.0

 This is fun! A Robin Hood retelling set in twelfth-century Palestine and the surrounding areas (Jerusalem and Jaffa are the most developed settings) with Muslim MCs and a diverse cast of supporting characters. Fun hijinks and considerate, ethical depiction of history behind it. Pretty fast-paced and action-packed, sapphic romance on the sidelines, good narration in the audiobook. This is the first of the "remixed" series and I'm intrigued for sure. I love this reclaiming and re-imagining of dusty old stories, breathing new life and representation into them. 

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Content Warnings

Moderate: War, Confinement, Religious bigotry, Violence, Islamophobia, and Colonisation

Minor: Animal cruelty

zombiezami's review against another edition

adventurous emotional funny hopeful reflective tense medium-paced

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Murder, Genocide, Colonisation, Violence, Religious bigotry, Grief, Confinement, Blood, and War

Moderate: Child death and Alcohol

Minor: Police brutality, Injury/Injury detail, and Animal cruelty

disnelyse's review against another edition

adventurous emotional tense fast-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? No

4.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Genocide, Religious bigotry, and Islamophobia

Moderate: War and Animal cruelty

Minor: Antisemitism and Death of parent

decklededgess's review against another edition

adventurous emotional funny hopeful inspiring 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

4.0

trigger warnings: murder, war, torture, physical injury, death of family

Well I did not expect THIS when I heard about diverse retellings of classics. I must say this really set me up with some high expectations for the rest of these because holy shit. Aminah Mae Safi continues to stun with her work. 

This is a fictional take on the Third Crusades, a hypothesis of what would happen if a benevolent vigilante like Robin Hood took charge of diffusing the contested Holy Land. 

While the book spent a hefty amount of time on the found family let’s collect strays and adopt them vibes (WHICH I LOVE) I was also so into the political side of things.

It’s slow paced and painstakingly well thought out in terms of motivations, adversity, hail mary escape plans and more. And the villain? Girl boss meanie? Sure. Was she still a vile asshole and wasn’t glorified? Oh hell yea. We love balance. 

Superb work right 

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Abandonment, Colonisation, Gore, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, War, Animal cruelty, Blood, Death, Religious bigotry, and Torture