Reviews tagging 'Emotional abuse'

Empire of Wild by Cherie Dimaline

6 reviews

lpmooreislandtrees3's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional inspiring 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

4.5

Intriguing book that incorporates indigenous and Canadian themes woven into the story's thrilling plot.

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Sexual content, Colonisation, and Emotional abuse

kumquats87's review against another edition

adventurous dark funny mysterious fast-paced

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

4.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcohol, Racism, Racial slurs, Confinement, Colonisation, Injury/Injury detail, Grief, Violence, Cursing, and Blood

Moderate: Addiction, Sexual content, Car accident, Sexism, Gaslighting, Emotional abuse, and Cultural appropriation

Minor: Animal death, Sexual violence, and Classism

rorikae's review

challenging emotional tense medium-paced

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

4.75

'Empire of Wild' by Cherie Dimaline is an emotional story surrounding one woman's attempt to save her husband. 
Joan believes her husband is dead when she stumbles into a religious tent in the Walmart parking lot and finds a man that looks remarkably like him preaching. But Viktor doesn't remember her and is now going by the name Eugene Wolff. Joan knows that this man is her husband and will stop at nothing to get him back, including taking on the revival group that seems to have brainwashed him and the stories of more than wolves that are lurking in the woods. 
From the first paragraph of this book, I was hooked. Dimaline has an engaging and evocative writing style that clearly paints the world she has created in stark but emotional prose. From the beginning, Joan and each of the supporting characters flew off the page as if they had been plucked from real life. Add to that an enticing mystery as the reader tries to figure out what happened to Viktor right alongside Joan and this story was near perfection. Dimaline does a great job of breathing folklore and a hint of the speculative into a world that is otherwise down to earth. I have been excited to pick up her work for some time and now I can't wait to read everything that she has written. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Grief, Gaslighting, Emotional abuse, Colonisation, Alcohol, Blood, Violence, Sexual content, Racism, and Kidnapping

caseythereader's review against another edition

dark emotional funny mysterious tense fast-paced

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

3.75

 - EMPIRE OF WILD on one level reads as a wild mystery adventure, but look a little closer and it's actually a tale of the horrors of colonization.
- This book is full of messy characters (some of whom I thought could have stood to have a little more page time) and you're rooting for Joan the whole way. I was turning pages as fast as I could, and the final showdown had me gripped.
- The ending seems to have people split, and I can see why - if you read this book, come talk to me about what you think happens! 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Abandonment, Addiction, Alcohol, Alcoholism, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Blood, Body shaming, Child abuse, Colonisation, Cursing, Death, Death of parent, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Fire/Fire injury, Gore, Mental illness, Misogyny, Murder, Racism, Religious bigotry, Sexual content, and Violence

Minor: Ableism, Domestic abuse, Fatphobia, Homophobia, Sexual assault, and Suicidal thoughts

mikki_9's review against another edition

dark emotional tense medium-paced

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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Cursing, Emotional abuse, Confinement, Grief, Racism, Religious bigotry, and Sexual content

Moderate: Violence, Kidnapping, Homophobia, Death, Child abuse, Abortion, Body shaming, and Murder

Minor: Blood and Medical content

thevietvegan's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious medium-paced

• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

I just finished this and I didn't really like it e it was well written, I just don't feel like I enjoyed the plot very much. It was spooky and that was kind of tense and cool, but I feel like plot devices kept cropping up conveniently and there were a lot of unresolved issues.

The antagonist felt too omnipotent to be triumphed so easily.

I did like the allegory of what effect Christianity has on Indigenous communities though, it's not often I see the dominant religion be painted so villainously (maybe I just haven't read enough books that do that, now that I say it out loud I feel like maybe its a lot more common in literature than I think)

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal cruelty, Religious bigotry, Sexual content, Toxic relationship, and Violence

Moderate: Animal death, Body shaming, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Grief, and Homophobia

Minor: Miscarriage, Racial slurs, and Racism