Reviews tagging 'Abortion'

Vox by Christina Dalcher

8 reviews

danimacuk's review against another edition

dark reflective sad tense medium-paced

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

3.5

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Murder, Religious bigotry, Infidelity, Misogyny, Pregnancy, and Sexism

Moderate: Dementia, Gun violence, Death, Homophobia, Slavery, and Violence

Minor: Abortion, Sexual content, Medical trauma, Alcohol, Confinement, and Cursing

angelofthetardis's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious tense slow-paced

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

4.0

I'll be totally honest, when I first looked at this I was pretty sure I wouldn't enjoy it. But actually, it's another one of those terrifying dystopian novels that, if you squint, isn't actually that outlandish at all. Imagine that every woman you know is prevented from working, every girl's education is limited to basic maths and home economics (no reading or writing), and every female is limited to speaking just 100 words per day on pain of electrocution. How do you even begin to start fighting back?

The plot feels like quite a slow burn; it's certainly not an action packed storyline, but even within the fairly domestic setting there is something about the way this is written that keeps you engaged. In my opinion, it's actually the stories of the main character's oldest and youngest child that really cry out to you as a reader; seeing a teenage boy influenced into 'drinking the Kool-Aid', not just through peer pressure but through educational indoctrination and media bias feels so real and relatable, particularly considering the issues the US are currently experiencing. And the instinct to scream at the unfairness of a little girl suffering a nightmare and not being able to call out for her mummy  then celebrating when she wins an award for saying the fewest words in a day... it's heartbreaking. 

The book reads like the author looks at those of a religious persuasion and is genuinely perplexed at how their beliefs lead to such fanatical behaviour.  Now, clearly that is not reflective of every person of faith, but the author has done a very good job at illustrate the 'extreme' end of Christian conservatism in the US (at least, it's recognisable from a Brit's POV!) It's also a great social commentary on the importance of using your voice when you can; vote when you have the opportunity, stand up for your rights and the rights of others and take an interest in current affairs, politics and the world around you so you can try to make a difference, rather than getting stuck in a situation you don't like without ever having said a word.

This book is very much the author writing ehat she knows; her accreditation as a neurolinguist is stated in the 'About the Author' section. While it does make for interesting reading, at the same time her knowledge does shine through in the use of technical jargon and other elements. As it is quite a niche field of interest, it does make the book a little hard to follow in places and a little 'mad scientist-y' in the resolution. But overall it's still a very readable and understandable book.

I was also slightly disappointed by the ending. I appreciate that the story is told from one character's perspective, but that does mean that the denouement isn't witnessed firsthand and so the key scene is actually just referred to in a vague conversation between two characters. After that slow build, it would have been nice to see the outcome firsthand . 

Pleasantly surprised by this!

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexism, Misogyny, Suicide attempt, Medical content, and Religious bigotry

Moderate: Animal cruelty, Cursing, Homophobia, Alcohol, Lesbophobia, Death, Animal death, Gun violence, and Infidelity

Minor: Racism, Sexual content, Pregnancy, Abortion, and Blood

sanikaaa___'s review

adventurous challenging dark tense fast-paced

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

3.5

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal cruelty, Misogyny, Medical content, and Sexism

Moderate: Torture

Minor: Abortion and Infidelity

delta1juliet's review

challenging dark emotional tense fast-paced

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

4.0

A true horror novel.

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Misogyny, Religious bigotry, Gun violence, Sexism, Forced institutionalization, Hate crime, Infidelity, Injury/Injury detail, and Pregnancy

Moderate: Vomit, Alcohol, Murder, and Genocide

Minor: Sexual content, Abortion, and War

amberrenfrey's review against another edition

adventurous challenging emotional mysterious tense fast-paced

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

5.0

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcohol, Violence, Sexual content, Rape, Pregnancy, Physical abuse, Murder, Police brutality, Misogyny, Injury/Injury detail, Medical content, Lesbophobia, Homophobia, Fire/Fire injury, Forced institutionalization, Vomit, Transphobia, Torture, Suicidal thoughts, Sexual assault, Sexism, Religious bigotry, Cursing, Suicide, Suicide attempt, Slavery, Sexual violence, Gun violence, Death, Abortion, Biphobia, and Domestic abuse

gemma7's review against another edition

challenging dark informative reflective sad tense fast-paced

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

3.75

4 Stars is probably a bit of a stretch but it is what it is.

I was really enjoying the book but the ending was not IT!

Why is everything told and not shown?

Stevens rescue, Del's staged arrest, Poe working undercover, more details on the resistance

These things were important to the story yet we never know how they happen.
Some things were too convenient to be true 

all the right people just happened to be part of the resistance, Lin and Jackie kept trapped in the same building Jean was working in

 

Also, Olivia was at Patrick's funeral? Surely she couldn't have survived what happened to her?? Unless it was her one handed ghost.

 

Still quite impressive for a debut novel.

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Torture, Violence, Injury/Injury detail, Murder, Sexism, Suicide, Medical content, Death, Forced institutionalization, Infertility, and Misogyny

Moderate: Pregnancy and Homophobia

Minor: Abortion, Blood, Self harm, and Sexual content

cyrusk12's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional reflective sad 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? No

5.0

A must read. Christina Dalcher shows the importance of always standing up and speaking out. How quickly things can take a turn for the worse and the power of women. Such a well written and page turning novel. 

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Abortion, Bullying, Confinement, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Forced institutionalization, Hate crime, Homophobia, Infidelity, Physical abuse, Police brutality, Pregnancy, Self harm, and Violence

whatellieread's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense medium-paced

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

3.5

“Her speech is like music, but the lyrics are all wrong.”

I was so intrigued by the concept of this one from the second I saw it in a second-hand bookshop last year. I haven’t read much, if any, dystopian fiction since I was a teenager, but I thoroughly enjoyed this one and it reminded me of how much I love the “what if this *did* happen?” element of reading a dystopian novel. 

There was a lot I loved about this book - particularly the emotion built up throughout, and Christina Dalcher’s writing style. The imagery at some points was INCREDIBLE. I was, however, disappointed with the ending. What felt like a well-paced, thought-out build up culminated in a rushed, somewhat anticlimactic ending. That being said, I did still enjoy the book, and liked the build up enough to still consider this a 4 star read, despite the ending. Additionally, as someone with a degree focussed entirely around the power of language, I was particularly excited by the concept of the book, and really enjoyed the inclusion of some linguistic details.

Overall an enjoyable read and I would definitely read more by this author in future.

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Homophobia, Misogyny, Self harm, and Suicide attempt

Minor: Abortion

Animal testing,