Reviews tagging 'Death of parent'

The Fervor by Alma Katsu

5 reviews

deb_is_reading's review

dark emotional mysterious 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? No

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Hate crime, Racism, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Medical trauma, Death of parent, and War

tigger89's review

dark mysterious 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? Yes

2.5

The execution of this book just didn't do it for me. The true meaning behind the fervor infection was clever, but instead of dropping the bomb and moving on with the story, the author lingered on the point, repeating it over and over again. Maybe this was meant to be artistic, but the vibe I came away with was that she didn't trust the reader to get it. That said, I did feel like, at the core, the message behind the plot was not only timely, but actually pretty solid. Each character stood in for a different population, presenting their perspective and demonstrating the good(and harm) possible. I just wish it had been conducted with a lighter touch and less repetition, you know?

I also felt like, while the yokai and jorogumo demon were teased in the description, they weren't the ultimate focus. This was disappointing to me, because I'd been drawn to the book specifically to explore the folklore in a horror setting. Instead, I was bait-and-switched with a completely different sort of horror. It almost seemed like the characters of Meiko and (especially) Aiko were wasted, given their vast potential in the other book that this one was pretending to be, before the white characters came in and made it all about their own feelings. While poignant, somehow I doubt that was the artistic statement the author was going for.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Racial slurs, Racism, and Grief

Moderate: Death of parent

Minor: Alcohol

Spiders.

amandalorianxo's review

dark mysterious sad tense medium-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? Yes

4.0

I immensely enjoyed the different side of WW 2 we rarely often get in fictional books around this time period. I’m speaking about the Japanese experience of being in internment campus during the early 1940’s post Pearl Harbor. This novel combines realism with Japanese mythology and some horror elements infused with some real experiences of xenophobia and even the fear of an epidemic. If you haven’t gotten the chance to pick up this April ‘22 release, I highly recommend checking this out for a diverse outlook on what WW 2 was like for those who called America home in spite of the rest of the world viewing them from a different lens. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Xenophobia

Moderate: Body horror, Death, Racial slurs, and Racism

Minor: Death of parent

ripxreads's review

dark emotional 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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Racial slurs and Racism

Moderate: Child death, Death, Miscarriage, and Death of parent

Minor: Fire/Fire injury and War

ohhthehorrors's review

dark emotional hopeful mysterious sad tense 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

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Child death, Confinement, Death, Hate crime, Miscarriage, Misogyny, Racial slurs, Racism, Sexism, Suicide, Violence, Xenophobia, Antisemitism, Religious bigotry, Death of parent, Murder, Pregnancy, Fire/Fire injury, Gaslighting, and War