Reviews tagging 'Blood'

A Council of Dolls by Mona Susan Power

3 reviews

caseythereader's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional reflective sad 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: Alcohol, Blood, Colonisation, Animal death, Child abuse, Child death, Cursing, Racism, Genocide, Murder, Panic attacks/disorders, Death, Forced institutionalization, Addiction, Alcoholism, Confinement, Death of parent, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Fire/Fire injury, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Physical abuse, and Violence

bookmaddie's review

adventurous challenging dark emotional hopeful mysterious reflective sad 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? It's complicated

3.75

I saw this one on the NBA long list and was intrigued by the premise, so to the library I went! This book is told in four parts, following women in the same family and how different dolls helped each of them in moments of crisis.

I was a bit surprised that most of the book was written from the perspective of a child, and I was really into it at first. But as the story followed different women, I found the young voices a bit repetitive and indefinite. Even so, certain parts stood out, especially the historical stories that took place in different boarding schools. So harrowing and heartrending.

I enjoyed the nesting doll structure, which allowed us to be introduced to a woman in one section, and then get her perspective in the next section. I’ve seen this structure in some other books that explore generational trauma, and I’ve enjoyed it the most in this novel. I do wonder if another method of storytelling would be equally effective but more varied.. Guess I’ll have to keep reading to find out if anyone else has written something different!

This novel beautifully explores themes of healing, understanding, and intuition. The last part was especially touching and dug into how generational trauma is passed down, and what healing could look like. This wasn’t a standout novel for me, but I appreciated the time I got to spend with the story. If the premise sounds interesting to you, I’d definitely give it a go!

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood, Injury/Injury detail, Murder, Violence, Confinement, and Child abuse

readingwithkaitlyn's review

dark reflective sad medium-paced

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

4.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Racism, Child abuse, Death of parent, Violence, Death, Child death, Forced institutionalization, Alcoholism, and Religious bigotry

Moderate: Infidelity, Terminal illness, Hate crime, Domestic abuse, Gun violence, Physical abuse, Confinement, Sexual violence, Genocide, Racial slurs, Murder, Colonisation, Blood, Sexual harassment, Fatphobia, Mental illness, Injury/Injury detail, Body horror, Grief, and Emotional abuse

Minor: Pregnancy, Sexual content, Miscarriage, War, Excrement, Slavery, Vomit, Ableism, Rape, Incest, Kidnapping, Pedophilia, Fire/Fire injury, Animal death, and Suicide

Mention of serial killer, segregation, Korean War, boarding schools, Dakota 38, Whitestone Hill, hangings, Wounded Knee, Carlisle, and starvation.