Reviews tagging 'Drug use'

Empire of Wild by Cherie Dimaline

8 reviews

zombiezami's review against another edition

dark sad tense medium-paced

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood, Body horror, Cursing, Car accident, Gaslighting, Grief, Fire/Fire injury, Animal death, Death, Sexual content, Death of parent, Kidnapping, Murder, and Violence

Moderate: Drug abuse, Fatphobia, Stalking, Colonisation, Mental illness, Racism, Religious bigotry, and Sexual violence

Minor: Abandonment, Alcohol, Drug use, Pedophilia, Incest, Infidelity, and Rape

singalana's review against another edition

adventurous dark mysterious 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? Yes

3.25

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Content Warnings

Minor: Addiction, Blood, Sexual content, Death, Kidnapping, Medical content, Vomit, Racial slurs, Religious bigotry, Car accident, Drug use, Fire/Fire injury, Abandonment, Injury/Injury detail, Alcohol, Animal death, Murder, and Violence

mr_cain's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional mysterious sad tense slow-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? It's complicated

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Violence, Religious bigotry, Grief, Cursing, and Drug use

Moderate: Racism, Injury/Injury detail, Fire/Fire injury, Body horror, and Death

Minor: Sexual content, Stalking, Miscarriage, Alcohol, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Blood, and Infidelity

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

lilcoppertop's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional mysterious sad 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? Yes

4.5

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Alcohol, Animal death, Blood, Car accident, Death, Death of parent, Fire/Fire injury, Gaslighting, Violence, Stalking, Sexual assault, Racism, and Mental illness

Minor: Addiction, Drug use, Drug abuse, and Homophobia

betweentheshelves's review against another edition

challenging dark mysterious slow-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

3.5

While this isn't a genre I normally read, I was intrigued by the premise. Plus, Cherie Dimaline is a fantastic writer. This is infused with myth and darkness. At times, it feels like there are too many characters to follow, even though Joan grounds the entire story. And that ending! Dimaline wasn't afraid to end on a bold note. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death, Blood, Cursing, Death of parent, Grief, Kidnapping, Racism, Sexual content, Violence, Gore, and Religious bigotry

Moderate: Car accident and Drug use

readingbetweenthenotes's review against another edition

challenging 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? Yes

4.0

I can't remember ever reading a book about or written by a Native American author (something I'm ashamed of but working now to change). I'm really glad to have started with this book by Cherie Dimaline! Her writing had a hauntingly beautiful quality and I genuinely enjoyed the reading experience.

This book had such a unique premise and was unlike anything I've ever read before. I really felt for the protagonist Joan, who was desperately trying to get her husband back and facing the most fascinating of obstacles.

Empire of Wild truly captivated me from start to finish. The prologue grabbed me instantly and each chapter drew me further into this twisty story. Parts of the book read like an urban legend (with which I've always had a fascination) or an episode of Supernatural (one of my favourite shows). So if those are things you enjoy too, I'd definitely recommend this one!

The book also provided a great insight into Native American culture and I loved learning about the different beliefs and practices of these people. Dimaline did a great job of highlighting and challenging the prejudices still faced by these communities. I also really appreciated the family dynamics that were portrayed.

I won't say anything about the book's ending, other than this book was a JOURNEY! Overall, I'm just very pleased to have read this one and would definitely recommend it, if you like the sound of it!

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Blood, Car accident, Death, Drug use, Grief, Kidnapping, Racism, Religious bigotry, Sexual content, Violence, and Xenophobia

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