Reviews tagging 'Suicide attempt'

Rainbow Black by Maggie Thrash

4 reviews

savshelfinger's review

challenging dark emotional 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

4.25

great novel to disappear into but NOT a light read 

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Murder, Adult/minor relationship, and Transphobia

Moderate: Suicide, Suicide attempt, Homophobia, Addiction, and Bullying

Minor: Drug abuse

readingwithgoose's review against another edition

dark emotional sad medium-paced

2.5

The writing is really good and I think the story was told well. I just felt no joy while reading it. Not quite "trauma-porn", but everything just kept getting worse and darker and idk. Don't recommend if you want a fun read.

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Homophobia, Sexual harassment, Violence, Grief, Gore, Pedophilia, Self harm, Murder, Suicide attempt, Death, Lesbophobia, and Outing

Moderate: Drug use, Drug abuse, Injury/Injury detail, Religious bigotry, Transphobia, Addiction, Bullying, and Blood

caseythereader's review

challenging dark emotional sad medium-paced

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

4.25

Thanks to Harper Perennial for the free copy of this book.

 - Whew, RAINBOW BLACK is a ride. I was fully gripped from page one and couldn’t read it fast enough.
- It’s extremely dark and gruesome, but also filled with black humor and little bread crumbs dropped to keep you wanting to read one more chapter.
- Every character in this book is a complicated person. You can fully understand why they are acting the way they are, and yet they are doing horrible, villainous things. It’s really a feat. (It’s also extremely queer.)
- I do want to note that a big chunk of this book is set among teenagers in 1990, and the language reflects that. It’s a bit shocking to read homophobic and ableist slurs tossed around so casually now, but it is true to what I remember of the time. 

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Death, Gun violence, Homophobia, Lesbophobia, Misogyny, Deadnaming, Confinement, Drug abuse, Self harm, Suicide, Abandonment, Addiction, Adult/minor relationship, Suicide attempt, Ableism, Cursing, Injury/Injury detail, Alcohol, Blood, Child death, Gore, Grief, Murder, and Transphobia

Moderate: Dementia, Racial slurs, and Fatphobia

Minor: Antisemitism and Cancer

lauravm's review

dark emotional tense medium-paced

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

4.0

Life has dealt young Lacey Bond a bleak hand. Bleak is not strong enough, let's call it torturous. Accused, abused, and utterly alone, Lacey faces a journey through unfathomable twists, and she can rely only on her own intelligence and an icy will to survive. 

“Rainbow Black”  touches every dark corner: pedophilia, bullying, addiction, murder, pack mentality, deceit, suicide, exploitation of the most vulnerable, homophobia, and crimes of every degree. I probably left something out. Somehow, Thrash finds beauty in the morass, bringing it all together in a strangely satisfying way without relying on neatly tied ends or miraculous resolutions. 

The “couldn't put it down” factor in this one is strong.

Thrash’s character development in “Rainbow Black” is fascinating; none of these people are going to be who readers want them to be, protagonist and villains alike (and hardly anyone in fits neatly into either category). While the story involves much evil and harm, love also exists in all its complicated glory. Without revealing any spoilers, it's both ironic and triumphant to say that Lacey stays true to her identity as an independent, queer, headstrong survivor.

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Murder, Pedophilia, Adult/minor relationship, and Suicide attempt