Reviews tagging 'Violence'

MISSja survival by Libba Bray

5 reviews

elliott_the_clementine's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional hopeful reflective sad tense fast-paced

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

4.25

This is maybe the only book of my tweenage years that has truly aged well because not aging well is the whole point of the book. All the characters are stereotypes, the plot feels completely unhinged, and the combination thereof perfectly communicates Bray’s incredulity and precise focus on the ways in which limiting expectations govern our global and personal societies. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Medical content, Racism, Toxic relationship, Toxic friendship, Kidnapping, Sexism, Abandonment, Violence, Transphobia, Gun violence, Blood, Misogyny, Homophobia, Sexual harassment, Medical trauma, Injury/Injury detail, and Xenophobia

Moderate: Infidelity, Sexual assault, and Pregnancy

bumblemee's review against another edition

adventurous 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

3.5

This was such a wild mix of emotions that I'm not quite sure what to make of it. I read Going Bovine a few years back and this one felt a lot alike writing style wise. The humor, the absurdity, the messiness.
I liked a lot of things. Seeing the beauty queens grow and develop their identities, the handling of beauty standards and societys expectations towards girls/women. I think this book can make a lot of teenage girls feel understood and maybe help them reflect on things that are so implicit in a lot of social structures that they feel too normal to be challanged. 
The characters grew on me as well. It was interesting for me to realize how I liked them all the more they became themselves. I felt for them and their individual struggles.
I also liked the amount of work that went into the audio production, like the musical elements.

However, I found this book to be a little messy. There was a little too much going on - I didn't mind that it got absurd, but sometimes I thought it tried to do a little too much at once. 
Also, while some stereotyping made sense in the context of the satire that is this book, other stereotyping didn't. I do think that the author would've done a few things differently if this book came out now instead of 2011 - which was 13 years ago at this point, holy shit. I don't know if I'm simply not aware of similar books existing over a decade ago or if it was - in some aspects at least - a little ahead of its time.

All in all I'd recommend this book, if you are okay with absurdity.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Fatphobia, Violence, Deadnaming, Body shaming, Misogyny, and Transphobia

Moderate: Racism and Sexual content

c_dmckinney's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional funny hopeful mysterious tense 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? Yes

4.75

This was both a fun and painful story. It is well written and hilarious, however it is also very dark at the same time and in part made darker by how relevant it is in today's culture.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Cursing, Homophobia, Transphobia, Deadnaming, Classism, Xenophobia, Eating disorder, Misogyny, and Sexism

Moderate: Death, Genocide, Murder, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , War, Sexism, Alcohol, Animal death, Cursing, Drug use, Dysphoria, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Violence, Gaslighting, Biphobia, Body shaming, Bullying, Outing, Xenophobia, Deadnaming, Fire/Fire injury, Misogyny, and Transphobia

Minor: Body shaming, Vomit, Fatphobia, Racism, Gaslighting, Genocide, Alcohol, Biphobia, Cursing, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Child death, Grief, Transphobia, Violence, Xenophobia, Religious bigotry, Sexual content, War, Abandonment, Classism, Dysphoria, Eating disorder, Fire/Fire injury, Ableism, Blood, Death, Homophobia, and Injury/Injury detail

There is a plane crash and only 13 of 50 girls survive.

sarah984's review against another edition

adventurous funny mysterious medium-paced

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

1.0

This is a dark comedy about a group of teen pageant contestants stranded on an island after a plane crash. Unfortunately, it's just not very funny. The author loves driving already weak jokes into the ground (the trust fund guy with The Corporation says "you misunderestimated me" five or six times, the Borat style jokes with the dictator character go on way too long, the tray in that one girl’s forehead comes up again and again) and the girl power stuff comes off preachy and heavy-handed. Every girl is an embarrassing stereotype and the way the mistreatment of the trans character is brushed off really rubbed me the wrong way.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Deadnaming, Outing, and Transphobia

Moderate: Ableism, Adult/minor relationship, Alcohol, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Biphobia, Body shaming, Bullying, Colonisation, Confinement, Eating disorder, Gun violence, Lesbophobia, Medical content, Mental illness, Misogyny, Sexual assault, Sexual content, and Violence

Minor: Xenophobia, Vomit, Death, and Islamophobia

alisonvh's review against another edition

adventurous funny hopeful inspiring lighthearted mysterious fast-paced

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

5.0

This book is so smart and so funny and I enjoyed it so much! I cannot recommend it highly enough.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Drug use, Violence, Transphobia, and Sexism

Moderate: Ableism

Minor: Eating disorder