Reviews with content warning for Abandonment - Small Game

Reviews tagging 'Abandonment'

caseythereader's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional sad 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

4.0

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twoesplease's review

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adventurous challenging dark emotional mysterious reflective sad tense fast-paced

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

4.5

A HARD listen, full of suffering and pain and confusion, but nonetheless gripping. Realistic people, set in the hardest situation possible. Would have loved a more fleshed out ending with closure.

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centrifugepolitics's review against another edition

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adventurous dark emotional mysterious tense slow-paced

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

3.5

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kerstynleigh's review

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adventurous challenging dark emotional funny hopeful medium-paced

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

4.5

I chose this book because I heard Blair Braverman on You’re Wrong About, and I’m so glad I did. This was a great first book for the new year. Sad and strange and hopeful.

I’m glad the ending wasn’t ambiguous— I felt like we deserved answers and as the book came to a close, I was worried that the author didn’t agree. I’m glad that wasn’t the case.

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lily1304's review against another edition

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dark medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.25

Excellent use of Checkov's gun but I wanted a more satisfying ending. "Thriller" isn't right - but it is dark and scary and after hearing Braverman on You're Wrong About a few times I think this story really suits her.

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chris_reads's review

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adventurous challenging dark emotional sad tense slow-paced

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

4.0

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mairead_parade's review

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challenging dark tense medium-paced

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

4.5

Totally gripping but not overly plotty, and didn’t feel like anything else I’ve read recently. Braverman makes the reader sit with some dark stuff and grapple with the choices you might make in similar circumstances. I thought Mara was a fascinating character to have as POV - at times she seemed to verge on sociopathic with the way she managed her behavior and emotions in response to others, but later I came to see it as just another survival tactic. I see some other complaints about the ending but I found it fitting for the style of story and would just warn against approaching Small Game like a mystery to be solved.

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hnagarne's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional medium-paced

4.0

i have a lot of questions but had a good time??? contrary to other reviews i think i like the ending and it didn't feel super rushed to me. i wish it had been a little more satisfying, sure, but i liked it.

yeah, we don't find out what happened to the camera crew, but i think i'm okay with that? maybe i am simply an outlier.

i think my favorite bit in the book is when everyone agrees mara should go back to release the caught fish. it's so simple and maybe it's a little heavy-handed, but here it is -
“We’re not running out of time?”
“There’s always time to rescue fish.”
“Shut up.”
“I’m serious,” he said. “No reason to leave them there, if we can help it.”
“They would die anyway.” Mara didn’t mean it. She wanted to see what he said.
“Maybe, but not today.”
for a group of people who got abandoned in the woods... the fact they'll risk their survival to go back and save some fish is just a nice thought. that despite how cruel the production team was -- and how much they've endured since -- they still had a bit of kindness in them.

anyway i loved seeing flem in the dedications & the whole team in the acknowledgments. what good dogs.

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