Reviews tagging 'Child death'

Indifferent Stars Above: The Harrowing Saga of a Donner Party Bride by Daniel James Brown

126 reviews

littlelotto's review against another edition

4.0

adventurous challenging dark emotional inspiring reflective sad tense medium-paced

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death, Child death, Death, Genocide, Gore, Gun violence, Hate crime, Mental illness, Racism, Blood, Grief, Cannibalism, Medical trauma, Death of parent, Murder, Colonisation, War, Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Child death, Fire/Fire injury

Survival, Oregon trail, cannibalism, stranded, hypothermia

gcwolf98's review against another edition

4.75

adventurous challenging dark emotional hopeful informative inspiring reflective sad tense medium-paced

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death, Child death, Death, Mental illness, Racism, Suicidal thoughts, Violence, Excrement, Grief, Cannibalism, Medical trauma, Death of parent, Murder, Abandonment, Colonisation, War, Injury/Injury detail

Content is put in a very informative way. I appreciated it was not glorifying the tragedy.

readingrubia's review against another edition

3.75

adventurous challenging dark emotional informative sad tense medium-paced

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death, Child death, Cannibalism, Death of parent

bookishkittennook's review against another edition

4.0

adventurous challenging dark hopeful informative reflective sad tense slow-paced

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I chose this particular audiobook at random after exhausting my usual podcasts, and it turned out to be incredibly interesting, albeit with heavy subject matter. The author’s main focus of his research is Sarah Graves, one of the lesser-known survivors of the event known as The Forlorn Hope. Despite not having many direct accounts from Sarah herself, Brown has done extensive research on her, her family, and other settlers who made the trek to California in 1846. He also includes a relevant background that creates a fuller picture of Westward expansion and what choices ultimately led to the deaths of so many on the expedition to California. Brown incorporates how the science of survival played a role in who would potentially live while others perished.

When it comes to historical events like the tragedy of the Donner Party, it is important to consider the factors that led to it. Brown highlights the aggressive push by the U.S for westward expansion, the war to claim California as a territory from Mexico, and the misguided greed and ambition of individuals. The settlers, particularly the men, are not entirely faultless for their predicament in the mountains, and Brown does not sugarcoat the facts. He provides detailed descriptions of what daily life and survival were like for these immigrants and how they made the best of their circumstances despite terrible and overwhelming odds.  Although at times graphic and haunting, it is a deeply humanizing account of the infamous tragedy that made a foothold in American History. 

 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death, Child death, Death, Cannibalism, Death of parent, Murder, Colonisation, Injury/Injury detail

creep_street's review against another edition

5.0

adventurous dark inspiring tense slow-paced

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This book is equally as deflating and miserable as it is hopeful and inspiring. The content is truly cared for by Brown. This book reminds us that the human will to survive is stronger than our modern fear.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, Violence, Cannibalism, Death of parent

Moderate: Racism, War

violargento's review against another edition

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, Death, Cannibalism

slydog's review against another edition

3.75

dark emotional informative sad tense medium-paced

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, Death, Cannibalism, Death of parent

Moderate: Murder, Injury/Injury detail

fckntara's review against another edition

4.75

adventurous informative tense medium-paced

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death, Child death, Death, Gore, Cannibalism

Moderate: Racism, Blood

aemesserlie's review against another edition

5.0

informative reflective sad medium-paced

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death, Child death, Death, Cannibalism, Death of parent

Moderate: Violence, Murder

superdupersasha's review against another edition

4.0

adventurous challenging dark emotional informative inspiring sad medium-paced

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, Death, Cannibalism, Death of parent