Reviews tagging 'Grief'

Down Among the Sticks and Bones by Seanan McGuire

21 reviews

imds's review

• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No

3.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Confinement, Death, Emotional abuse, Blood, Grief, Murder, and Abandonment

librarymouse's review

adventurous dark medium-paced

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

5.0

Jack is such a stoic character in Every Heart a Doorway. It was really interesting to see the childhood glimpsed in the first book, in vibrant detail. While the book is about both twins, it's pretty hard to care about Jill. At the same time, her anger is justified. Jack being encouraged to be pretty, quiet, and nonargumentative let it seem like she was on the side of her parents, even though both girls were trapped in the lives their parents designed. It was interesting to see Jack being deemed the pretty twin, and Jill the sporty one of the two in their youth, and to watch those roles melt away as they acclimated to their respectively chosen roles in the moors. Jack is taught to be an individual with a responsibility to the community and a community to be a part of. Jill is molded into a selfish child of a monster, getting everything she's ever wanted and only learning to crave more. Jack left and chose Dr. Bleak to save Jill, knowing she'd never be able to measure up to the level of decorum expected of them as Jack would be able to - at least not as they were when they were young. She left because she knew Jill would grow to resent her, even as Jill yearned for a relationship with her sister. Alexis's death at Jill's hands, as the person who loved Jack and taught her to love and be loved in return, was also the final blow through which Jack realized she couldn't completely give up on her sister and watch her be rightfully killed by the mob of townsfolk. Jill's delusion that killing Alexis would reconstitute her relationship with Jack shows how much of an influence the Master had on her, and how far she's gone from humanity. I hope we get to see them again, back in the Moors and Jill having to learn how to live like a person again, now that she's dead and cannot be loved by the Master. The possibility of Alexis's second resurrection is something I still haven't given up on yet.
I also really enjoyed Jack's explanation for her masculinized look, as not hiding or dismantling her femineity, but preserving it from the dangers of her work.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, Death, Gore, Mental illness, Violence, Blood, Medical content, Grief, Murder, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Sexual content

Minor: Adult/minor relationship

pacifickat's review against another edition

adventurous dark mysterious sad fast-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? It's complicated

4.5

*review to follow*

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Child abuse, Death, Emotional abuse, Fatphobia, Mental illness, Toxic relationship, Blood, Grief, and Murder

Moderate: Misogyny, Sexism, Slavery, Lesbophobia, Abandonment, and Classism

Minor: Bullying and Child death

Child neglect, narcissism

keepingitread's review

adventurous challenging dark slow-paced

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

4.0

I enjoyed getting to know Jack and Jill a bit more. I found them to be interesting characters in the first book and wanted to learn more about them and their background which this book did.

I found it very interesting the book diving into the subject of people who never wanted kids having kids, because everyone else around them is and not being about to relate to them.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Blood, and Murder

Minor: Adult/minor relationship, Body shaming, Death, Fatphobia, and Grief

lonelylooper's review against another edition

adventurous dark informative sad fast-paced

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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Death, Violence, Blood, Medical content, and Murder

Minor: Grief

asparagushead's review

adventurous dark emotional mysterious reflective sad tense medium-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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Bullying, Child abuse, Child death, Death, Gore, Violence, Blood, Grief, Murder, and Abandonment

lipstickitotheman's review against another edition

adventurous dark fast-paced

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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Bullying, Confinement, Death, Mental illness, Toxic relationship, Blood, Grief, and Classism

Moderate: Child death, Fatphobia, Homophobia, and Lesbophobia

kerrygetsliterary's review

adventurous dark mysterious tense fast-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

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Blood, Grief, and Murder

books4em's review

adventurous dark emotional mysterious reflective sad tense fast-paced

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

4.5

McGuire continues to amaze me with the Wayward Children series. I liked how this one gave some background to Jack and Jill in the first book. I do have some questions still, like what happened after they went back to the real world, is Alexis alive, and does Jack find her when they go back to the Moors? But I loved the representation in this one too, the queer rep so far in this series is great because it isn’t really questioned. It’s just how it is and who these kids are. I also greatly appreciated the backstory at the beginning and how quickly Jack and Jill basically switched rolls when they got to the Moors. That was really interesting to watch happen and was extremely relatable! McGuire continued her wise writing with a lot of detail. I don’t know how this was all packed into 187 pages! Can’t wait for the next. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death and Blood

Moderate: Grief, Gaslighting, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism

Minor: Homophobia

ezwolf's review against another edition

adventurous dark mysterious medium-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? It's complicated

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Child abuse, Death, Violence, Blood, Grief, Murder, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Child abuse

Minor: Child death and Fatphobia