Reviews tagging 'Trafficking'

Die Zeuginnen by Monika Baark, Margaret Atwood

32 reviews

lily1304's review against another edition

adventurous dark tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix

3.5

This is very different from the Handmaid's Tale. One of the strengths of the Handmaid's Tale is its lack of detail - lots of aspects of Gilead are shadowy and vague, which makes it feel like a bad dream, and the fact that the narrator has no idea what's happening politically inside or outside Gilead makes her even more hopeless and powerless.

The Testaments was clearly written partly to satisfy fans' questions about Gilead, and it has a much more traditional dystopian-adventure style than the Handmaid's Tale. You can see the three womens' stories and motivations slowly weaving together to a distinct climax. It's both a strength and a weakness - it's probably more of a page-turner than the Handmaid's Tale, but it doesn't have the same power.

The Testaments introduces the Pearl Girls / "Pearls of Great Price", or Gilead missionaries to Canada and other countries. They seemed like an intentional dig at Mormons, who are known for their pairs of missionaries around the world, and who have a book of scripture called the Pearl of Great Price. I'm not a fan of many aspects of Mormon practice and culture, but it seems extreme and unnecessary to associate them with Gilead.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Gun violence, Infidelity, Misogyny, Rape, Self harm, Suicide, Violence, Trafficking, Suicide attempt, Murder, and Pregnancy

Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Infertility, Grief, and Religious bigotry

Minor: Cancer, Cursing, and Alcohol

karol99's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional informative mysterious reflective tense medium-paced

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

4.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Emotional abuse, Infertility, Misogyny, Pedophilia, Rape, Sexism, Religious bigotry, and Pregnancy

Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Miscarriage, Self harm, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Violence, Trafficking, Suicide attempt, Murder, Sexual harassment, and War

Minor: Torture

maeveroyal's review against another edition

adventurous dark mysterious reflective slow-paced

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

1.5

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Rape, Sexual assault, Trafficking, and Murder

bloopyfloopy's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional hopeful reflective sad tense 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? No

4.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Body shaming, Child abuse, Confinement, Death, Infertility, Misogyny, Pedophilia, Rape, Sexual assault, Violence, Trafficking, Religious bigotry, and Pregnancy

celisabell's review against another edition

adventurous dark tense 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? No

4.0

I deeply enjoyed knowing more about Gilead's rising and fall. The way the different stories connected gave it a very good flow, and I just couldn't stop reading. It made me want to go back and read the Handmaid's tale once more.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Gun violence, Infertility, and Violence

Moderate: Sexual violence and Suicide attempt

Minor: Cancer, Child abuse, Chronic illness, Emotional abuse, Infertility, Infidelity, Forced institutionalization, Trafficking, Abortion, Death of parent, and Gaslighting

abookandaspotoftea's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional reflective sad tense fast-paced

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

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Bullying, Child abuse, Confinement, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Infertility, Infidelity, Miscarriage, Misogyny, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Rape, Self harm, Sexism, Sexual assault, Suicidal thoughts, Torture, Toxic relationship, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Trafficking, Religious bigotry, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, Murder, and Pregnancy

alannah_m's review against another edition

adventurous 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? It's complicated

2.0

I started this book saying if Piexoto was back at the end I would personally fight Atwood....


....guess it’s time to square up



For anyone who says this isn't a cash grab- c'mon. I'm always happy to give people the benefit of the doubt, but this really didn't need to happen. Weirdly I did enjoy this book for what it was, which was 'bad' YA-style dystopia a la Hunger Games, but there were a lot of flaws, and I question its Man Booker win. The plot was lazy and even harmful in it's clear allusions to the Elisa Lam case, and the ending (no spoilers) somehow retroactively spoiled THT for me. Also, (just a pet peeve) Atwood really fails to capture the voice of teenagers- it very much comes across as what news reports think 'the youth' sound like. HOWEVER, in contrast I really liked the Aunt Lydia sections; I wish they'd stood alone as a shorter book.

Pet Theory for this book: this book didn’t have enough depth for me to have theories

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Child abuse, Domestic abuse, Infertility, Mental illness, Misogyny, Pedophilia, Sexism, Violence, Trafficking, Religious bigotry, Medical trauma, Death of parent, and Murder

therobinjoyce's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional informative inspiring mysterious reflective sad tense medium-paced

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

5.0

"As they say, history does not repeat itself, but it rhymes"

Margaret Atwood does it again with this thrilling sequel to The Handmaid's Tale.

I have no words to express how much I loved this book. The chopping between testaments from Aunt Lydia, Jade, and Agnes was wonderfully done and really invested me in the tales from Gilead and the lives of the women withing it.

The plot twists were epic and had me reeling, and the whole book from start to finish was gripping, chilling, and dastardly dark. Showing the true power of man's reach and the possibilities of what could happen if the world we live in is allowed to mimic history.

A well-deserved five star rating for such an exceptional book.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Cursing, Death, Gun violence, Miscarriage, Misogyny, Toxic relationship, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Blood, Police brutality, Trafficking, and Murder

Moderate: Confinement, Emotional abuse, Homophobia, Infertility, Self harm, Suicide, and Suicide attempt

Minor: Child death, Infidelity, Pedophilia, Rape, Sexual content, Medical trauma, and Death of parent

anything's review against another edition

challenging dark hopeful inspiring 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? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Child abuse, Child death, Confinement, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Genocide, Gun violence, Hate crime, Infertility, Mental illness, Misogyny, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Rape, Self harm, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Slavery, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Torture, Toxic relationship, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Police brutality, Trafficking, Kidnapping, Grief, Religious bigotry, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, and Murder

vicanarc_'s review against another edition

emotional reflective slow-paced

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

2.5

This is not a prequel book. And that's not the author fault but rather the marketing's, because i've started this book thinking  it would go into how Gilead started, and while it is mentioned, that's not the point of the book. So, if you're looking for Gilead's lore, you'll be disappointed.
After all, this is not too different from "The Handmaid's Tale", except we see differents POVs.
The book was okay, but while I want to love Atwood with all of my heart for being such a crucial feminist writer, this is my third book I read from her and they were all just mediocre for me. I hate to admit she's not the auther for me.

We get a redemption arc for aunt Lydia I didn't like. Can some characters just be evil, please? Can i just hate dangerously mysogynystic people without feeling bad?

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Cursing, Death, Infertility, Misogyny, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, Suicidal thoughts, Violence, Xenophobia, Trafficking, Kidnapping, Religious bigotry, Suicide attempt, and Murder