Reviews tagging 'Sexual violence'

Pet by Akwaeke Emezi

87 reviews

kdegroote905's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional 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? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

5.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Violence

Minor: Child abuse and Sexual violence

clairelikesbooks95's review against another edition

dark emotional hopeful mysterious reflective medium-paced

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

4.5

Good book! Like nothing I’ve ever read. Took me a little effort to get into it, which is saying something because it’s so short, but then it moved very fast. The language was very unique/poetic which was cool, but that also kinda slowed me down.

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Content Warnings

Minor: Child abuse, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, and Gaslighting

perhappiness's review against another edition

adventurous emotional hopeful inspiring sad fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? N/A
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Sexual assault and Sexual violence

Minor: Gore and Violence

kwolfie's review against another edition

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? It's complicated

3.0

As an LGBTQ disabled woman, I always appreciate diversity in books. But here, it felt like every single character had to have at least one disability, mental disorder, or less common sexuality or other status that just felt so forced.  Also, I really didn't understand the world here and I feel like this book would have benefitted from actually being a normal novel length. What is with all of the weird names? Why are the thoughts/writing so incongruous with the dialogue? Why is Jam partially mute? I have so many questions that were never answered. Maybe I was just too stupid to understand this book or what I'm sure are many metaphors hiding beneath it's surface, but it simply felt like a story about a supposedly perfect society with a hidden "monster", which is honestly overdone at this point. Read Omelas if you want that kind of vibe, also a short story but hit a lot harder (for me). There are absolutely audiences out there that will enjoy this, it just didn't happen to be me.

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Content Warnings

Minor: Child abuse, Sexual assault, and Sexual violence

bookishperseus's review against another edition

dark emotional reflective sad slow-paced

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

3.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Mental illness, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Violence, Grief, and Sexual harassment

Moderate: Child abuse, Gore, Mental illness, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Transphobia, Violence, Blood, Vomit, Medical content, Gaslighting, Sexual harassment, Injury/Injury detail, and Pandemic/Epidemic

Minor: Ableism, Bullying, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Hate crime, Mental illness, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Transphobia, Vomit, and Sexual harassment

courtneykeekee's review against another edition

adventurous challenging emotional funny hopeful mysterious reflective sad tense 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

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Child abuse and Sexual violence

jameliaareadsalot's review

challenging emotional reflective relaxing 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? It's complicated

5.0

Just an amazing book with a timeless message. I had no idea what this book was about when I read it and it just made the book that much more special. Would recommend this to every and anyone who cares about our issues in our society.  

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Child abuse, Pedophilia, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, and Sexual harassment

gwenswoons's review against another edition

challenging dark sad tense slow-paced

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

5.0

So unusual and truly marvelous in the most literal sense. I LOVED You Made A Fool Of Death With Your Beauty, one of my favorites of the last many years, and thought Vivek Oji was amazing too; but this is my first YA of Emezi’s, and I wasn’t sure what it might be like. But it’s gorgeous - their writing always stuns me and leaves me breathless and this is no different. I thought it was truly incredible, in a work that is so accessible for younger readers, to have language so eloquent and perfumed in the way Emezi’s always is, and to be able to approach the heaviest and most devastating topics of humanity with a light enough touch that a younger reader could live inside this story. I’m not someone who loves fantasy  - I don’t read a lot of sci-fi and fantasy, and sometimes supernatural elements lose me a little bit - but Emezi’s writing is just so beautiful and so compelling at every turn that I didn’t even give a thought to whether or not I believed what was happening (I just: did). Same, somehow, too, with the allegorical/archetypal elements: these could be so obvious and heavy-handed on another writer’s desk, and yet Emezi’s world building and story crafting are so exquisite that every element of the story - every word, every turn of phrase and plot - feels inevitable. Such a gorgeous read, and I thought the audio was gorgeously narrated, too, by Christopher Myers (something about this book as a dark fairytale/ parable worked really beautifully for me in audio format and I feel like Myers really captured for readers that feeling of listening to a story - so good).

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Child abuse, Gore, Blood, Grief, Gaslighting, and Dysphoria

Minor: Child abuse, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Incest, Pedophilia, Sexual violence, Torture, Toxic relationship, Transphobia, and War

anaheeta's review

dark emotional mysterious sad tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes

4.5

Quite a short read, the author managed to use a powerfully imaginative and crafty metaphor to describe a really difficult subject. 


“The truth does not change whether it is seen or unseen, it whispered in her mind. A thing which is happening happens whether you look at it or not. And yes, maybe it is easier not to look. Maybe it is easier to say because you do not see it, it is not happening. Maybe you can pull the stone out of the pool and put the moon back together.” 
(There were too many incredible quotes to choose from)

This book really left me heartbroken. It is powerfully written, the story and pacing is gripping and makes you read it in one day, the characters are very diverse, and the setting is in a futuristic utopia of sorts. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Death, Pedophilia, Sexual violence, Violence, Blood, and War

Moderate: Body horror, Mental illness, Grief, and Injury/Injury detail

jenna_justi2004's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional funny hopeful 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

Phenomenal. Breathtaking. So well done. I love Pet and I love Jam.

I feel so bad for moss, poor baby. I was freaking out in the actual chills. Be not afraid, it was literally foreshadowing

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Bullying, Child abuse, Gore, Panic attacks/disorders, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Violence, Blood, Vomit, Police brutality, Grief, Religious bigotry, Murder, Pregnancy, Sexual harassment, and War