Reviews tagging 'Animal death'

City of the Beasts by Isabel Allende

5 reviews

mayaspasta's review against another edition

adventurous emotional informative inspiring mysterious reflective fast-paced

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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death, Cancer, Death, Genocide, Gun violence, Murder, and Cultural appropriation

julells's review against another edition

adventurous emotional hopeful informative inspiring mysterious reflective fast-paced

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

4.5

Ein sehr spannendes Buch mit tollen Charakteren und einem einzigartigen Plot

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death, Death, Drug use, Gore, Gun violence, Blood, Medical content, Grief, Murder, and Classism

Moderate: Cancer, Drug use, Misogyny, Sexism, Excrement, Kidnapping, and Alcohol

a_random_fangirl's review against another edition

adventurous emotional informative inspiring mysterious medium-paced

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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Cancer, Death, Genocide, Gore, Gun violence, Blood, Murder, Colonisation, and Pandemic/Epidemic

cherub__'s review

adventurous mysterious 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? No

3.5

I first read this many years ago, and decided to give it a re-read for old times' sake. While still an excellent story, it's still far more exposition-heavy than I remember it being. This is likely a symptom of being 15+ years older than when I first read it, but parts of the book do feel as if the reader is simply being told what happened rather than being immersed in the story organically. The villains are somewhat cardboard cutouts, but the mystery isn't really about them, it's about the world the protagonists are discovering for the first time.

Nevertheless, Nadia/Eagle and Alexander/Jaguar are delightful, and their growth is delightful to read about. Allende's work here breaks from the traditional YA lit mould in that much of the character growth happens separately rather than together -- our protagonists still end up with deep ties to one another, but have fundamentally had their own journeys and have developed as people on their own. This combined with lessons about the natural world and advocacy for native peoples makes Beasts a fantastic read for a younger person interested in magical realism with a side of ecological justice.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Cancer, Genocide, Gun violence, Terminal illness, and Pandemic/Epidemic

Moderate: Animal cruelty, Animal death, and Alcohol

Minor: Suicidal thoughts

mikki_9's review

adventurous emotional mysterious slow-paced

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

2.0

Lots of the white saviour theme along with misogyny, but the adventure is exciting.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Genocide, Gun violence, Hate crime, Misogyny, Racial slurs, Racism, Sexism, Excrement, Kidnapping, and Colonisation

Moderate: Animal death, Cancer, Death, Drug use, Terminal illness, Violence, Murder, and Alcohol

Minor: Alcoholism and Blood