Reviews tagging 'Gun violence'

The Weight of Blood by Tiffany D. Jackson

31 reviews

boba_n_books's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional mysterious reflective sad 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? Yes

4.75

This reimagined version of Carrie was, to say the least, incredible!! It took everything from Carrie but twisted it to focus on race relations, the glorification of whiteness, and the vilifying of blackness. 

The author uses multiple POVs, including a podcast, to tell the story of Maddy Washington—a biracial girl who has passed as white for years until her hair got wet one day, exposing her ethnicity. From there, Maddy is bullied, and, feeling white guilt, some of her classmates decide to integrate their segregated proms. Through all of this, Maddy discovers she has abilities and learns how powerful she really is. 

I loved this reimagining and the way it made me think about white guilt and white saviorism. 

Spoiler

The ending where Maddy’s “devilish” abilities were revealed to be from her white side was SO CLEVER. I love the metaphor the author used there since Maddy had thought that evil part of her came from her black ancestors and had years of brainwashing from her father to believe whiteness to be the ultimate goal. What a twist and way to show the vilification of blackness and the true hatred that comes with it.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood, Gore, Racism, Classism, Injury/Injury detail, Bullying, and Emotional abuse

Moderate: Violence, Racial slurs, and Gun violence

talonsontypewriters's review against another edition

dark emotional 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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Racism, Murder, Blood, Gore, Death, Toxic friendship, Child abuse, Physical abuse, Injury/Injury detail, Fire/Fire injury, Emotional abuse, Police brutality, Bullying, Racial slurs, Hate crime, Violence, and Religious bigotry

Moderate: Child death, Car accident, Gun violence, Grief, Sexism, Misogyny, Infidelity, and Death of parent

Minor: Slavery, Sexual content, Cancer, Vomit, Alcohol, Fatphobia, Pregnancy, and Animal death

itsheyfay's review

challenging dark emotional reflective sad 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? Yes

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Gore, Bullying, Injury/Injury detail, Racism, Violence, Ableism, Blood, Toxic friendship, Murder, and Racial slurs

Moderate: Gun violence, Police brutality, Abandonment, Classism, Fire/Fire injury, and Religious bigotry

Minor: Animal death

kbaum25's review

challenging dark mysterious medium-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? Yes

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Violence, Murder, Racism, Hate crime, Child abuse, and Bullying

Moderate: Gun violence

augustinedreams's review

challenging dark emotional sad tense fast-paced

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

5.0

I highly recommend reading this book. It is a fantastic take on the classic Carrie but with a modern day twist that comments on modern racism. Take your time with this book it has so much to give and all of it is brutally honest.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Body shaming, Police brutality, Domestic abuse, Gore, Murder, Racial slurs, Violence, Bullying, Child abuse, Child death, Death, Emotional abuse, Animal death, Blood, Death of parent, Racism, Fire/Fire injury, Gaslighting, Injury/Injury detail, Toxic friendship, and Hate crime

Moderate: Sexism, Misogyny, Gun violence, Cursing, and Alcohol

wrensreadingroom's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional sad tense fast-paced

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Grief, Gore, Gun violence, Racial slurs, Mental illness, Murder, Gaslighting, Abandonment, Adult/minor relationship, Blood, Alcohol, Animal death, Body shaming, Bullying, Classism, Racism, Car accident, Child abuse, Colonisation, Confinement, Cursing, Death, Death of parent, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Fire/Fire injury, Hate crime, Injury/Injury detail, Medical content, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Toxic relationship, Toxic friendship, Police brutality, Pregnancy, Violence, Sexual content, and Vomit

birbmcbirb's review

dark emotional sad fast-paced

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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Racism, Blood, Gun violence, Police brutality, Sexism, and Religious bigotry

bites_of_books's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional mysterious sad 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

5.0

This was a fantastic book that delves into social horror. This is really about what fear can do to people who feel like things are getting out of their control. We follow Maddie, a young girl who passes as white and is suddenly found out to be Black. This starts a series of events that start with Maddie finding out she has the power to move things with her mind and end with a tragic prom night to top it all, many years later, a true crime podcast that's trying to find out what "really happened" that night. 

The supernatural aspect of this book was done so well, it doesn't overpower our main character and also gives us a lot of intrigue as to what really is happening with her powers. This has been described as a Carrie retelling and I feel like it keeps the spirit of Carrie while Jackson gives it her own twists and style. 

I listened to the audiobook, which was awesome because it has a whole production with almost a full cast, and really helped immerse me in the story. 

This is a very difficult book to read because there is a lot of outright racism, bigotry, mysoginy, etc etc. Do take care when reading, check for all content warnings! 

I'd recommend this to anyone who enjoys horror that focuses more on the horror that humans are capable of and also if you want characters who are multidimensional and who go beyond what you expect from them. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Gaslighting, Gore, Body horror, Bullying, Grief, Gun violence, Blood, Murder, Child abuse, Classism, Emotional abuse, Physical abuse, Cultural appropriation, Death, Death of parent, Fire/Fire injury, Police brutality, Self harm, Toxic relationship, Hate crime, Injury/Injury detail, Misogyny, Racial slurs, Racism, Religious bigotry, Sexual content, Sexism, Toxic friendship, and Violence

nickbreezyreads_'s review

dark emotional tense 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

I read this book last year & it's so good. This story kept me invested from beginning to end 

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Bullying, Gun violence, Police brutality, Racial slurs, Child abuse, and Racism

ghostlyprince's review

dark emotional tense slow-paced

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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Fire/Fire injury, Police brutality, Suicide, Bullying, Child death, Emotional abuse, Gore, Violence, Hate crime, Physical abuse, Racism, Classism, Child abuse, Confinement, Death, Death of parent, Racial slurs, Stalking, and Religious bigotry

Moderate: Alcohol, Abandonment, Infidelity, and Car accident

Minor: Cancer and Gun violence