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embee007's review against another edition
- 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
4.75
After a slow start, there was some small sections where I was on the edge of my seat, but the rest of the book was a constant state of dread, with a cloud of foreboding hanging overhead.
"It’s a good day to die. I will fight no more forever."
I frequently couldn't decide if I wanted to read & know what happened next, risking nightmares, & the same decision at the end of the next chapter, or wait until it was morning.
"His whole life he’s been looking in the wrong places. Why should tonight be any different?"
I ultimately finished the book just after 4am, because I had to keep going at one point.
"This is all you really need, isn’t it? Just one good friend. Somebody you can be stupid with. Somebody who’ll peel you up off the ground, prop you against the wall."
I don't want to expand on the blurb & write a spoiler...you're either interested in the premise or not, I'm reviewing the horror aspect. It is gory, there is body horror, animal deaths, human deaths, it is gruesome
“We’re from where we’re from,” she says back. “Scars are part of the deal, aren’t they?”
Representation: Indigenous MCs are mostly from the Blackfeet & Crow tribes
"Wouldn’t that be the best revenge? Death is too easy. Better to make every moment of the rest of a person’s life agony."
Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Body horror, Child death, Cursing, Death, Gore, Gun violence, Panic attacks/disorders, Self harm, Suicide, Torture, Blood, Grief, Stalking, Death of parent, Murder, Pregnancy, Toxic friendship, Alcohol, and Injury/Injury detail
sargasso_c's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Death, Gore, Racism, Violence, Vomit, Stalking, Murder, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Gun violence, Torture, Blood, Pregnancy, and Alcohol
Minor: Alcoholism, Fire/Fire injury, and Abandonment
smolfem's review against another edition
- 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
3.75
Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Death, Gore, Gun violence, Torture, Violence, Blood, Murder, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Addiction, Alcoholism, and Alcohol
yvo_about_books's review against another edition
2.25
“When the whole world hurts, you bite it. Don't you?”
WARNING: it's unpopular opinion time again!!
I should have known this would happen. I've come to the conclusion that literary fiction just isn't for me, although there have been exceptions in the past... I guess this story ended up being another nail in the coffin of this subgenre though. Don't get me wrong: I was SO intrigued by the premise of The Only Good Indians, and I loved the social commentary and own voices Native American aspect. This is probably the only reason I kept reading, because I had a very BIG issue with this book. There was just something about the writing style I clashed horribly with, and I was only feeling more annoyed and frustrated with each page... Add the often slow pace and confusing POV and timeline switches, and let's just say that I wasn't really motivated to continue reading The Only Good Indians. I even put it on hold twice to see if that would help... But in the end I simply don't think I'm a good match for his author's writing style. That said, I also struggled with the characters themselves, which felt rather flat and were both unlikeable and easy to mix up. Things also get pretty graphic with lots of focus on violence, hunting and animal cruelty... I usually don't mind a more twisted plot, but there was a bit too much focus on the animal cruelty to my taste. Anyhow, I guess that The Only Good Indians is just one of those books that you either absolutely love or struggle to finish... Sadly, I ended up belonging to the second group, and I confess that I caught myself skimreading more than once. It's such shame, because I really wanted to love this one!
Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Body horror, Cursing, Death, Gore, Gun violence, Hate crime, Racial slurs, Racism, Suicide, Torture, Violence, Blood, Vomit, Grief, Stalking, Death of parent, Murder, and Injury/Injury detail
mdwsn27's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Child death, Death, Gore, Gun violence, Suicidal thoughts, Torture, Violence, Grief, Mass/school shootings, Stalking, Death of parent, and Murder
Moderate: Blood and Vomit
bashsbooks's review against another edition
- 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
4.5
Graphic: Animal death, Body horror, Cursing, Death, Gore, Gun violence, Hate crime, Racism, Suicide, Torture, Violence, Blood, Grief, Stalking, Death of parent, Murder, Alcohol, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Alcoholism, Miscarriage, Racial slurs, Pregnancy, Toxic friendship, Colonisation, and Classism
Minor: Infertility and Vomit
bccorrea's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.75
Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Body horror, Death, Gore, Infidelity, Suicide, Torture, Violence, Blood, Vomit, Grief, and Suicide attempt
vixenreader's review against another edition
- 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
4.0
Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Body horror, Child death, Cursing, Death, Genocide, Gore, Gun violence, Racial slurs, Suicide, Torture, Violence, Blood, Grief, Murder, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Suicidal thoughts, Kidnapping, Stalking, Death of parent, Toxic friendship, and Alcohol
Minor: Infidelity, Abandonment, and Classism
The subjects of shame towards a parent, murder of indigenous and white women, tensions about interracial relationships, and intergenerational trauma are explored in detail within the text.sunkenbooks's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.5
I feel like his writing style has the energy of me trying to be impressive in middle school by using all of the thesaurus but still using "says" 744 times in a chapter. It's repetitive but also not as the words change but it says the same thing over and over again.
However the parts that are fight/scary/action scenes are really good. That scene with Lewis and Shaney, god that will live in my head for a long time.
Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Body horror, Child death, Cursing, Death, Gore, Gun violence, Torture, Violence, Blood, Death of parent, Murder, and Alcohol
literarywreck's review against another edition
- 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? Yes
Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Body horror, Death, Domestic abuse, Gore, Gun violence, Hate crime, Mental illness, Torture, Violence, Blood, Grief, Stalking, Death of parent, Murder, Pregnancy, Alcohol, Colonisation, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Alcoholism, Animal cruelty, and Racism