Reviews tagging 'Bullying'

Gods of Jade and Shadow by Silvia Moreno-Garcia

33 reviews

micaelamariem's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional hopeful inspiring mysterious reflective tense medium-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

5.0

This was a great read, inspired by Mayan mythology which I got to learn more about as I parsed my way through this. I love the themes of narrative and myths and accepting and/or changing destiny. I love the slow burn. I love the bittersweet ending. I love the descriptions of everywhere in 1920s Mexico contrasted with Xibalba. I love the healing journey the characters go through to end the cycle of trauma. There’s just so much here to love. It took me a while to get into it but that was just a me thing because I was so busy. Once I forced myself to be still, I really loved this book. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Cursing, Death, Fire/Fire injury, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Violence, Alcohol, Blood, Classism, Bullying, Racism, Sexism, Animal death, Body horror, Colonisation, Confinement, and Suicide

town_scar's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional 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? Yes

4.5

This was a beautifully written myth and tale. It's use of prose was outstanding and it painted beautiful (and delightfully horrifying) images in my mind.

My main struggle was that some of the time transitions were jarring enough that I fell out of the story and got confused as to what was going on. This was largely in the first third of the book. 

Nonetheless, it was a riveting story and a fantastic tale. I thoroughly enjoyed it, and it has given me a far deeper appreciation of Mexico and it's many indigenous cultures. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Bullying, Misogyny, Murder, Racism, Blood, Child abuse, Colonisation, Sexism, Death, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Religious bigotry, Self harm, Classism, Violence, Injury/Injury detail, Racial slurs, and Suicide

Moderate: Alcohol

Minor: Death of parent and Pregnancy

thereadinghammock's review

adventurous dark emotional reflective 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

4.25

Frustrated by her life as the "poor relation" that the family only took in out of guilt and obligation,  Casiopea cannot wait to leave her grandfather's house when she comes of age. When she's left behind as a punishment and discovers the chest in her grandfather's bedroom contains the bones of the, now reformed, rightful King of Xibalba Hun-Kamé, Casiopea is thrust into a cross-country journey at his side to recover his lost body parts, regain his full godhood, and retake his obsidian throne in Xibalba.

I don't know if I've ever been go glad to have listened to an audiobook of a book than read it. I would never have been able to do justice to the Mexican and Mayan names within the book, and would have lost so much depth of the character that those played in the novel. Xibalba herself felt as important a character as Casiopea, Hun-Kamé, and Vucub-Kamé. I also appreciated the narrator infusing more humanity into Hun-Kamé as the story progressed. It was subtle, but by the end quite a noticeable change from where he started.

And I know it's not a romance, but NGL I'm a little disappointed that Casiopea doesn't get to do the deed with Hun-Kamé. I mean this God was DTF by the end because of the "humanity" in him by that point, but I spent most of my drive home today yelling at the steering wheel "FUCK THAT GOD!"

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Suicide and Bullying

Minor: Death of parent and Grief

margaret_k30's review

adventurous dark mysterious reflective 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

3.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Violence, Suicide, Misogyny, Self harm, Animal death, Bullying, Domestic abuse, and Emotional abuse

Moderate: Classism

Minor: Death of parent

laupm's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional funny mysterious 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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Bullying, Classism, and Violence

kterbo99's review

adventurous hopeful mysterious medium-paced

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

4.75

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Classism, Animal death, Suicide, Blood, Body horror, and Bullying

nicoleme1212's review against another edition

adventurous 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? Yes

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Emotional abuse and Classism

Moderate: Bullying

Minor: Self harm, Suicide, and Misogyny

ran_sophia's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional hopeful informative reflective sad tense 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? N/A

5.0

The book is very beautifully interwoven with Mexican myths and legends.  I liked the story a lot.  It was beautifully written and the storytelling style was absolutely amazing.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood, Death, Violence, Classism, and Suicide

Moderate: Bullying and Religious bigotry

Minor: Racism, Death of parent, and Misogyny

seadeepy's review against another edition

adventurous dark sad 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? Yes

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death, Blood, Classism, Death, Emotional abuse, Religious bigotry, Bullying, and Self harm

Moderate: Physical abuse, Suicide, and Sexism

Minor: Sexual content

giulianalb99's review against another edition

adventurous funny hopeful lighthearted slow-paced

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

2.0

Lo siento pero dnf. Estaba al 57% y aún no estaba pasando absolutamente nada, así que no voy a perder mi tiempo leyendo esto.

La trama tenía bastante potencial y al ser ambientado en México me llamó bastante la atención pero ir a más de la mitad del libro y que me aburra totalmente hace que no me apetezca leerlo en absoluto. Es MUY lento y uff… No es para mí. Demasiada descripción innecesaria y el romance entre una persona de no sé cuántos años con una adolescente de verdad que no me llama en absoluto, más bien me irrita🤷🏻‍♀️.



(Si alguien se lo ha leído al completo y me dice lo que pasa al final pues guay, pero tampoco me quita el sueño).

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Domestic abuse, Gaslighting, Adult/minor relationship, Bullying, Death of parent, Misogyny, and Sexism