Reviews tagging 'Alcoholism'

Winter Counts by David Heska Wanbli Weiden

32 reviews

brycestevenwilley's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional mysterious 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? Yes

4.75

Really well written, tons of great ideas and through-threads. It can be a little slow at times, but each chapter does play an important in moving the story and its characters forward. 

Only downside is that it is extremely violent; it's definitely the intention, but it was a bit too much for me at times, if I wasn't reading as an audio book, I would have had to stop. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: War, Drug use, Colonisation, Violence, Torture, Kidnapping, Forced institutionalization, Murder, Injury/Injury detail, Gun violence, Addiction, Alcoholism, Gore, Racial slurs, Racism, and Genocide

Moderate: Suicide, Car accident, Grief, Cancer, Death of parent, Sexual violence, Bullying, Medical trauma, and Hate crime

bootsmom3's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional funny hopeful informative mysterious reflective sad tense 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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Injury/Injury detail, Torture, Racism, Kidnapping, Murder, Addiction, Alcohol, Alcoholism, Gun violence, Medical trauma, Racial slurs, and Violence

Moderate: Death of parent, Drug abuse, Cultural appropriation, Blood, Drug use, Grief, Colonisation, Death, and Genocide

Minor: Rape, Sexual violence, Animal death, and Sexual assault

lanid's review

adventurous dark emotional mysterious tense

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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Racism, Blood, Murder, Bullying, Child abuse, Cultural appropriation, Drug use, Genocide, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Violence, Addiction, Alcoholism, Child death, Death, Domestic abuse, Gore, and Gun violence

hannahollihan's review against another edition

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Torture, Drug abuse, Gun violence, Drug use, and Death

Moderate: Alcohol

Minor: Rape, Pedophilia, and Alcoholism

shelleyanderson4127's review against another edition

dark informative 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

 I gobbled this mystery down. set on the Rosebud Indian Reservation in South Dakota, it's a fast-paced thriller with lots of details about life today on a Lakota rez.

Virgil Wounded Horse is a complicated man who metes out just when the tribal council and US legal system can't. Someone is selling heroin on the reservation, and when Virgil's own nephew overdoses, Virgil makes it his mission to find and stop the dealers.

Very good writing abut the land, different concepts of justice, and the convoluted legal systems on many Native reservations which deny indigenous people justice. 

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Addiction, Alcoholism, Bullying, Death, and Colonisation

oyveyori's review against another edition

dark 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

2.0

This was disappointing :// pretty predictable storyline and one-dimensional protagonist. There were a few beautiful scenes but it mostly read like fan fiction. It was interesting to learn more about Lakota culture tho!

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Racial slurs, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Alcohol, Alcoholism, Drug abuse, Drug use, Violence, Gun violence, Child death, and Death

Moderate: Child abuse, Death of parent, War, Torture, Suicide, Suicide attempt, and Sexual violence

Minor: Addiction, Miscarriage, and Incest

ibeforem's review

adventurous dark 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

Virgil is a guy who gets by by doing odd jobs for people, usually involving violence. His latest job, which he takes reluctantly due to it coming from his ex-girlfriend's father (a tribal leader), is to track down the guy who is bringing drugs onto the Reservation and "convince" him to stop. But when his nephew, who is under his care, unexpectedly overdoses on heroin, this mission becomes much more personal than Virgil expected.

I really enjoyed this debut novel and the peek it gives into life on a Reservation. Weiden expertly weaves issues that Native Americans face into this story of violence and revenge but also gives us beautiful portrayals of the Lakota culture.

Back in the time before Columbus, there were only Indians here, no skyscrapers, no automobiles, no streets. Of course, we didn't use the words Indian or Native American then; we were just people. We didn't know we were supposedly drunks or lazy or savages. I wondered what it was like to live without that weight on your shoulders, the weight of the murdered ancestors, the stolen land, the abused children, the burden every Native person carries.

This book is well worth the time. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Racism

Minor: Drug use and Alcoholism

bittybren's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious tense medium-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

3.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Addiction

Minor: Alcoholism and Cursing

voxelbee'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? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Violence, Injury/Injury detail, Drug abuse, Child death, Addiction, and Murder

Moderate: Alcohol, Alcoholism, Blood, Child abuse, Death of parent, Grief, Hate crime, Kidnapping, Medical content, Physical abuse, Racism, Terminal illness, and Torture

Minor: Racial slurs, Colonisation, Bullying, Car accident, and Genocide

amandaquotidianbooks's review

challenging dark hopeful reflective sad fast-paced

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

4.0

Definitely dark in places, but a fast and somehow fun read! I really liked Virgil’s journey of self discovery and also hearing about the indigenous cuisine movement.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Violence and Gun violence

Moderate: Torture, Alcoholism, and Drug abuse

Minor: Child death and Sexual assault