Reviews tagging 'Drug use'

Son of a Trickster by Eden Robinson

47 reviews

awebofstories's review against another edition

adventurous dark tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• 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

Moderate: Addiction, Alcoholism, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Child abuse, Cursing, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Drug use, Physical abuse, Racism, Self harm, Blood, Dementia, Alcohol, and Colonisation

stellahadz's review against another edition

adventurous dark funny 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

3.75

I've wanted to read this book for ages (I read Monkey Beach for a university course a few years ago and absolutely loved it), but I decided to get around to it this year because I'll be teaching it to my grade 10 students. 

The writing was engaging, even though I'm a little older than the target demographic and I'm not usually a big magical realism reader. Some parts were very cringey, (but it's about a teenager, so that's to be expected), some were genuinely very funny, and others were heartbreaking. The pacing wasn't quite to my taste, but then again, it's part of a series, so maybe it makes more sense in that context. Eden Robinson is a great writer and I'd honestly recommend anything of hers. I look forward to seeing what my students think of this book. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Child abuse, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, and Drug use

Moderate: Bullying, Self harm, Sexual content, Suicide attempt, and Injury/Injury detail

Minor: Biphobia, Vomit, Pregnancy, and Abandonment

marlephant's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional mysterious sad tense slow-paced

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

4.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Body horror, Cursing, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Gun violence, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Self harm, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Vomit, Dementia, Grief, Suicide attempt, Toxic friendship, Alcohol, Sexual harassment, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Cancer

seapotatohowisitalrtaken's review against another edition

adventurous reflective medium-paced

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

3.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Cursing, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug use, Toxic relationship, Violence, Stalking, Murder, and Toxic friendship

Moderate: Racism, Sexual content, and Excrement

grey_jayne's review against another edition

challenging emotional mysterious sad slow-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? Yes

3.5

Having seen the Trickster show before this, I thought I would learn more from the book. However, the narrative is so mind-numbingly slow and little happens until 75% of the way in. The ultra-dimensional beings and ghosts are fun but this story doesn't focus on them until much later.

No idea if I will pick up the next in the series, but it's not going to be for a while. This may be the first time where I recommend the adaptation over the original.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcoholism, Animal death, Drug use, Self harm, Vomit, Suicide attempt, and Abandonment

manderine0's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional funny reflective sad medium-paced

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

4.0

The time-line and person seaking can sometimes be confusing, but I think that's a purposeful device.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Body horror, Bullying, Child abuse, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Physical abuse, Self harm, Sexual assault, Terminal illness, Torture, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Grief, Suicide attempt, Toxic friendship, and Alcohol

Moderate: Vomit and Gaslighting

mikaylaslibrary's review against another edition

3.75

I think I would've liked this more if I had read it before watching the show, but it was amazing nonetheless. 

The mixture of myth and modern was so well done, and I after watching the show it was very easy to picture evruthing that happened.   

Ritchie and Maggie are so cute, and I'm glad that their relationship developed in a more positive way. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Animal death, Bullying, Child abuse, Cursing, Drug use, Gore, Physical abuse, Racism, Self harm, Blood, Dementia, Abandonment, and Alcohol

bradleyj's review against another edition

challenging 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? No

5.0

I really really liked this. I felt like I was there in the story with Jared. Half way ish was the turning point in the book where I was like what is happening but wasn’t mad about it.

I was sad about nana Sophia, she seemed so cool, I’m sad she left

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcoholism, Drug abuse, Drug use, Self harm, Vomit, and Suicide attempt

talonsontypewriters's review against another edition

dark mysterious medium-paced

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

1.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcoholism, Animal death, Child abuse, Drug abuse, Drug use, Gore, Self harm, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Alcohol, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Ableism, Gun violence, Sexual content, and Suicide attempt

Minor: Cancer, Fatphobia, Homophobia, Incest, Infidelity, Pedophilia, Racism, Sexual assault, Transphobia, Vomit, and Cannibalism

madmadmaddymad's review against another edition

dark reflective 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? Yes

5.0

Such a twisted, dark, intense story. I really loved Sarah. I found Wee’git to be very unsettling, even if he wasn’t in most of the story. 

It’s kind of a magical realism coming-of-age story, with the twist that of course, is there magic? Or are the characters just experiencing drug induced hallucinations? 

Well written and well executed. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death, Drug use, Self harm, Toxic relationship, and Suicide attempt

Moderate: Addiction, Alcoholism, Child abuse, Stalking, and Abandonment

Minor: Incest, Physical abuse, and Sexual assault