Reviews tagging 'Police brutality'

A Song Below Water by Bethany C. Morrow

64 reviews

milooo's review against another edition

emotional hopeful slow-paced

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

3.0

overall i enjoyed this. it’s a quite powerful read packaged into a great urban fantasy which would be rated even higher for me if i was currently a teenager. the allegory of sirens was cool, but i think it would maybe work better as an LGBTQ allegory? but also, allegories are rarely perfect, and it’s doesn’t really take anything away from the misogynoir thematic. my main issue with the book is that i didn’t really enjoy the narration (just a me thing, all the credit to Morrow for recreating a teenager’s inner dialogue). i did think that the end of it got real fast, and there’s definitely stuff that isn’t resolved or explained properly. it’s a good urban fantasy, but i do feel like stories in this genre have to establish how this urban fantasy world came about (especially if it’s set in our world). over really sweet, and i love love love the sister relationship 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Racism and Police brutality

ghostlyprince's review against another edition

informative inspiring reflective fast-paced

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

3.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Confinement, Hate crime, and Outing

Moderate: Bullying and Death of parent

Minor: Ableism, Cancer, Death, Gun violence, Self harm, Police brutality, Kidnapping, Cannibalism, Stalking, Cultural appropriation, and Classism

shlymiller's review against another edition

adventurous challenging emotional hopeful lighthearted mysterious reflective 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? No

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Racism, Sexism, and Police brutality

Minor: Suicide attempt and Death of parent

michaelion's review against another edition

hopeful mysterious medium-paced

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

3.25

I'm not a fan of this style of mixing fantasy and reality. Like, why would the Disney princess Ariel exist in this universe? If mythical creatures are real, why in the real world would you call them mythical beings? Surely there would be some other term. Also, the writing tries to be mysterious to be point where it's confusing. Like. Just tell us what's happening instead of telling us what happened 3 pages later.

Also!!! A quarter into the book, my journal entry for page 73 is "medusa?!" I guessed it that quick! Which isn't bad but is funny. In a world where "mythical creatures" are real and there's real stigma around them, even though no one's ever seen a gorgon or whatever why didn't they think of that?! I did!!!

But anyway. It really hooked my attention after the halfway point, which isn't good, but I had fun. The fantasy element just clearly wasn't thought out thoroughly enough, but before the book was over I rented out the sequel at my library because I wanted to keep the ball rolling!

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Misogyny, Racism, Police brutality, and Murder

Moderate: Body horror, Bullying, Confinement, Self harm, Grief, Stalking, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, Abandonment, and Injury/Injury detail

Minor: Ableism and Terminal illness

denee16's review against another edition

emotional hopeful inspiring mysterious slow-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

5.0

I am obsessed with this book! I know I've said that a lot on the books I've read this month but I have just found books that have captured me and enveloped me in their world and story! This books main characters finding their voice together and places in the world was absolutely beautiful and I was hooked early! It is a lot calmer than most books I have tended to read but still the stakes were real and the threats just as life changing for the characters as anything else!

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Hate crime, Police brutality, and Outing

readingwithsierra's review against another edition

adventurous challenging emotional reflective tense slow-paced

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

3.75

This was such a good exploration into mythology and how many Black people don’t see themselves inside mythological stories. I enjoyed the social commentary as well especially when it came to Black girls using their voice to speak up. There were a few areas where it would cut to a past scene and sometimes these were so long or went on many tangents that I forgot what was happening at the present time, so that made putting the entire story together a bit harder. Overall, I thought this was pretty good. I love mythology and the lore surrounding it so to see it be presented with Black characters and Black girl magic made it all the more special. 

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Bullying, Hate crime, Racism, Police brutality, and Cultural appropriation

Minor: Self harm and Violence

donttouchmyfeet's review against another edition

emotional informative inspiring tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• 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 and Police brutality

Minor: Bullying, Mental illness, and Death of parent

ashleibby613's review against another edition

emotional mysterious slow-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

2.0

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Content Warnings

Minor: Racism, Suicide, Police brutality, and Suicide attempt

greatexpectations77's review against another edition

challenging emotional reflective 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

4.25

This was extremely interesting, and I think this book could be really helpful for young people who are wading into social justice issues. Would definitely read this author again - I really appreciated the extent of the world-building.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Bullying and Racism

Moderate: Cancer, Confinement, Death, Police brutality, Death of parent, and Abandonment

Minor: Chronic illness, Mental illness, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism

alsoiread's review against another edition

challenging reflective tense slow-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

3.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Racism and Police brutality

Minor: Suicide attempt