Reviews tagging 'Medical content'

Elatsoe by Darcie Little Badger

18 reviews

bookwormbi's review

adventurous challenging emotional funny hopeful informative mysterious sad tense 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

4.5

slow start but definitely worth it in the end!!!

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Confinement, Death, Genocide, Racism, Blood, Medical content, Grief, Car accident, Murder, Gaslighting, Colonisation, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism

Minor: Death of parent and Acephobia/Arophobia

laurenleigh's review

adventurous dark mysterious medium-paced

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

4.5

This novel takes place in a slightly off center version of the US where there’s a little magic, but still a whole lot of bullshit. I love all kinds of magical realism, but I find it especially interesting when it’s subtle like this. Our main character Elatsoe can bring animals back to life in ghost form, and some of her friends have some powers too. She has a dream the night her cousin dies, in which he tells her he was murdered. In a refreshing take, her parents and friends fully believe her, and help her find the truth. My only small issue was that I had trouble following the narrative structure. There were often side stories woven in, and the shifts between main plot and backstory were not always clear to me, especially in audio. Regardlesss, this was a great read with excellent representation!

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Animal death, Medical content, Car accident, and Murder

emily_mh's review

adventurous mysterious 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 such a delight to read!! It really reminded me of the game Night in the Woods. I adored the author’s writing style; the dialogue gave off a real arthouse film vibe which was really unique. But also, she effortlessly wove together so many strands of story and character, but all in the direction of telling a murder mystery?? Masterfully done!! The plot was also well-paced and held my attention throughout. Ellie was a wonderful main character: she was clever, determined, and thought outside the box, so it was really refreshing to read from her POV. Jay as a side character was so much fun, and the friendship between the him and Ellie was joyful. Finally, the illustrations in the chapter headings were absolutely gorgeous, and I loved how they ended up weaving in with Ellie’s storyline.  

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death, Death, Murder, and Colonisation

Moderate: Body horror, Racism, Violence, Grief, and Car accident

Minor: Cancer, Child death, Confinement, Cursing, Drug use, Genocide, Gore, Gun violence, Mental illness, Self harm, Forced institutionalization, Blood, Excrement, Medical content, Kidnapping, Cannibalism, Death of parent, Fire/Fire injury, Alcohol, War, and Injury/Injury detail

Major content warnings for death of a pet and loss of a loved one. Minor content warnings for drowning, climate change/global warming, drought, insects, mass murder, and divorce.

kalehouse's review

adventurous dark emotional funny lighthearted mysterious reflective 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? No

4.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Genocide, Racism, Car accident, Death of parent, Colonisation, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Confinement, Torture, Violence, Medical content, and Murder

Minor: Religious bigotry

morganperks's review

adventurous dark emotional funny mysterious medium-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

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, Death, Torture, Xenophobia, Grief, Car accident, Murder, Gaslighting, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Addiction, Animal death, Body horror, Genocide, Gore, Hate crime, Miscarriage, Racism, Terminal illness, Violence, Medical content, Medical trauma, Stalking, Death of parent, and Colonisation

Minor: Cancer, Confinement, Gun violence, and Kidnapping

marla_a's review

adventurous inspiring mysterious relaxing medium-paced

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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Blood, Grief, Car accident, and Murder

Moderate: Racism, Medical content, Medical trauma, and Sexual harassment

olivialandryxo's review

mysterious tense medium-paced

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

4.0

I wasn’t sure what to expect from Elatsoe, but it ended up being really good. I liked Ellie and Jay, and appreciated Ellie’s open, positive relationship with her parents. I don’t think I’ve ever read a book with a ghost dog before, but Kirby is undeniably a very good boy and I love him.

Little Badger’s take on paranormal creatures in the modern world was interesting and unique. I would’ve liked a bit more focus on that, but regardless, the blend of urban fantasy and mystery is something I think she handled well. Ghosts and vampires and fairy transport rings certainly spice up this whodunnit, as does the fact that the victim is able to tell Ellie who murdered him. Thus, this is a story of proving one man guilty rather than determining who is guilty. I was frequently surprised by the secrets Ellie and Jay unveiled.

Lastly, I liked that Ellie was queer. She’s definitely asexual and possibly aromantic as well, which means there’s no romance in this book, only jokes about how she’s totally not interested. It was nice to see her and Jay working together as friends and nothing more, with no unrequited crushes or hormones bogging down their relationship or kissing at inappropriate times. This is also, if I remember correctly, the first book I’ve read with an asexual protagonist that wasn’t strictly contemporary.

There are only two reasons I didn’t rate this five stars. One, like I said a bit earlier, I would’ve liked to see a bit more world-building, as it felt at times like Little Badger had a brilliant idea that was only partially explained on page and we were supposed to understand the rest. I did not. Two, while the intrigue was undoubtedly present and the mystery excellent, I thought the final scene with Allerton was anticlimactic, and I’m still not entirely sure what happened.

Despite that, Elatsoe is a great book, one of the most unique mysteries I’ve read, and a very impressive debut. I recommend it, and will definitely pick up more from this author in the future.

Representation

• Lipan Apache asexual protagonist
• Lipan Apache side characters
• side characters of color

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death, Body horror, Death, Gore, Racism, Violence, Blood, Grief, Car accident, and Murder

Moderate: Genocide, Medical content, and Medical trauma

Minor: Confinement, Gun violence, and Kidnapping

willohreadz's review

adventurous funny hopeful 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? No

5.0

I adore this book. It has been a long time since I was so tickled by a new book and author. The characters, the world building, the story - all amazing. A great mix of history and magic. There are characters that are LGBTQ+ - but it is not the focus of the story. The main character is Indigenous and it is a large part of the story. Myths and history and cultural practice make this story rich and powerful. Oh! And an adventure story featuring teen leads where the parents are present, involved, they trust their kid, the kid trusts their parents felt SUPER refreshing. The whole story felt hopeful and playful and sad and wonderful. I can not recommend this book enough.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death, Death, and Grief

Moderate: Genocide, Gore, Racism, Terminal illness, Blood, Medical content, Medical trauma, Car accident, and Murder