Reviews tagging 'Self harm'

Red Rising - Kebangkitan Merah by Pierce Brown, Shandy Tan

15 reviews

spatterson7's review against another edition

adventurous dark tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• 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: Death, Gore, Violence, Blood, Murder, War, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Body horror, Child death, Cursing, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Slavery, Suicidal thoughts, Torture, Grief, Fire/Fire injury, Colonisation, and Classism

Minor: Animal death, Physical abuse, Self harm, Excrement, Cannibalism, and Death of parent

tokiberry's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark inspiring tense 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

4.5

Red Rising
⤷ ⭑⭑⭑⭑.𝟱

⟢• ❝ I would have lived in peace. But my enemies brought me war. ❞

I rated this a 4.5 but I’m rounding up my rating to a 5. For some reason, it felt wrong to keep it at a 4. This book is another title I kept seeing on social media and I admit, it was more better than I expected. You’ll love to hate and hate to love characters. This was one crazy rollercoaster of emotions that kept building and building.

THE AUDIOBOOK IS AMAZING. I urge you to listen to it.

I’m not into sci-fi genres, but I can’t help but wonder what comes next after that crazy ending. I’m happy I only got into this now because I am definitely reading the next books in the series.

“You do not follow me because I am the strongest. Pax is. You do not follow me because I am the brightest. Mustang is. You follow me because you do not know where you are going. I do.” •⟢

┆ Bloodydamn.

“Break the chains, my love.”

⋆˙⟡♡

post-read: WHAT THE HECK

pre-read: i couldn't resist

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Cursing, Deadnaming, Death, Gore, Physical abuse, Rape, Self harm, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Slavery, Torture, Violence, Blood, Grief, Murder, Sexual harassment, War, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Bullying

Minor: Alcohol

mayabaxx's review against another edition

dark sad tense medium-paced

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

3.5

Who TF is recommending this as YA?
Picturing a white man sitting down and writing this level of graphic violence, gore and sexual assault makes me uncomfortable. And it’s only ever been recommended to me by a man who says it’s their favourite book ever. Like ok. Don’t ever come near me, thanks.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Bullying, Death, Gore, Physical abuse, Slavery, Suicide, Violence, Grief, Death of parent, Murder, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Animal death, Rape, Self harm, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Excrement, Vomit, Cannibalism, and Colonisation

eefmaoam's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious tense medium-paced

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

4.0

This story was different than I expected it to be, both in good and bad ways. 

I love the premise, world building, characters, and general ~vibes~. The story is pretty fast paced in the beginning, to slow down a bit after the first ~25% of the story, which gives you some to time to get used to the current situation and what has happened before that point; it really works. It’s clear from the very first chapter what this book will be about and it still manages to surprise me and not felt like a dime a dozen dystopian YA book, just going through the motions. 

However, even though the plot itself was surprising, the beginning (and also some minor plot points after that), was pretty obvious and felt a little too easy; it didn’t feel like it was the writers intention to make the reader more knowledgeable than the characters in the story, therefore not increasing tension but taking some away. This problem did let up, once the story ramped up luckily! 
Second point of ‘megh, why, otherwise this was a 5-star read’ is the weird discrepancy between the actual age of the main character and how he came across. Yes, Darrow sometimes even makes remarks about this himself, and, yes, it makes some sense in this world looking at his background, but it still irked me. Especially when

he has sex with his, also underage, wife (reading it felt pretty yucky, even if it fits the narrative)

and

when the other student, supposedly around his age and even less developed mentally then Darrow himself, start raping each other (yes, that happens in the real world as well, and I’ve read multiple books in the same genre that also discuss it, but this felt so much more jarring because of their age and the way it is discussed. And no, not in a ‘what a cruel dystopian world this is, that these things happen!!!’ kind of way)

, but also more generally it gave a bit of an ~I’m not like other people!!!~ vibe that reminded me a little bit too much of some YA troops. But, this problem has also (partially) solved itself now with him aging in the story. 

Over all I’m excited to start the second book. I’ve seen some people think that the story really gets going only during the second book, so I’m hopeful I will enjoy it even more and my icks will not rear their heads again! 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Bullying, Child death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Rape, Excrement, Grief, Death of parent, Murder, Gaslighting, and Classism

Moderate: Gun violence, Self harm, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Blood, Medical trauma, Abandonment, and War

a_bow's review against another edition

adventurous challenging funny tense fast-paced

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

4.5

Excellent example of how unchecked capitalism negatively impacts everyone, including those it benefits. It's in the same vein as Hunger Games.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death, Bullying, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Mental illness, Misogyny, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Police brutality, Murder, Colonisation, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Ableism, Addiction, Alcoholism, Pedophilia, Self harm, Slavery, Suicidal thoughts, Torture, Blood, Suicide attempt, and Sexual harassment

Minor: Vomit, Medical content, and Abortion

zanazy's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional 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

3.0

This was the first male main character lead story and sci-fi fantasy I’ve ever read. The setting is a dystopian society sometime in the future. Earth is dying/has died, and humanity has found a home in other planets. Darrow the main protagonist is a strong and complicated character. The book takes a few early chapters to set the setting of the story and the "caste" like system, and then quickly introduces the conflict and sets Darrow up for his story arc. Very early on, you get a sense of how far humanity is willing to go to survive, at the cost of others, and how the governing leaders silence those who dare to speak up. 

There is a mystery around the death of

Eo. Right away I want to know more about her song and what her last words were. The impact her death has on Darrow influences him and stay with hin throughout the story. I have a feeling we will learn more about Eo as the story continues.

 

The supporting characters in this story are all complicated and complex characters that add to the storyline and make you invest in their fates. Darrow finds himself in a world where everyone should be his enemy, and where despite his new status he is still a lower ranking than his peers, but he rises above and is a natural leader. He is a great example of someone who was born to lead. His leadership growth and the way he adapts and learns from his early mistakes in being a leader humanize him and make him relatable. No character in the story is without flaws. 

There is very little romance in the story, which I thought I would miss, but it fits the setting. There are hints of characters becoming more, and the gradual build-up to this relationship is realistic, due to Darrow's early loss in the book. I look forward to seeing how this relationship evolves. 

My favorite relationship is that of Sevro and Darrow. Brothers, loyalty, pride, and overcoming misconceptions and status. Sevro and the Howlers are the best, and their loyalty to Darrow, the Reaper is a highlight. I can't wait for Darrow to prove everyone wrong and show that loyalty was not just confined to their trial, some bonds truly cannot be broken and are for life. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Torture, Violence, Murder, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Cursing, Death, Sexual assault, Blood, Medical content, Cannibalism, Alcohol, War, and Classism

Minor: Animal death, Bullying, Physical abuse, Rape, Self harm, Slavery, and Grief

bookfulthoughts's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark hopeful inspiring reflective sad 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? It's complicated

4.5

Magnetic and captivating ✨

“I am the spark that will set the worlds afire. I am the hammer that cracks the chains.”

I really liked this one! The story was extremely well written and interesting. The world building was excellent and extremely detailed. I was able to visualize exactly what was happening and what everyone looked like! I like that the plot was never lost in the storytelling and this book sets up for the rest of the books in the series perfectly. I do believe that I can see this book becoming a classic in the near future. I loved the concept of the color classism and how that was presented. In my opinion, that was a unique aspect of the story. I also loved that Darrow wasn’t perfect! I he has many flaws but that’s what makes this book good. It gives his character room to grow and develop in complexity.

My reasoning for not giving it 5 stars. Personally, in certain parts of the book it was very reminiscent of the Hunger Games. Having inspiration is fine and I have no problem with that. I’m not sure if it's just me but some scenes felt too familiar. Another thing I took points off for was the fact that I felt like I should have been more emotionally attached to certain characters but I didn’t feel much when things happened. I felt like it was a little cold at times with other characters. Besides these issues, I really liked this book and I do plan on reading the rest of the series in the near future. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Confinement, Death, Emotional abuse, Genocide, Gore, Gun violence, Hate crime, Physical abuse, Racism, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Slavery, Torture, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Blood, Kidnapping, Grief, Stalking, Murder, Gaslighting, Toxic friendship, Sexual harassment, War, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism

Moderate: Addiction, Alcoholism, Cursing, Racial slurs, Self harm, Sexism, Cannibalism, and Death of parent

lillelow's review against another edition

DNF 40%.

The book begins the worst possible way with drunk father figures and community leaders laughing about raping the protagonist’s wife - and no one raises an eyebrow. Misogyny, machoism, masochism, prostitution as a means of female survival and male pleasure, a world in which all women are beautiful, marry when they’re 14 and work with silk while all the manly men work in the mines… This is a sci-fi novel, a world of make believe. You can write about ANYTHING. Create ANY future. Yet this is what we get. I’m SO F* TIRED of reading about this bullshit.

I wanted to put the book down then and there, but decided to give it a go because of all the good reviews.

I shouldn’t have bothered. It doesn’t get better.

The premiss is interesting, but the execution and the character portrayal is horrible.

I didn’t like the protagonist at all. Clever, brave, strong, humble, hardworking, loving… All the right things! At least, that’s what I’m told. Honestly, all I see is a self absorbed insular teenager with no weakness who excels at everything he does for no reason other than he’s the chosen one. He doesn’t have to be likeable, but believable is quite important, and this book does none of it.

The supposedly romantic interactions between the protagonist and his wife are probably supposed to be charming and sweet but only feel stiff, cliche and childish and evoke no emotions at all. But hey, at least she is incredibly beautiful and we’re told everyone loves her… I guess that was enough for the author.

I didn’t like any of the other characters either. Even the ones who are described in good light are horrible, not to mention the way they express themselves. I’m not prude. Explicit language and swearing is fine. But most of the writing, dialogue, slurs and expletives in this book are just disturbing and annoying. You cannot make me believe people talk like this for real. Is it supposed to be cool?? I couldn’t stand it, I hated almost everyone and the flat writing did nothing to help.

At 40% through, I couldn’t take it anymore. I didn’t care about the story or the characters and was mostly annoyed at it all. Ender’s Game’s the perfect chosen one meets the segregation and killing of The Hunger Games or Gladiator (only it’s terrible) in a violent color-coded elite school on Mars with some sprinkles… no, make that a heavy rain…. of machoism and sexism.

No thank you.
★★-

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Adult/minor relationship, Alcoholism, Body horror, Body shaming, Bullying, Confinement, Cursing, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug use, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Gore, Hate crime, Mental illness, Misogyny, Panic attacks/disorders, Racial slurs, Racism, Rape, Self harm, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Slavery, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Toxic relationship, Blood, Excrement, Trafficking, Kidnapping, Medical trauma, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, Gaslighting, Alcohol, Sexual harassment, Colonisation, War, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism

stephanie_ap_sweeney's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional 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? No

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Emotional abuse, Genocide, Gore, Hate crime, Rape, Self harm, Sexual assault, Slavery, Torture, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Grief, Cannibalism, Murder, Toxic friendship, War, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism

marla_arguelles's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark mysterious reflective sad slow-paced

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

2.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Bullying, Child abuse, Child death, Confinement, Cursing, Death, Emotional abuse, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Rape, Self harm, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Slavery, Torture, Violence, Blood, Kidnapping, Grief, Death of parent, Murder, Toxic friendship, Sexual harassment, and War