Reviews tagging 'Bullying'

Jackal by Erin E. Adams

12 reviews

bisexualbookshelf's review

dark reflective 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? Yes

4.75

In Jackal, Erin E. Adams weaves a haunting narrative of suspense, identity, and unresolved trauma set against the eerie backdrop of Johnstown, Pennsylvania. Liz, our narrator, is a Black woman reluctantly returning to her predominantly white Rust Belt hometown for a friend’s wedding. What begins as a weekend marked by tense reunions quickly unravels into a nightmarish hunt for answers after her goddaughter, Caroline, vanishes. The disappearance drags Liz into the heart of Johnstown’s sinister past, where young Black girls have been mysteriously vanishing for decades. Adams’s writing is richly atmospheric and unsettling, capturing both the literal and metaphorical shadows that haunt Liz’s journey as she delves into the chilling history of this town.

At its core, Jackal explores the complex intersections of race, class, and systemic erasure, particularly through Liz’s lens as a Black woman with a fraught relationship to her roots. Johnstown’s history of socioeconomic disparity and geographic segregation looms over the narrative, with Adams using the town’s recurring floods as a metaphor for how racial and economic divides continually wash over yet shape the lives of its residents. Liz’s inner conflict, shaped by impostor syndrome and a yearning to escape her small-town origins, reflects a common struggle among marginalized individuals seeking to break free from places and histories that feel confining or even dangerous. Adams’s exploration of Johnstown’s dark underbelly not only tackles the trauma inflicted on Black families but also questions the ease with which society allows certain histories and people to be forgotten.

Through unsettling interludes and supernatural elements, Adams blurs the lines between real and imagined horror, suggesting that the violence visited upon these young Black girls is both societal and supernatural in nature. Shadows, literal and metaphorical, stalk Liz, underscoring the sense of ever-present danger Black individuals face in predominantly white spaces. This supernatural mystery symbolically ties into the larger theme of erasure, portraying Blackness as both a target and a source of resilience amid pervasive hostility.

While Jackal maintains a tense, introspective tone that grips readers, the climax’s twist on why the girls went missing felt slightly disconnected from the broader narrative, leaving some aspects underexplored. However, Adams’s immersive prose and powerful themes of resistance and survival make Jackal a memorable read. This chilling story earns a 4.75-star rating for its evocative portrayal of Black womanhood within spaces determined to overlook it, even if some elements of the ending left me wanting more.

📖 Recommended For: Readers who enjoy atmospheric, suspenseful prose; those interested in the intersection of horror and social critique; fans of stories that confront racial trauma and explore Black identity in predominantly white spaces; and anyone drawn to narratives of resilience and mystery.

🔑 Key Themes: Systemic Erasure and Racial Injustice, Intergenerational Trauma, Identity and Alienation, The Power of Community, Visibility and Survival in Hostile Spaces.

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Child death, Gore, Blood, and Murder

Minor: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Bullying, Domestic abuse, Drug use, Eating disorder, Fatphobia, Racism, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Violence, and Alcohol

stachmou's review

dark emotional hopeful mysterious sad 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, Racial slurs, Toxic relationship, Violence, Death of parent, and Toxic friendship

Moderate: Alcoholism, Bullying, Child death, and Abandonment

mynameisrebecca's review

adventurous dark emotional mysterious reflective sad tense fast-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

4.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Child death, Domestic abuse, Physical abuse, Racism, Xenophobia, Blood, and Murder

Moderate: Bullying and Police brutality

Minor: Rape

sargasso_c's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional hopeful mysterious 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? It's complicated

4.75

This book is a marvel and should be taught in literature classes.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcoholism, Animal death, Body horror, Child death, Death, Gore, Racism, Violence, Xenophobia, Blood, Grief, Murder, Alcohol, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism

Moderate: Animal cruelty, Domestic abuse, Eating disorder, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Sexual content, Kidnapping, Stalking, and Abandonment

Minor: Adult/minor relationship, Body shaming, Bullying, Vomit, Medical content, Abortion, Pregnancy, and Gaslighting

talonsontypewriters's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense 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

2.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death, Body horror, Child death, Death, Gore, Gun violence, Hate crime, Racism, Violence, Blood, Kidnapping, Grief, Stalking, Murder, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism

Moderate: Alcoholism, Child abuse, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Physical abuse, Sexual content, Death of parent, and Alcohol

Minor: Bullying, Eating disorder, Fatphobia, Pedophilia, Racial slurs, Rape, Sexual assault, Suicide, and Vomit

Misogynoir. Missing person/child. Descriptions of corpses (human and animal).

mysterymom40's review

dark mysterious tense fast-paced

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

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Gore, Hate crime, Torture, Violence, Blood, Kidnapping, Murder, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Body horror, Confinement, Domestic abuse, Racism, Sexual content, Toxic relationship, Stalking, Toxic friendship, and Alcohol

Minor: Adult/minor relationship, Bullying, and Abandonment

edgaranjapoe's review against another edition

dark mysterious 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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Child death, Death, Gore, Racism, Kidnapping, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Domestic abuse, Physical abuse, Torture, Violence, Blood, Medical content, Grief, and Alcohol

Minor: Adult/minor relationship, Body shaming, Bullying, Confinement, Cursing, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Fatphobia, Hate crime, Mental illness, Misogyny, Panic attacks/disorders, Pedophilia, Racial slurs, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Suicide, Excrement, Vomit, Police brutality, Medical trauma, Stalking, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, and Sexual harassment

bjorksbutterfly's review

challenging dark emotional mysterious tense 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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, Death, Hate crime, Misogyny, and Racism

Moderate: Domestic abuse and Alcohol

Minor: Bullying

discarded_dust_jacket's review

dark mysterious tense medium-paced

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

3.5

As far as thrillers go, I wouldn’t necessarily call this story gripping in the I-couldn’t-put-it-down sort of way, but it does have this very haunting atmosphere that kept my attention. I found what the author has to say about growing up as one of the few Black children in a predominantly white town/neighborhood to be incredibly poignant, as well as the broader observations about life as a Black woman in this country:

“Your beauty is denied but replicated. Your sexuality is controlled but desired. You take up too much space, but if you are too small, you are ripped apart.” 

I can’t decide what it was about the ending that made me dislike it. Perhaps it was trying to do too much, or the tone of the narrative seemed to fall apart (intention maybe?), but in general, I was left a bit unsatisfied. 

The explanation of Jack’s character—his nature, his motivations, and his methods—were glossed over with these very wide, vague strokes (I’m wondering if he’s meant to be a metaphor for something and I’m just too dense to recognize it). Also, I feel like the ball got dropped where Chris is concerned. We suspect him, then we don’t, then for like one page we’re sure he’s the killer, then he disappears from the story entirely and the true killer is revealed, then he’s just sort of discarded. I didn’t really understand his true purpose in the story.  

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcoholism, Bullying, Domestic abuse, Gore, Hate crime, Racism, Blood, Kidnapping, and Murder

Moderate: Animal death, Eating disorder, and Stalking

coolfoolmoon's review

adventurous challenging dark emotional hopeful informative inspiring mysterious reflective 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

JAN 2023 REVIEW:
This is the hardest review I've ever had to write.

This is the best book I've ever read.

This is the hardest review for me because I don't know what to say. I don't know how to say it all. It's too good. I can't talk about the amazing writing, the beautiful imagery, the twists the turns I fell for every time. It's so personal. It's everything I've ever been looking for. Not even a quarter of the way through I was recommending it to people. Please, please, do yourself a favor, please, read this masterpiece. Buy this masterpiece. Listen to the audio of this masterpiece! Thank me later. I love you.

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NOV 2024 REVIEW:

I first read this before starting my master's degree. Now I'm done. Crazy! I love this book so much. I feel like I should read it after every milestone. I'm gonna get a heart feather scales tattoo next!

I love this book so much it makes me mad. I wish I wrote it. I hope to write something half as good someday!

Also, this was written in the shadow of Trump's 2016 election and I reread it in the shadow of... oh god please don't make me say it... Even with both perspectives, the book just gets better and better. A fine fine wine.

Erin E. Adams you will ALWAYS be famous!!!!!

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Child death, Death, Domestic abuse, Genocide, Gore, Hate crime, Misogyny, Racial slurs, Racism, Violence, Blood, Kidnapping, Grief, Stalking, Death of parent, Murder, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism

Moderate: Body horror, Bullying, Physical abuse, Sexual content, Xenophobia, Trafficking, and Gaslighting

Minor: Adult/minor relationship, Eating disorder, and Sexual assault