Reviews tagging 'Vomit'

Jackal by Erin E. Adams

19 reviews

rachaelwho's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional mysterious tense medium-paced

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

3.25

First of all, this cover blurb: 

I read this thriller that is Get Out meets The Vanishing Half in one night." BuzzFeed

is just racist. This book bears nearly no resemblance to either of those except that they were written by Black people and there is a paranormal element. This pissed me tf off when I realized how inaccurate it was, you're just naming two Black things you're aware of. Gross. 

Anyway. 

I mostly *really* liked this despite not being into thrillers-- until the wheels came off in the last third. The first 2/3 got ~4 stars, and the final 3rd is like a 2. There were so many threads, a few of which felt like they belonged to an earlier draft, and they got yanked together clumsily.

The supernatural elements didn't feel earned, and there was a weird "both sides" tone in the closing that undercut the nuanced work it had been building around racism, the legacy of segregation, and anti-Blackness from within the community and the self. It also didn't quite deal with Liz's dangerous secret alcoholism. Also, I get that they were going for Anubis, but the jackal didn't quite work-- there are no jackals in the US and they're tiny, like fox-sized. And Anubis wasn't evil? It just didn't really work and was explained away by "uhh... It's your imagination!" Also, these mfks are still racist, and the police just suddenly say the jig is up, guess we'll follow up on all this, our b...??? A lot of the book had a deft touch so idk what happened here toward the close.

 

ETA: The audio performance by Sandra Okuboyejo was fantastic, hope to hear from her again. She really gave it a lot of feeling that even many very good voice actors wouldn't. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death, Child death, Domestic abuse, Hate crime, Racism, Violence, Blood, Kidnapping, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Alcoholism, Eating disorder, Pedophilia, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Toxic relationship, Grief, Death of parent, Toxic friendship, Alcohol, and Classism

Minor: Vomit

amalas_bookstop's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional informative mysterious 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? Yes

5.0

This has been the best thriller I have read all year. There is something about a black horror novel, that is strangely right up my alley. I enjoyed every bit of this ride. The author is able to worked the realness of racism and the fear that brings in and of itself with the magical realism that is going on in the woods. I am going to be on the hunt to read more thrillers like this one.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Panic attacks/disorders, Racial slurs, Racism, Violence, Kidnapping, Stalking, and Murder

Moderate: Domestic abuse

Minor: Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, and Vomit

clarkg's review

dark emotional mysterious sad tense medium-paced

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

3.75

Overall, I found this book to be a pretty compelling thriller with a decent twist ending. It's explorations or race, class, gender, and the geography and topography of the land were unlike anything I have read before and I valued Erin Adams' unique creative vision. That said, some moments felt heavy-handed and trope-y, which took me out of it a bit. Even with that caveat, I would still recommend it. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Body horror, Child death, Death, Domestic abuse, Hate crime, Physical abuse, Racism, Torture, Violence, Blood, Kidnapping, Stalking, Murder, Gaslighting, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Addiction, Alcoholism, Child abuse, Confinement, Pedophilia, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Suicide, Toxic relationship, Excrement, Vomit, Grief, and Alcohol

zgreyz's review against another edition

dark 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? It's complicated

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Racism, and Violence

Moderate: Stalking and Murder

Minor: Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Vomit, and Trafficking

theboricuabookworm's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious sad 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? It's complicated

4.0

A gripping and intense (semi-paranormal) thriller that leaves me just a little wary of forests now. The book ends masterfully illustrating a point that Liz was trying to argue for the entire book: the world only cares and believes when the bad things happens to the white women even when the Black women have been the primary - and sometimes only - victims. Throughout the entire book, my suspects kept jumping and that is a credit to Adams ability to make us - and Liz - trust in different people every time. I'm not a thriller person much at all but Jackal is certainly one I will recommend.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death, Gore, and Racism

Moderate: Child abuse and Kidnapping

Minor: Rape, Violence, and Vomit

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

laguerrelewis's review

challenging dark emotional 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

4.5

Jackal was a powerful read, offering both an engaging thriller tale and a rumination on Black womanhood in predominantly white spaces. Adams’ writing is dripping in atmosphere, and Liz is a protagonist I cared for immensely. The mystery elements were surprising and kept me on my toes until its very satisfying conclusion, and the tension really builds in a way that keeps pages turning while still allowing for reflection and rumination. A perfect read for a chilly Halloween!

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death, Body horror, Child death, Death, Gore, Hate crime, Racial slurs, Racism, Violence, Blood, Police brutality, Kidnapping, Grief, Murder, Alcohol, and Injury/Injury detail

Minor: Rape, Sexual content, and Vomit

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).

dustghosts's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional mysterious 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

3.75

Overall, I really enjoyed reading this— easy to devour and I found myself hanging on to the mystery. The writing style struck a strange balance between being too straightforward (telling not showing, as the phrase goes 🙄) and too vague, which left me a bit unsure at the beginning. The story and themes feel big, ambitious, like they are tackling a lot of different, lived aspects of classism, racism, and misogynoir at once— some more successfully than others. I actually quite liked the supernatural aspects, here— my only complaint being that I think the author could have left them more open-ended/vague, as I think what lets that part down is the same aspect I mentioned earlier (too clean to be unclear, too vague to be satisfying). This is a bit of a romp and appropriately troubling and thoughtprovoking throughout. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcoholism, Body horror, Child death, Death, Gore, Hate crime, Racial slurs, Racism, Violence, Stalking, Murder, Toxic friendship, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Animal death, Misogyny, Sexual content, Violence, Blood, Vomit, Grief, Gaslighting, and Classism

mlewis's review

dark emotional mysterious reflective sad tense medium-paced

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

3.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcoholism, Child death, Gore, Racism, Violence, Murder, Alcohol, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Toxic relationship

Minor: Body shaming, Rape, and Vomit