Reviews tagging 'Death of parent'

Jackal by Erin E. Adams

30 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

justatrinket's review

dark mysterious reflective 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? It's complicated

4.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, Death, Blood, Death of parent, Murder, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Racism and Toxic relationship

meg_thebrave's review

adventurous challenging dark emotional mysterious tense fast-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

5.0

This book is stunning. It’s well crafted, engaging, filled with horrors both supernatural and almost mundane. Holy shit, read this book. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, Domestic abuse, Racism, Death of parent, and Classism

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

kimisaboss123's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional 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

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Child death, Death, Domestic abuse, Gore, Racism, Blood, Kidnapping, Death of parent, and Murder

Moderate: Grief, Stalking, and Alcohol

Minor: Cursing and Classism

marinnelilly's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional mysterious sad tense medium-paced

• Diverse cast of characters? Yes

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Racism and Violence

Moderate: Body horror, Child death, Domestic abuse, Hate crime, Rape, Kidnapping, Grief, Cannibalism, Death of parent, and Murder

tey_lynn's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional inspiring mysterious sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? N/A
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Confinement, Cursing, Death, Gore, Racial slurs, Racism, Violence, Blood, Grief, Death of parent, and Murder

Moderate: Child death, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, and Kidnapping

zumpers's review

dark mysterious tense medium-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? Yes

3.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death, Body horror, Death, Gore, Hate crime, Racism, Violence, Blood, Kidnapping, Death of parent, Murder, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Cursing, Domestic abuse, and Alcohol

Minor: Panic attacks/disorders, Rape, Suicide, Grief, and Stalking

chefboyavi's review

adventurous dark emotional mysterious sad 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? Yes

3.0

This is one of those books I wish I could love. It has a strong premise but the writing style didn’t resonate with me. It’s overwritten in a way that makes me feel like the author doesn’t trust the reader to follow her where she wants you to go. I think if it were a bit more restrained, it would be a great book.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Body horror, Child abuse, Child death, Death, Domestic abuse, Gore, Hate crime, Physical abuse, Racism, Sexism, Sexual assault, Suicide, Violence, Blood, Medical content, Kidnapping, Grief, Stalking, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, Murder, Alcohol, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism

sjclay122's review against another edition

dark emotional 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: Death and Blood

Moderate: Alcoholism, Child death, Gun violence, Hate crime, Racism, Rape, Toxic relationship, Violence, Kidnapping, Death of parent, Murder, and Alcohol