Reviews tagging 'Abandonment'

El año de gracia by Kim Liggett

14 reviews

emilywemily6's review against another edition

dark tense medium-paced

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

4.0

This book was a lot and I am still sifting through my feelings. It felt like a mix of The Handmaid’s Tale, Lord of the Flies, and The Hunger Games. This story was gruesome and the oppression the women are conditioned for within this society is horrendous. Unlike The Handmaid’s Tale, this book was more bizarre and less relatable to our current day, definitely leaning more towards horror than pure dystopian fiction. There was a lot of mystery inherent to the plot since no one in the community talks about what happens during the grace year, and I think my lack of knowledge about the book beyond the synopsis helped me enjoy the reading experience more. There were a lot of twists and turns and I really didn’t know where the book was headed! I really hated reading about the magic/madness of the girls in the enclosure and almost DNFed because I was very unsettled and frustrated with the behavior. This book was also pretty gorey. The romantic subplot was sweet and wholesome but I wanted more depth/deeper connection between the characters; they seemed to jump from trusting each other platonically to becoming intimate. The last 50 or so pages broke me. This book also uses a lot of ambiguity, which was intriguing yet sometimes frustrating. I really liked the realistic approach at the end where the girls supported each other in public for the first time, and while the world was the same, the girls and women were not. A sequel would be really fun to read to see how this world changes overtime! Revolution doesn’t happen in an instant. Lots of interesting themes that make this a great discussion book for YA and adults alike, though some of the author’s choices seemed to be more for shock value than for furthering the plot. Reading about sixteen year old girls was also not my favorite because these are the worst sixteen year old girls I have ever heard of.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Abandonment, Child abuse, Child death, Murder, Sexual harassment, Stalking, Trafficking, Bullying, Fire/Fire injury, Gaslighting, Blood, Body horror, Injury/Injury detail, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Suicidal thoughts, Pregnancy, Toxic friendship, Gore, Grief, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Classism, Confinement, Emotional abuse, Transphobia, Violence, Suicide, Death, and Self harm

Moderate: Medical content, Ableism, and Sexual content

Minor: Infertility

mommah's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated

3.75

I enjoyed reading this story.

The men in this book are awful in their beliefs and the way they treat women. There are a lot of vivid imagery that is very graphic through out this book. My favorite character is Tierney. She is a very strong protagonist. She cares deeply about the other girls and her family. She becomes torn as to what she should do and struggles to come to the her final decision which made me love her even more. She endures physical and emotional things through out the entire story. I personally wonder if I was to face half of the things she faced, would I be able to handle them. Just something to think about .

Overall I really enjoyed reading from this author. I would love to read from her again.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Gaslighting, Abandonment, Blood, Bullying, Gore, Grief, Violence, and Misogyny

Minor: Vomit and Pregnancy

winnie_is_swag's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional mysterious sad tense fast-paced

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

4.75

i really liked this book. 'twas beautifully written, and it made me emotional. the main character is strong and independent. it's like Lord of the Flies meets a Handmaid's Tale. Highly recommend.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Misogyny, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Sexual assault, Religious bigotry, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Blood, Animal death, Grief, Adult/minor relationship, Excrement, Gore, Death, Emotional abuse, Injury/Injury detail, Physical abuse, Sexual harassment, Violence, and Bullying

Moderate: Pregnancy, Medical content, Vomit, Sexual content, and Infertility

Minor: Sexual content, Rape, Classism, Abandonment, Homophobia, Cursing, Lesbophobia, and Alcohol

aformeracceleratedreader's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional hopeful sad medium-paced

• Loveable characters? It's complicated

4.0

Overall, loved this one. Very lord of the flies-esque and like Wilder Girls. My only criticism is that the message is like don't let men decide the fate and everything of women (women are their own entity and should fight for freedom/equity) but a lot of the defining moments for Tierney, the main girl, is centered around men. I could've dealt without

two men being in love with her and her falling in love with a poacher. And the fact that her love for some dude motivated her for survival. The ending was giving me "Katniss learning to love Peeta" vibes with having kids even though in the beginning the main character didn't want any domestic life. The guard thinking she was his property and being entirely unhinged was a nice surprise moment in the book for me tho

. Well written and kept me enthralled the whole time. Couldn't put it down.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Abandonment, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Murder, Blood, Bullying, Death, Animal death, Pregnancy, Sexism, Violence, and Confinement

Moderate: Infertility, Death of parent, Domestic abuse, Fatphobia, Gaslighting, Vomit, Infidelity, Lesbophobia, and Homophobia

Minor: Pedophilia

sierrabedwell's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional inspiring reflective fast-paced

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

4.75

I loved this book! It was very good from start to finish and I couldn’t stop listening! (Audiobook) the plot was unique - a mix between the hunger games and the handmaid’s tale - and the characters were realistic!!! There wasn’t a time when I thought that something wouldn’t actually happen in the given situation. I won’t spoil the end, but it’s not the traditional happy ending, and I liked that, because it was realistic! I also loved the political relevance of the topic and the metaphors that could be pulled from this book while reading. The ONLY thing I didn’t like, was

that Tyranny falls in love. I liked that it was with a poacher because it showed us that side of the community, but the fact that she ended up getting pregnant, and she thought she loved him even though they only really knew each other for a few months… just didn’t sit well with me. I also didn’t like that she got cleared of the charges when she got back.

Overall, the ending was amazing. I never knew what was going to happen, and it was very smart the way that they used the Governor’s words against him to back up Tyranny’s excuse. I also liked that there was no major uprising in the end, because real change takes time, and I think the book does an amazing job at showing that. Amazing read. Would recommend to everyone!!!

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcohol, Body horror, Religious bigotry, Bullying, Body shaming, Death, Emotional abuse, Hate crime, Misogyny, Murder, Physical abuse, Pregnancy, Gore, Abandonment, Blood, Grief, Homophobia, Injury/Injury detail, Cannibalism, and Fire/Fire injury

wickedreads's review against another edition

dark tense

4.25

 This book kinda fucked me up but it was really good. But I do have beef with the end 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Bullying and Abandonment

Moderate: Cannibalism and Violence

haleybre's review against another edition

dark emotional tense fast-paced

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

5.0

Amazing, emotional, raw.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood, Death, Bullying, Religious bigotry, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Abandonment, Sexism, Pregnancy, Violence, Child death, Injury/Injury detail, and Murder

Moderate: Homophobia, Sexual content, Infidelity, and Lesbophobia

kshertz's review against another edition

emotional hopeful inspiring tense medium-paced

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

5.0

This book. I loved it. It has a hunger games vibe but with girls who go out to get rid of their magic into the middle of nowhere. If they leave safety, poachers can kill them. It is masterfully done. I love the psychological pieces and power dynamics. I will definitely recommend for anyone who likes Hunger Games and YA novels. Fantastic. 

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Abandonment, Blood, Body horror, Child abuse, Child death, Injury/Injury detail, Violence, Murder, Bullying, Death, Emotional abuse, Toxic friendship, and Self harm

saurahsaurus's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional hopeful inspiring mysterious sad tense medium-paced

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

4.0

I love this book. Not a spoiler, but a little trite/maudlin at the end. Still a good ending and an overall very powerful read.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Classism, Abandonment, Emotional abuse, Injury/Injury detail, Gaslighting, Gore, Physical abuse, Religious bigotry, Sexism, Toxic friendship, Bullying, Child death, Death, Toxic relationship, Violence, Misogyny, and Confinement

Moderate: Suicide, Domestic abuse, Sexual content, Body horror, Child abuse, Kidnapping, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Fire/Fire injury, and Pregnancy

Minor: Sexual harassment and Adult/minor relationship

anger566's review against another edition

dark tense medium-paced

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

3.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexism, Child death, Injury/Injury detail, Death, and Violence

Moderate: Blood, Misogyny, Infidelity, Abandonment, and Pregnancy

Several people die throughout, and since most of the main characters are 16 I marked it as child death as well.