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Reviews tagging 'Blood'
Die Marveller – Magie aus Licht und Dunkelheit - Das gefährliche erste Jahr by Dhonielle Clayton
10 reviews
hedyharper's review against another edition
- 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? No
4.0
Graphic: Bullying, Confinement, Death, Emotional abuse, Hate crime, Mental illness, Racism, Xenophobia, Blood, Medical content, Kidnapping, Medical trauma, Murder, Gaslighting, Colonisation, and Classism
caitcosentino's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.25
I guessed most of the twists but still enjoyed it. I do wish the villian was a little more compelling.
Graphic: Racism
Moderate: Blood and Kidnapping
Minor: Death
aliciawhatsthestory's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0
The way that Ella is treated as she starts as the the first Conjuror to attend the Arcanum Training Institute in the clouds draws a clear parallel to real world prejudice and the ways that “politeness” and “tradition” are weaponized against marginalized people. Despite this clear commentary, the story stays focused on Ella, her experiences, her positive attitude, and her excellence. It highlights the importance of uplifting differences, rather than shying away from and othering them.
Through their friendship, Ella, Brigit, and Jason show bravery, heroism, and the great things that can be achieved with acceptance and collaboration. This is a truly magical world that I am excited to revisit in the second installment.
The one small annoyance was that the author seems to conflate knitting, quilting, and crochet, which are three different crafts. I am hoping for an explanation in the next book.
Graphic: Racism
Minor: Child death, Death, and Blood
qrschulte's review against another edition
- 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
Graphic: Bullying, Racism, Xenophobia, Gaslighting, and Classism
Moderate: Child abuse, Confinement, Emotional abuse, Hate crime, Blood, Kidnapping, and Abandonment
Minor: Child death, Torture, Medical content, Stalking, Murder, Outing, and Injury/Injury detail
jupternorth's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.75
Graphic: Bullying, Hate crime, Xenophobia, Blood, and Kidnapping
Moderate: Death and Murder
Minor: Child death
emily_mh's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.5
Let's start with the positives! Clayton has created an incredibly rich magical world. I liked the steampunk vibes and how this played into the types of transport featured. In terms of the Arcanum Training Institute, it was clear a lot of thought had gone into the Paragons and what magic could do, and it was cool seeing this reflected in the classes that Ella took. My absolute favourite part of the worldbuilding was the shops and foods that Clayton envisioned. It's these little details that really bring worlds to life for me!
As well as this, the main character Ella was a lovely one to follow. I liked her determination and curiosity. Finally, I thought it was sweet that Clayton named so many minor characters after her author friends - it was a nice touch.
Now time for the negatives. My biggest one is that you are really thrown in the deep end regarding worldbuilding - names and terminology are thrown at you in a kind of info-dumpy way so that for the first wee while I was a bit lost and overwhelmed. I still don't fully understand the difference between Conjuring and Marvelling, and why the latter shunned the former (maybe I missed something important??).
My other major issue with the book was pacing. I am being fully serious when I say that an actual plot directly involving the MC doesn't begin until you are over 60% of the way through the book. Prior to this Ella is finding her footing at the ATI, which is an important part of the story, but means that the overarching plot that is mentioned in the synopsis is pushed into the last third of the book and rushed through. I also found the way the climax was written to be quite anti-climactic. I will say that when the plot did kick in I was enjoying my time with the book much more, which gives me lots of hope for the next instalment in the series.
Overall, while I was a little disappointed by this book I would by no means say it was bad and I'm really looking forward to picking up the next instalment and seeing where Ella goes next.
As a side note, I listened to the audiobook for this one which I definitely would not recommend. The narrator could not do the accents required by the narrative and there were too many mispronunciations (e.g. preening was pronounced as pre-enning, and mimicry was pronounced as me-me-cry). The narrator also didn't follow textual cues (e.g. "she whispered" or "she hollered") and seemed more focussed one enunciation than narrating naturally and with flow.
Graphic: Bullying, Racism, and Xenophobia
Moderate: Hate crime and Violence
Minor: Animal cruelty, Child death, Confinement, Death, Gore, Physical abuse, Racism, Slavery, Torture, Blood, Excrement, Police brutality, Medical content, Murder, and Toxic friendship
Graphic: bigotry. Note: the racism in the graphic warning above refers mostly to ethnic racism. Minor: missing loved one, illness, self-injury, loss of a loved one, imprisonment.purplepenning's review against another edition
4.0
Moderate: Bullying, Hate crime, Racism, Forced institutionalization, Kidnapping, Grief, and Toxic friendship
Minor: Blood
betweentheshelves's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.5
Clayton's skills in world building are on full display here! If you're a fan of magical schools in the slightest, you'll absolutely love this. Arcanum is a magical school in the sky. What isn't to love about that? The way that we're presented with the world and the school quickly pulls you into the story. I promise you'll be hooked from the get go!
And the characters! Not only do we get to see them through interactions, but the bits and pieces between chapters. Throughout, Clayton includes news clippings, messages, etc. to help with building characters and the world. And it works so well! Not only does it help with world building, but we get to see different character personalities as well. Honestly, it just makes you fall in love with this little group of misfits even more.
All in all, if you're looking for a new middle grade fantasy to dive into, definitely pick this one up when it comes out in May!
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Let me tell you, this book is a delight! From the magic school to the friendships made to the overall world. Middle grade fantasy fans will definitely enjoy this! Stay tuned for a full review to come next week.
Graphic: Racism
Moderate: Bullying, Xenophobia, and Blood
Minor: Death, Medical content, and Kidnapping
armontheroad's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
Graphic: Racism
Moderate: Blood
Minor: Death, Medical content, and Kidnapping
annalisaely's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0
Moderate: Bullying, Xenophobia, Blood, and Kidnapping