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mk_loisirs's review against another edition
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? N/A
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body horror and Violence
Moderate: Death
anapthine's review against another edition
dark
emotional
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? No
5.0
This book was incredible. Just everything about it was amazingly done: the characters, the setting, the emotion and the plot. I was hooked: perched on the edge of my seat having to find out what will happen next. Johns clearly poured out their heart and soul into this book, emphasising the importance of indigenous voices: how they should be listened to and not ignored. The stories of generations and the Cree woven into this beautiful story. Some parts of it made my spine crawl, with it not being predictable and you always wanting to find out more.
Mackenzie has dreams of her dead sister, which begins to become more real forcing her to return home after leaving years ago. Crows seem to follow her - like some impending doom. Are these just dreams or is there more to it? What do they mean?
This is a must read. I have never read anything like it, and I doubt I ever will again. Jessica Johns is a beacon of indigenous voices and they will be heard.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal death, Death, Gore, Mental illness, Violence, Blood, Grief, Murder, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Vomit
Minor: Alcoholism and Alcohol
tenderbench's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
reflective
sad
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body horror, Death, Blood, and Grief
Moderate: Animal death, Cancer, Violence, and Vomit
orireading's review against another edition
emotional
mysterious
reflective
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? Yes
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body horror, Gore, Violence, Blood, and Injury/Injury detail
jyan's review against another edition
dark
informative
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal death and Grief
Moderate: Violence
Minor: Alcoholism, Racism, and Suicidal thoughts
soobooksalot's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
funny
informative
mysterious
reflective
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? Yes
4.5
Bad Cree is a story of loss, grief, family bonds, and culture. Literary fiction with a side of horror.
Thank you to HarperCollins Canada for my gifted copy for review.
Mackenzie is a young Cree woman troubled by the dreams she's had since her sister Sabrina's death. Dreams in which she even brings back items when she wakes. Are these nightmares, communications with spirits, or a creature based in legend?
I love Jessica Johns' writing style. Bad Cree is smart, crisp, and atmospheric. The perfect fusion of characterization and tension.
The story is filled with cultural insight of growing up Indigenous - the challenges, but also tradition and kindred connection.
This is a book to be experienced. I'll absolutely be keeping my eye out for future releases from this author.
Recommended!
For release on Jan. 10.
Thank you to HarperCollins Canada for my gifted copy for review.
Mackenzie is a young Cree woman troubled by the dreams she's had since her sister Sabrina's death. Dreams in which she even brings back items when she wakes. Are these nightmares, communications with spirits, or a creature based in legend?
I love Jessica Johns' writing style. Bad Cree is smart, crisp, and atmospheric. The perfect fusion of characterization and tension.
The story is filled with cultural insight of growing up Indigenous - the challenges, but also tradition and kindred connection.
This is a book to be experienced. I'll absolutely be keeping my eye out for future releases from this author.
Recommended!
For release on Jan. 10.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Animal death, Cancer, Chronic illness, Gore, Violence, Grief, Murder, and Alcohol
readingwithkaitlyn's review against another edition
dark
emotional
mysterious
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? Yes
4.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal death, Death, Racism, Violence, Blood, and Grief
Minor: Alcoholism, Cancer, and Drug abuse
Residential schools, heart attacks, drowning, missing people, MMIWG2S.readthesparrow's review against another edition
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
As you read this review, I want to give you a caveat. While I did not enjoy this book very much due to the issues I had with pacing, structure, and character, I don't think it's a bad book. It just didn't fulfill what I was looking for in an adult book, a horror book, or a mystery/thriller.
I'll start with the things I did like. The parts of the narrative that focused on familial relationships, memories, and the effects of death and grief were extremely well-written and memorable. My favorite part of the book is when Mackenzie describeshearing the sound of her kokum shaking a can of coins after her death, and her memories of the adults playing card games with the kids in the next room over listening. In fact, everything to do with the memories of her kokum and the way Mackenzie's family handled her death were beautifully done, with fantastic prose and good pacing.
Her relationships with her family were also the stand-out part of the book. Her having to navigate the complicated threads of being hurt, hurting others, and trying to heal were realistic, with miscommunications and mistakes from characters that felt natural. I loved that at the end of the book not everything had been wrapped up in a neat bow. Mackenzie acknowledges the mistakes she made with her family and wants to work on healing.
CHARACTER
When I started Bad Cree, I was confused. I avoid requesting YA titles on Netgalley because they are usually not for me, and I don't want to give a negative review of something I know I am not in the target audience for. The prose style, the character's maturity, and the structure of the book all came off as YA to me. When I finished the book, it wasn't until I was writing this review that I realized it was supposed to be an adult book, which surprised me. It felt like I was reading a YA.
It being adult fiction makes sense, to some extent; the main character is, I believe, in her 20s, and her cousin is a year younger, her sister older. While most of the time they act their age, there are moments that seem incredibly immature out of nowhere. For example, when Mackenzie begins to have her dreams, instead of turning to Google, she decides that the best course of action is to watch a bunch of Marvel movies, take notes on them, and then examine herself for bug bites. This was weird and distracting from the narrative--one of those things that took me completely out of immersion--and while I'd expect that kind of thing from a YA, I wouldn't expect it from an adult book. Maybe if it was an adult book about her being able to crawl around on walls, sure, but for supernatural dreams? Why not go with movies about dreams and dreaming instead?
Later in the book, when the three figure out what exactly is haunting Mackenzie, they decide totry and bring it out of her dreams. They do this with no solid idea of what it can do or how to kill it. The thing is, they have access to Google. They Googled to try to figure out what the creature was! All they had to do was add another keyword to the search! It's basic common sense! But they didn't do that for some reason completely unfathomable to me, even after Mackenzie asks how they're going to kill it.
Look. Adult characters can be immature, I understand that. In fact, adult characters should be immature at times. There are other moments in Bad Cree where they are immature, struggle with feelings, or make bad decisions in a way that was natural and made sense. But there are moments where the immaturity are so jarring that it takes me completely out of the narrative and feels out of place with previous characterization.
STRUCTURE/PROSE
This was another thing that led me to think Bad Cree was a YA book. Not to say the prose is bad, but more so that it echoes elements of YA horror I've read before; exposition dumping, skipping over/summarizing important dialogue scenes, and a lack of intense or tense horror elements consistantly being built up throughout the narrative in favor of most of the horrific elements being sprinkled in then rushed through in the last two or so chapters.
There were several places where exposition could have been handled differently and, in my opinion, far more effectively. For example, there is a moment at the beginning after Mackenzie wakes from a dream. After she wakes, the narrative backtracks and summarizes all the dreams before this one. She then calls her friend, Joli, and they talk about the situation. Instead of having the exposition dumped into the narrative, why not have it naturally explored in conversation? As a reader, reading Mackenzie explain it to another person would be far more engaging and understandable, and what she tells and what she keeps private would show a lot about not only Mackenzie or the situation but also her relationship with Joli.
Another spot this happens is with the plan topull the monster out of Mackenzie's dreams. Kassidy and Tracey suggest the plan mid-chapter, Mackenzie agrees to consider it, and at the beginning of the next chapter she has agreed to it. As a reader, I want to see her thought process. I want to see her weigh the options, consider the danger the monster could pose to her family in the house, try to come up with a plan. Instead she just agrees to it withou doing any of that. Halfway through that chapter she asks what they're going to do if it works. The plan is, and I quote, that they'll just "jump it." Mackenzie asks if it's that simple, her sister is like "maybe," and Mackenzie just accepts that as an answer. They've confirmed at this point it's dangerous, and they believe it is responsible for Sabrina's death. They know Mackinzie can be harmed in her dreams. They don't even grab weapons or try to arm themselves. They don't google "how to kill monster." It just seems bizarre that they don't do any of the obvious, basic things that this kind of plan would naturally lead to, which takes me out of narrative immersion.
HORROR
While I certainly loved the imagery in places, and liked the final confrontation with the monster, the overall use and effectiveness of horror elements in Bad Cree left something to be desired. I didn't get the intensity of feeling--of being stalked, of being watched,by something wearing your sister's face --from the narrative. Especially when the creature claims it has already been stalking Tracey, from which we only get the mushroom scene and then the flannel is burned and that element is solved immediately. It would have been far more interesting had its influence on Tracey been more gradual, more tense. For example, if had it been impossible or harder to burn the flannel (as that would have put extra pressure on in the final confrontation).
The only moments of horror we get are usually restricted to the dreams, save for at the very end. While her dreams are certainly interesting, the ways in which they encroach upon and prophysy the real world are more interesting, and I would have loved to see the boundaries between dream and reality played with more.
The monster's presence is not a terribly strong one, which I felt was a little disappointing. The monster is, obviously, connected heavily with grief and greed and misery. The descriptions of grief hanging in the halls of the house, of running under the surface, are wonderful. So why doesn't the monster do the same? Why does it not influence anything besides her dreams? I feel that the horror elements could have used a lot more development and intensity. The novel is described as "gripping" and "horror-laced," neither of which I found particularly accurate to my reading experience. I never felt as though any of the characters were actually in any danger from the monster, whether that be physical, mental, or emotional, not in the same way I was convinced of the pain they had in their relationships and the loss they felt.
From pretty early on in the book, I didn't think the narrative would end unhappily. Part of that was because I thought it was YA. When theywent to confront the monster, I didn't doubt that they would succeed without losing or hurting anyone in the process. For me, there was no feeling of tension because the tension and threat had been kept so solidly in the dream world up until that time I sincerely doubted the monster's ability to actually pose a threat. And I was right; Mackenzie killed it, without a scratch on her, her cousin, or her sister. Yes, two of them got hypnotized, but not in a way that was actually terrifying. Were there horror elements in the novel? Yes. Is this novel a horrifying novel? No, not really.
If this book's premise sounds interesting and you want an excellent book exploring grief, family, and loss, Bad Cree might be for you. But I can't say this book will ever be one I'll recommend as a horror, thriller, or mystery novel. It just doesn't quite tick those boxes for me. Maybe it will for you.
I'll start with the things I did like. The parts of the narrative that focused on familial relationships, memories, and the effects of death and grief were extremely well-written and memorable. My favorite part of the book is when Mackenzie describes
Her relationships with her family were also the stand-out part of the book. Her having to navigate the complicated threads of being hurt, hurting others, and trying to heal were realistic, with miscommunications and mistakes from characters that felt natural. I loved that at the end of the book not everything had been wrapped up in a neat bow. Mackenzie acknowledges the mistakes she made with her family and wants to work on healing.
CHARACTER
When I started Bad Cree, I was confused. I avoid requesting YA titles on Netgalley because they are usually not for me, and I don't want to give a negative review of something I know I am not in the target audience for. The prose style, the character's maturity, and the structure of the book all came off as YA to me. When I finished the book, it wasn't until I was writing this review that I realized it was supposed to be an adult book, which surprised me. It felt like I was reading a YA.
It being adult fiction makes sense, to some extent; the main character is, I believe, in her 20s, and her cousin is a year younger, her sister older. While most of the time they act their age, there are moments that seem incredibly immature out of nowhere. For example, when Mackenzie begins to have her dreams, instead of turning to Google, she decides that the best course of action is to watch a bunch of Marvel movies, take notes on them, and then examine herself for bug bites. This was weird and distracting from the narrative--one of those things that took me completely out of immersion--and while I'd expect that kind of thing from a YA, I wouldn't expect it from an adult book. Maybe if it was an adult book about her being able to crawl around on walls, sure, but for supernatural dreams? Why not go with movies about dreams and dreaming instead?
Later in the book, when the three figure out what exactly is haunting Mackenzie, they decide to
Look. Adult characters can be immature, I understand that. In fact, adult characters should be immature at times. There are other moments in Bad Cree where they are immature, struggle with feelings, or make bad decisions in a way that was natural and made sense. But there are moments where the immaturity are so jarring that it takes me completely out of the narrative and feels out of place with previous characterization.
STRUCTURE/PROSE
This was another thing that led me to think Bad Cree was a YA book. Not to say the prose is bad, but more so that it echoes elements of YA horror I've read before; exposition dumping, skipping over/summarizing important dialogue scenes, and a lack of intense or tense horror elements consistantly being built up throughout the narrative in favor of most of the horrific elements being sprinkled in then rushed through in the last two or so chapters.
There were several places where exposition could have been handled differently and, in my opinion, far more effectively. For example, there is a moment at the beginning after Mackenzie wakes from a dream. After she wakes, the narrative backtracks and summarizes all the dreams before this one. She then calls her friend, Joli, and they talk about the situation. Instead of having the exposition dumped into the narrative, why not have it naturally explored in conversation? As a reader, reading Mackenzie explain it to another person would be far more engaging and understandable, and what she tells and what she keeps private would show a lot about not only Mackenzie or the situation but also her relationship with Joli.
Another spot this happens is with the plan to
HORROR
While I certainly loved the imagery in places, and liked the final confrontation with the monster, the overall use and effectiveness of horror elements in Bad Cree left something to be desired. I didn't get the intensity of feeling--of being stalked, of being watched,
The only moments of horror we get are usually restricted to the dreams, save for at the very end. While her dreams are certainly interesting, the ways in which they encroach upon and prophysy the real world are more interesting, and I would have loved to see the boundaries between dream and reality played with more.
The monster's presence is not a terribly strong one, which I felt was a little disappointing. The monster is, obviously, connected heavily with grief and greed and misery. The descriptions of grief hanging in the halls of the house, of running under the surface, are wonderful. So why doesn't the monster do the same? Why does it not influence anything besides her dreams? I feel that the horror elements could have used a lot more development and intensity. The novel is described as "gripping" and "horror-laced," neither of which I found particularly accurate to my reading experience. I never felt as though any of the characters were actually in any danger from the monster, whether that be physical, mental, or emotional, not in the same way I was convinced of the pain they had in their relationships and the loss they felt.
From pretty early on in the book, I didn't think the narrative would end unhappily. Part of that was because I thought it was YA. When they
If this book's premise sounds interesting and you want an excellent book exploring grief, family, and loss, Bad Cree might be for you. But I can't say this book will ever be one I'll recommend as a horror, thriller, or mystery novel. It just doesn't quite tick those boxes for me. Maybe it will for you.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body horror, Death, Gore, Violence, Blood, Grief, Death of parent, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Addiction, Animal death, Cancer, Self harm, Cannibalism, and Injury/Injury detail
Death of sibling, death of grandparent