Reviews with content warning for Blood - Bad Cree

Reviews tagging 'Blood'

Bad Cree, by Jessica Johns

19 reviews

thequeeraunt's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious 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

5.0

Bad Cree is everything I was hoping for in a slow-burn light horror novel. I call this "light horror" because while there's an undercurrent of dread throughout the novel, the effect is more along the lines of a supernatural mystery to be solved rather than imagery intended to terrify. The true horror lies in the origins of the book's major conflicts, in the loss of loved ones both expected and not, and in the truly monstrous treatment of Indigenous people by colonizers. Bad Cree is as much a novel of generational trauma as of supernatural hauntings. It's about familial expectations, about the difficulty of accepting love when you don't see yourself as worthy of that love. It's about feeling like an outsider no matter where you go, and the infinite loneliness of depression.

I enthusiastically recommend Bad Cree to anyone who enjoys a bit of supernatural flavor with their narratives of family and racial trauma. I recommend it to anyone who enjoys reading works by Indigenous authors. Honestly, I recommend it to just about anyone. This is probably going to be one of my favorite books of 2023.

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blacksphinx's review against another edition

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emotional hopeful mysterious reflective 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

Somehow this is the third horror novel I've read this year about grief and the second about the death of a family member, and it's my favorite handling of the subject. At its heart, this is a novel about how you can't outrun your grief no matter how much it pains you to feel it.

It was also wonderful to see the treatment of a piece of indigenous folklore that is often misused and cheapened by outsiders being handled by someone from that culture!

If you're looking for something that will chill you to the bone and keep you up at night, I don't think this will do it for you. It is eerie and disorienting, focusing more on untangling a mystery than being scared. A peak atmospheric read.

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sarah984's review against another edition

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dark emotional mysterious medium-paced

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

4.0

Until the (excellent) ending the horror content was a little slow for me, but I loved the warmth and healing of the family relationships. They all felt like real people to me. It was also really refreshing to read a book that so completely centres women (and one nonbinary person) and their relationships to one another.

Raven Reads has not steered me wrong yet. Highly recommended.

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2treads's review against another edition

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dark hopeful reflective sad medium-paced

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

3.75

“Your body carries home just as much as the land.” – Mom

Johns' Bad Cree is an affecting novel that not only traces how grief impacts a family but how the unacknowledged loss and distance further affects a family. When Mackenzie begins dreaming and holding on physically to certain dream inhabitants, she seeks help from those who care for her the most.

But all is not well within the home or between sisters and mother and daughter. The lack of observance and communication around what and who they all have lost weighs heavy and has left a broken family in its presence. This is a story about healing within a unit, facing the heavy and unspoken that paralyze us, and coming through the other side the better for it.

The details of Cree life and worldview that are depicted here allow for the reader to become even more attached to this story and family. The undertones of fear and a looming darkness are subtle yet leave a sense of anticipation and impact as we get closer to what it means to walk these dreams.

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bookishcori's review against another edition

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challenging dark funny mysterious sad fast-paced

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

4.25

I really loved this one. Grief books are already my thing and this one had so many amazing lines that took my breath away.

It’s about family and sisters and aunties and community and dreams and so much grief - the unspoken, lonely, engulfing kind.

Plus it’s pretty creepy [maybe not horror, but definitely cringy]. It crescendos with a final reckoning, which highlights the importance of familial connection and speaking your truth.

P.S. High Prairie minutes are now part of my vernacular. I will accept no other.

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anapthine's review against another edition

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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.

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