Reviews tagging 'Police brutality'

The Book Thief by Markus Zusak

49 reviews

jg34's review against another edition

adventurous challenging emotional funny sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes

5.0

Sorry I can’t write a review yet bc I’m still crying my eyes out 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Confinement, Death, Genocide, Racial slurs, Racism, Violence, Blood, Police brutality, Antisemitism, Grief, and War

Moderate: Child death, Suicide, Vomit, Death of parent, and Injury/Injury detail

Minor: Car accident

A boo set in nazi germany during WWII that does not shy from details

achay91's review against another edition

emotional sad tense medium-paced

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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Genocide, Racism, Torture, Violence, Religious bigotry, and War

Moderate: Suicide and Police brutality

lynini's review against another edition

dark emotional 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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Child death, Death, Genocide, Antisemitism, Grief, Death of parent, War, and Injury/Injury detail

Minor: Forced institutionalization and Police brutality

percys_panda_pillow_pet's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional reflective sad tense medium-paced

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

4.25

I don't know how to feel about this book. It is 2023 and I have finally read The Book Thief by Markus Zusak. This has been a long time coming. I had heard quite a bit about the book when it became a movie, and many have touted it as a modern classic, some teachers in the U.S. teaching it to their classes alongside Fahrenheit 451 and Romeo and Juliet. It has great critical acclaims and many of my close friends love it a lot.

Still, I cannot help but think I was...not disappointed but perhaps unenlightened, might be the best word here. Forgive me if I get a tad poetic here with my writing, I just think at least in my language I can do justice to a book that has done so much for others that it could not do for me. At this time in my life, I have already read several first-hand accounts of WWII, particularly from either the US or Jewish perspectives. Night by Elie Wiesel that I read in 8th grade comes to mind, a popular reading for school. I just don't think The Book Thief was necessary for me to read now.

Don't get me wrong, the novel isn't terrible by any means, and my star rating will reflect that feeling, but I don't need it. I know there are some out there that do, and that is where the book's value lies. I didn't need it to tell me there were good people in Germany at the time, I didn't need it to tell me there are innocents on both sides, to show me the absolute tragedy war is. I already knew all that and more. Zusak's writing is beautiful, and while the story was a bit slow-paced in the first quarter of the novel, I really zoomed through the rest of it, sitting on the edge of my seat when the tension was the highest. He really is an accomplished author, knowing exactly when to make a new section and ratchet up suspense for the reader. But when all was said and done, I felt myself questioning, "What else?" Sure, it's an important story, no doubt about that. But I wanted to know about the afterward. How do you come back from all that sorrow and anguish and persecution?

WWII books love to go on and on about the Holocaust and its effects, good to learn about absolutely, but I want to know about those who survived the camps, where did they go? What about the propaganda? That doesn't disappear overnight. Neither does the hatred. I'm just sort of done with stories like this, or The Boy in the Striped Pajamas. I'm done with the pain. I need hope too.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, Death, Genocide, Suicide, Violence, Police brutality, Antisemitism, Religious bigotry, Death of parent, and War

Moderate: Slavery, Suicidal thoughts, and Vomit

hdelossantos's review against another edition

challenging emotional sad tense medium-paced

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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Child death, Death, Terminal illness, Police brutality, Antisemitism, Death of parent, Fire/Fire injury, and War

malley's review against another edition

challenging emotional informative inspiring reflective sad tense 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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, Death, Genocide, Hate crime, Slavery, Torture, Antisemitism, Grief, Religious bigotry, Death of parent, and War

Moderate: Cursing, Racism, Suicide, Violence, Xenophobia, Blood, Police brutality, and Death of parent

jl_reads's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional funny inspiring sad tense slow-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? It's complicated

5.0

this book is absolutely beautiful yet heartbreaking. this book could’ve have had a happy ending but no mark chose crying instead. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Blood, Police brutality, Death of parent, Murder, and War

hitheremynameislisa's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional sad tense medium-paced

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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, Death, Genocide, Gun violence, Hate crime, Physical abuse, Racism, Suicide, Violence, Blood, Police brutality, Antisemitism, Death of parent, Murder, and War

Moderate: Grief and Injury/Injury detail

alexisgarcia's review against another edition

dark emotional informative reflective sad tense slow-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

this book is so devastatingly beautiful. there are some slower parts but you get to learn so much more about the characters and begin to fall in love with them. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Body horror, Bullying, Child death, Cursing, Death, Genocide, Gore, Violence, Blood, Police brutality, Antisemitism, Grief, Death of parent, Abandonment, Alcohol, War, and Classism

theonlybaillie's review against another edition

dark emotional inspiring reflective sad slow-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? It's complicated

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Emotional abuse, Hate crime, Physical abuse, Violence, Police brutality, Antisemitism, Grief, Religious bigotry, Fire/Fire injury, and War

Moderate: Bullying and Toxic friendship

Minor: Child abuse, Child death, Domestic abuse, Gun violence, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Self harm, Suicide, Medical content, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, and Injury/Injury detail

Pretty much TW for everything and anything.