Reviews tagging 'Gun violence'

Sorrowland by Rivers Solomon

73 reviews

katherineshawwrites's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional hopeful mysterious tense medium-paced

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

5.0

This is one of those books that stick with you. It's gritty and bleak, yet fascinating, surprising and powerful. Rivers Solomon doesn't hold back when laying bare the US' dark history of colonisation, corruption, racism and religious oppression, putting these themes at the forefront of this dark speculative story. There is mystery throughout, with the truth being bizarre and yet believable, leading us into a gripping, tragic and somehow hopeful finale.

It isn't an easy read - Vern is definitely a morally grey main character who can be unlikeable at times, but she's also incredibly sympathetic, and you are always rooting for her to finally achieve peace, both with herself and her situation.

All in all, an excellent book, and I will definitely pick up more of Solomon's work.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Homophobia, Racism, Sexual content, Violence, Blood, Religious bigotry, Murder, Pregnancy, Lesbophobia, and Gaslighting

Moderate: Addiction, Adult/minor relationship, Alcoholism, Gun violence, Misogyny, Medical content, and Colonisation

nonidude's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional hopeful reflective sad tense medium-paced

• Diverse cast of characters? Yes

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Animal death, Bullying, Death, Gore, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Racism, Self harm, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Medical trauma, Murder, Lesbophobia, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Gun violence, Grief, Mass/school shootings, and Fire/Fire injury

Minor: Child death, Drug use, Genocide, Homophobia, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Terminal illness, Cannibalism, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, Cultural appropriation, and Alcohol

casdelvo's review against another edition

dark emotional hopeful mysterious reflective tense 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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Gore, Sexual content, Blood, and Murder

Moderate: Animal death, Gun violence, Racism, Self harm, Sexism, Toxic relationship, Kidnapping, and Lesbophobia

Minor: Addiction, Adult/minor relationship, Child abuse, Child death, Suicide, Trafficking, and Religious bigotry

ash_ton's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious sad 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

3.75

i read this for the LGBTQIA+ book club i'm a part of! i don't normally gravitate towards science fiction so it's always nice to be pleasantly surprised. 
i was not expecting the turn the book took. like, at all. wild

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Death, Genocide, Gore, Gun violence, Homophobia, Self harm, Violence, Blood, Religious bigotry, Stalking, Murder, Pregnancy, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Alcoholism, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Child death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Misogyny, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Racism, Sexism, Sexual content, Medical content, Grief, Cannibalism, Death of parent, Alcohol, and Colonisation

Minor: Bullying, Cancer, Drug abuse, Drug use, Suicide, Terminal illness, and Cultural appropriation

hel_lothere's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional hopeful inspiring sad tense slow-paced

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

4.5

really really good. impactful and horrific

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Gun violence, Homophobia, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Racism, Rape, Self harm, Sexual violence, Blood, Police brutality, Medical content, Religious bigotry, Murder, and Pregnancy

bruisedtigers's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional mysterious sad tense medium-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

3.75

I enjoyed this a lot! This developed really well for 3/4 of the story, but the conclusion felt sadly rushed in comparison, which is a shame because it flows so well beforehand. 

Some dialogue with side/supporting characters is very heavy-handed for making a statement, which is all very well, but feels unbalanced compared to the more eloquent writing of similar issues in other sections of the book. Unfortunately, it sticks out in an odd way. 

The character work is great and I always admire well-written child characters in fiction. So much of this gets under the skin and lurks in an eerie way. Unique with its horror elements and very haunting.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Body horror, Domestic abuse, Gun violence, Hate crime, Homophobia, Mental illness, Misogyny, Panic attacks/disorders, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Sexism, Sexual violence, Slavery, Torture, Toxic relationship, Violence, Police brutality, Kidnapping, Grief, Mass/school shootings, Medical trauma, Stalking, Murder, Pregnancy, Fire/Fire injury, and Injury/Injury detail

directorpurry's review against another edition

challenging dark hopeful medium-paced

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

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Gun violence, Homophobia, Racism, Slavery, Violence, Police brutality, Medical trauma, Lesbophobia, and Classism

Moderate: Child death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Physical abuse, and Pregnancy

delaneybull's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious sad tense medium-paced

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

4.0

I liked it but boy it was intense.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Body horror, Emotional abuse, Gore, and Gun violence

Moderate: Racism

Minor: Religious bigotry and Pregnancy

maksipad's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional hopeful reflective sad tense medium-paced

• 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? Yes

5.0

This book was incredible. Gruesome in exactly the way it was intended. I will be thinking about Solomon’s commentary on community, queerness, and the violent legacy of whiteness for a long time.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Adult/minor relationship, Alcoholism, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Body horror, Child abuse, Child death, Chronic illness, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Gore, Gun violence, Hate crime, Homophobia, Mental illness, Misogyny, Racism, Self harm, Slavery, Suicide, Torture, Violence, Xenophobia, Blood, Police brutality, Grief, Cannibalism, Religious bigotry, Medical trauma, Stalking, Murder, Colonisation, and Injury/Injury detail

tinyjude's review against another edition

challenging dark mysterious slow-paced

• 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? It's complicated

3.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Body horror, Child abuse, Confinement, Death, Drug abuse, Genocide, Gun violence, Hate crime, Homophobia, Racism, Sexual content, Medical content, Kidnapping, Religious bigotry, Medical trauma, Pregnancy, Gaslighting, Alcohol, and Colonisation