Reviews tagging 'Mass/school shootings'

Sorrowland by Rivers Solomon

23 reviews

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

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

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

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

lpdx's review against another edition

challenging dark 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

3.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Misogyny, Murder, Alcohol, Cursing, Domestic abuse, Child abuse, Religious bigotry, Sexism, Adult/minor relationship, Child death, Death, Grief, Gun violence, Homophobia, Injury/Injury detail, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Body horror, Body shaming, Police brutality, Pregnancy, Racism, Violence, Alcoholism, Blood, Mass/school shootings, Rape, Confinement, Sexual content, Stalking, Suicide, Torture, Emotional abuse, Forced institutionalization, Genocide, Gore, Fire/Fire injury, and Lesbophobia

Minor: Cancer and Medical content

cookiecat73's review against another edition

dark mysterious 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? It's complicated

4.5

This was a very raw, very honest book that absolutley did not shy away from tough topics. I loved the characters. The first 3/4 were amazing, but unfortunately the last quarter of the book went in a direction that was much less of my thing and I enjoyed it a lot less. Overall though, very good.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Injury/Injury detail, Mass/school shootings, Pregnancy, Racism, Stalking, Suicide, Suicide attempt, Addiction, Animal cruelty, Cannibalism, Child death, Chronic illness, Classism, Sexual content, Toxic relationship, Alcoholism, Body horror, Child abuse, Confinement, Cursing, Death of parent, Fire/Fire injury, Gore, Gun violence, Homophobia, Misogyny, Murder, Sexism, Violence, Xenophobia, Alcohol, Blood, Kidnapping, Lesbophobia, Physical abuse, Police brutality, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Self harm, Adult/minor relationship, Animal death, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Medical content, and Religious bigotry

Moderate: Abandonment, Colonisation, Rape, Sexual assault, Drug use, and Suicidal thoughts

Minor: Excrement, Racial slurs, and Slavery

martinatan's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional hopeful informative mysterious reflective sad tense 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? Yes

4.75

An incredibly crafted modern gothic story. This blended important topics and radical themes that I have been captivated by for a long time, and to see them captured in a blend of the gothic, speculative fiction, and Afrofuturist genres is absolutely breathtaking. The exploration of queer love and flawed family is a powerful throughline that really shines in a world where the protagonist could easily give in to the sheer despair of a heartless culture.

Some works of media that I felt this story lives in kinship with:
- Beloved by Toni Morrison, for its part-tender, part-visceral prose and handling of generational trauma and haunting
- The art of Firelei Baez and Wangechi Mutu, for their beautiful blend of human and inhuman, exploring symbiotic and antagonistic relationships between humans and the natural world
- Jordan Peele’s film Nope, in that it provides a uniquely Black perspective on the American attraction to spectacle and exploitation, and for the horror/sci-fi elements
- Never Let Me Go by Kazuo Ishiguro, for themes of hindsight and memory of an institution after you’ve escaped it

Of course, this is not to say that Sorrowland borrows too much from other works—on the contrary, it is a masterpiece of its own that will make you think differently not just about our country’s history of medical exploitation of Black people, but also the boundaries between different genres, the capabilities of the body under immense pressure, and our relationship to nature and society.

I would be so excited to analyze this book in a university setting and I hope it can be regarded as a rich and provocative text for a variety of disciplines: Race and Colonialism Studies, Gender and Sexuality, History, Creative Fiction, etc.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror and Sexual content

Moderate: Death, Lesbophobia, Medical trauma, Religious bigotry, Toxic relationship, Death of parent, Medical content, Forced institutionalization, Genocide, Homophobia, Injury/Injury detail, Suicidal thoughts, Terminal illness, Racism, Adult/minor relationship, Animal death, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Self harm, Stalking, Violence, and Blood

Minor: Alcohol, Child death, Colonisation, Fire/Fire injury, Hate crime, Mass/school shootings, Murder, Pregnancy, Cursing, Emotional abuse, Gore, Grief, Confinement, and Gun violence

strange_little_ranger's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional mysterious tense medium-paced

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

3.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death, Body horror, Blood, Injury/Injury detail, Pregnancy, Gore, Violence, and Death

Minor: Fire/Fire injury, Mass/school shootings, Medical content, Death of parent, Misogyny, Police brutality, Pregnancy, Racial slurs, Death, Hate crime, Homophobia, Injury/Injury detail, Toxic relationship, Physical abuse, Addiction, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Domestic abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Gore, Gun violence, Grief, Murder, Cannibalism, Sexual violence, Slavery, Ableism, Alcohol, Alcoholism, Blood, Child death, Kidnapping, Lesbophobia, Body horror, Colonisation, Cultural appropriation, Torture, Violence, Racism, Religious bigotry, and Sexual content

dustghosts's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional mysterious 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

4.0

Sorrowland had a little bit of everything that I wanted from the other horror books I read this past October. Visceral and mysterious body horror intertwined with a really compelling and (unfortunately) timeless, unflinching look at the mycelium of systemic racism (colonialism, human experimentation, systemic poverty and the lengths it might drive someone to, religious bigotry, misogyny, homophobia and transphobia and interphobia— etcetera). I think this should be a must-read for people who lean too heavily on “blaming the system” while turning away from personal responsibility for the way that participation in those systems hurts people specifically. Vern is a complicated protagonist with mostly uncomplicated motives— and she compelled me more than anything else about this book. The supernatural “twist” to the story doesn’t soften the issues at hand, but underlines it. At times, it this read a bit too blunt/heavy-handed for me— but by and large this felt like a purposeful narrative choice, so it’s splitting hairs. The horror and the sorrow and the misery of it all is balanced, all the way through, by a thread of tender togetherness that I think will stay with me for a long time.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Domestic abuse, Gore, Homophobia, Medical trauma, Torture, Violence, Adult/minor relationship, Blood, Chronic illness, Gun violence, Injury/Injury detail, Medical content, Misogyny, Pedophilia, Colonisation, Emotional abuse, Gaslighting, Grief, Body horror, Child death, Child abuse, Lesbophobia, Sexism, Sexual assault, and Sexual content

Moderate: Abandonment, Confinement, Murder, Torture, Mass/school shootings, Medical content, Racism, Addiction, Cancer, Cannibalism, Car accident, Pregnancy, Religious bigotry, Transphobia, Gun violence, and Suicide

penofpossibilities's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious reflective sad tense

• 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

4.75

GOD i did NOT heed the trigger warnings and I honestly don't even have an excuse like I knew this was a horror novel and still picked it up. don't make my mistake and please be safe. Anyway this BOOK!!!! /pos
absolute fucking masterpiece

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Abandonment, Ableism, Alcohol, Cannibalism, Animal death, Domestic abuse, Violence, Suicidal thoughts, Body shaming, Child death, Colonisation, Death, Forced institutionalization, Gaslighting, Genocide, Grief, Mental illness, Pedophilia, Police brutality, Blood, Adult/minor relationship, Animal cruelty, Body horror, Cursing, Child abuse, Gore, Gun violence, Hate crime, Injury/Injury detail, Murder, Confinement, Death of parent, Fire/Fire injury, Lesbophobia, Religious bigotry, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Homophobia, Sexual content, Slavery, Mass/school shootings, Pregnancy, Self harm, Stalking, and Torture

Moderate: Addiction, Drug use, Cultural appropriation, Vomit, Trafficking, Rape, Excrement, and Medical content

Minor: Suicide, Racial slurs, Transphobia, Infertility, Terminal illness, and Cancer

graphic: cult

brooklyn_roemer's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious tense 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? Yes

4.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual content

Moderate: Gore, Gun violence, Mass/school shootings, Toxic relationship, Domestic abuse, and Sexual assault

darkmattersoybean's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional 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

4.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Religious bigotry, Pregnancy, Child death, Death, Racism, Death of parent, Animal death, Violence, Gun violence, Murder, Mass/school shootings, Injury/Injury detail, Adult/minor relationship, Animal cruelty, Body horror, and Colonisation