Reviews tagging 'Vomit'

A Deadly Education by Naomi Novik

70 reviews

scarlett_f's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional inspiring mysterious sad 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

3.5

Takes 2/3rds of the book to get to any real story or action. Too much detail-building. Maps of the school and cross-sections are at the end of the book. Should've been at the beginning for better understanding of the layout. Strong female protagonist.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Gore, Toxic relationship, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Vomit, Grief, Death of parent, Murder, Pregnancy, Fire/Fire injury, Gaslighting, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism

Minor: Sexual content

alyssaakdefusco's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark tense medium-paced

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

2.75

I think the idea of the book is interesting, but there was so much world building that had to happen in this first book of the series that I found pretty tough to get through. And everything is so terrible that the characters have to go through. No delightful magic, just a version of Harry Potter where everything is terrible and everyone is probably going to die. Not my favorite. But I did get caught up in the more action -packed scenes towards the end enough to keep me going!

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Gore and Violence

Moderate: Child death and Vomit

haley_mil_reads's review against another edition

adventurous emotional funny 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

4.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Violence, and Vomit

Moderate: Death of parent

alphabetseeds's review against another edition

adventurous dark funny 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

4.0

I've been meaning to check this series out for a couple years now, and I'm glad I'm finally diving in. After a slower start, I got into the rhythm of El's snarling sarcasm and stream-of-consciousness info-dumping and got invested in her survival and her slowly forming relationships with other students. There's a lot to unpack in her unwillingness to show off her capabilities, her dismissal of Orion's impulse to white-knighting, and then her outright rudeness to privileged students who want to give her attention.

While she goes into a lot - a LOT - of details about some things, there is some handwaving when it comes to action. I have no idea what some of the creatures/mals that attack them look like or even know where to begin - and maybe that's okay, because all signs point to terrifying. With two books left, I assume I'm going to learn a lot and wish I hadn't.

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Body horror, Blood, and Vomit

micallab's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark 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

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Blood, and Vomit

erikagibson126's review against another edition

challenging dark mysterious tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix

4.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Child death, Confinement, Death, Violence, Blood, Medical content, Medical trauma, Death of parent, Murder, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism

Moderate: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Vomit, and War

stephaniemcuervo's review

adventurous dark emotional 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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death and Death of parent

Moderate: Murder and Pregnancy

Minor: Animal death and Vomit

squinnittowinit's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional funny 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

A very charming story that was both witty and suspenseful, alternating between detailed world building, dry humor, and well-timed dramatic reveals. Magic weaves with science to create a very unique setting that acts as a character unto itself. 

Naomi Novik's story makes poignant remarks on prevalent real-world topics such as classism and privilege, through the lense of a magical society controlled by a fortunate (and greedy) few. She delivers genuine complex emotion as her characters grapple with their anger, their uncertainty, and at the end of the day, their humanity. 

4.5 stars because I'm not sure if the author hired a sensitivity consultant or not; there were a couple small moments I didn't feel great about. Additionally, I wasn't sold on the design of the school in this book. Not the literal design, but more the way it was designed and how it's been handled since.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, Death, Violence, and Murder

Moderate: Body horror, Blood, Fire/Fire injury, and Injury/Injury detail

Minor: Ableism, Confinement, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Genocide, Mental illness, Racism, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Vomit, Kidnapping, Death of parent, and Classism

evbyrd's review against another edition

adventurous dark mysterious medium-paced

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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death, Body horror, Bullying, Child abuse, Child death, Confinement, Death, Gore, Violence, Blood, Vomit, Cannibalism, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, Toxic friendship, Abandonment, and Injury/Injury detail

passionatereader78's review against another edition

challenging dark mysterious tense fast-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? It's complicated

4.0

What a book! The details are fantastic. The way the author takes time to describe all of the creatures in the school is beautiful. The way she unfolded this story was enchanting. Galadriel is attending the school of Scholomance.  She needs to learn spells to survive in the world.  This school is the most dangerous place for students.  They must watch out for monsters and horrible creatures. They should never be alone. The school is magic and provides the students with what they need at a practice of course. Orion is fearlessly Saving his fellow students from the creatures in the school. He's attracted to Galadriel and becomes her personal Bodyguard.  Plunging into danger at every turn. He belongs to the New York coven which Galadriel wants to join.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, Death, Violence, Blood, Vomit, and Classism

Minor: Death of parent and Pregnancy