The design and UX isn't done, Rob and Abbie, okkurrrr! 😌
ktdakotareads's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
4.0
Moderate: Colonisation, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Drug use, Death, Gun violence, Medical trauma, Torture, Physical abuse, Racism, Racial slurs, Medical content, Violence, Alcoholism, Blood, and Murder
enchantressreads's review against another edition
- 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
4.5
Graphic: Gun violence, Violence, Domestic abuse, Racial slurs, Physical abuse, and Racism
Moderate: Drug use, Bullying, Child abuse, Child death, Animal death, Rape, and Drug abuse
Minor: Cancer, War, Death of parent, Medical content, and Miscarriage
lanid's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
Moderate: Racism, Blood, Murder, Bullying, Child abuse, Cultural appropriation, Drug use, Genocide, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Violence, Addiction, Alcoholism, Child death, Death, Domestic abuse, Gore, and Gun violence
voxelbee's review against another edition
- 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
Graphic: Violence, Injury/Injury detail, Drug abuse, Child death, Addiction, and Murder
Moderate: Alcohol, Alcoholism, Blood, Child abuse, Death of parent, Grief, Hate crime, Kidnapping, Medical content, Physical abuse, Racism, Terminal illness, and Torture
Minor: Racial slurs, Colonisation, Bullying, Car accident, and Genocide
readundancies's review against another edition
- 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? No
3.75
Am I just not into crime thrillers? The jury's still out on that.
Because the second started to pick up in pace and that's when I started to become more emotionally invested.
It was definitely a slow start though. The pacing was slow throughout the first half and it was a lot of establishing the characters and the community. The characterization was fine, but not very deep; I felt like I didn’t really get to know some of the characters the way I’d have liked to. I also had a hard time connecting with the characters because I'm not a very spiritual person, but that's on me. From a learning perspective? I was fascinated and excited to learn about the Lakota way of life, the customs that are followed, and how they interpret the world around them. Getting to hear from a Lakota perspective in Virgil’s character was eye-opening and I thoroughly enjoyed it.
I wasn't 100% sold on Marie and Virgil as a couple. It just seemed a little too easy between them because they were overly comfortable with one another. In contrast, Virgil and Tommy’s friendship was great. Even though at times it seemed more like Virgil was using Tommy as an informant, they shared a genuine connection, and Tommy’s levity really did a solid job of offsetting the increasing strife in Virgil’s life.
I appreciated the high level of action as everything went down towards the end, and would definitely recommend this to anyone who wants to read more stories with a focus on Indigenous and First Nations peoples.
Moderate: Alcohol, Child abuse, Confinement, Death of parent, Death, Drug use, Drug abuse, Forced institutionalization, Gun violence, Kidnapping, Murder, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Torture, and Violence
opinionsofawolf's review against another edition
- 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
4.0
Graphic: Torture, Suicide, Sexual violence, Physical abuse, Murder, Mental illness, Kidnapping, Gun violence, Grief, Death of parent, Death, Child abuse, Blood, Alcoholism, and Addiction
Moderate: Pedophilia
kachina's review against another edition
As a fellow white Indigenous (and Oceti Sakowin) relative, I just felt like so much of this book played into strange colonizer stereotypes.Â
Something in the spirit of it felt...off. I think there’s a lot of nuanced discourse around whiteness and Indigeneity, and a lot of uncomfortable learning, too.Â
So much of this felt like a white Native pity fest. Not to dismiss the nuances of the particular pain of being ostracized from your own community, I know that pain well, but it feels so centered in this book in a weird way that implicates other non-white or white passing Natives in a way that feels like something an author of this age should’ve grown out of by now.Â
I also felt like there was some weird lateral oppressive stereotype deployment in terms of how Latinx folks were portrayed but that’s a whole other can of worms.Â
In all; I wanna support fellow Indigenous creators and writers, but outside of my work this book has really put to the forefront for me how much I don’t think I’ll be reading cishet, white male stories in the future.Â
Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Animal death, Blood, Violence, Racism, Racial slurs, and Physical abuse
horrorbound's review against another edition
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Blood, Bullying, Child abuse, Child death, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Gore, Grief, Gun violence, Kidnapping, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Racism, Rape, Sexual assault, Suicidal thoughts, Torture, and Violence
okays1331's review against another edition
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
4.0
Moderate: Addiction, Adult/minor relationship, Alcoholism, Bullying, Child abuse, Child death, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Drug use, Gun violence, Kidnapping, Mental illness, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Rape, Racism, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Torture, and Violence
kimgravy's review against another edition
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
Graphic: Death, Drug use, Racism, Gun violence, Violence, and Grief
Moderate: Genocide, Kidnapping, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, and Addiction
Minor: Child abuse and Child death