Reviews tagging 'Racial slurs'

To Shape a Dragon's Breath by Moniquill Blackgoose

36 reviews

booksdogsandcoffee's review against another edition

adventurous challenging emotional informative tense medium-paced

4.75

An absolute masterpiece. Blackgoose melds the perfect combination of political intrigue, an in depth view of colonization, inequality and adds in dragons to create this world that is very parallel to ours. 

If you weren't uncomfortable while reading this book, you missed the point. To Shape A Dragon's Breath invokes every emotion imaginable while reading.

 I loved everything about this book and will be eagerly awaiting the sequel. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Ableism, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Bullying, Death, Misogyny, Racial slurs, Racism, Sexism, Violence, Xenophobia, Gaslighting, Colonisation, and Classism

Moderate: Homophobia

Minor: Genocide and Lesbophobia

1_800_fuck_off's review against another edition

adventurous emotional hopeful informative inspiring 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

5.0

wow…. WOW 

this book!!!!! 

one of my favorite reads this year for fucking sure 

the MESSAGE??!!! the ROMANCE??!! THE DRAGONS???? THE CULTURE?!?!? THE CHARACTERS!!!!!!
 

perfect everything perfect 

i don't even usually like romance but this one just hit different it ended exactly how i wanted it to and it's the first of its kind that i've read (IT’S POLYYYY POLY ROMANCE IS SO RARE AND THIS ONE!! UGH this book set up such a perfect path for the romance to enhance in the second book for SURE) i'm so in love with it and guys the characters can not empathize them enough!! i loved the mc and her friends and her family they're the best especially my boy sander he'll live in my heart forever and i just can't recommend this book enough it has such an important message to society about how indigenous people are treated and have been treated for years it also shows just how beautiful their culture is and just how necessary it is to listen to their voices and how society could stand to adopt at least a little bit of the way they see the world 

it would be a much better place 

can not wait for the next book <3

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Racism

Moderate: Bullying, Death, Genocide, Sexism, Violence, Murder, and Colonisation

Minor: Gun violence, Homophobia, Racial slurs, Slavery, Transphobia, Blood, War, and Injury/Injury detail

rosepetalsandpaperbacks08's review against another edition

adventurous hopeful informative reflective slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Racial slurs, Racism, and Xenophobia

Moderate: Ableism and War

philineselavy's review against another edition

adventurous hopeful reflective 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? It's complicated

5.0

must read. i loved the inventiveness of the skiltakraft magic, the strong main character anequs. the subtle but powerful deconstruction of a society build on colonialism, racism and white supremacy. it was perfect. i cannot wait for the sequel 🔥

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Ableism, Homophobia, Racial slurs, Racism, Religious bigotry, Lesbophobia, and Colonisation

bisexualwentworth'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? It's complicated

5.0

This is my new favorite book. it delivered on every possible level. I adored the characters and the worldbuilding and the writing style. I will come back and write a longer review when I can express my love for this book more coherently, but wow.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Ableism, Bullying, Death, Gun violence, Misogyny, Racial slurs, Racism, Violence, Xenophobia, Colonisation, and Classism

Moderate: Genocide, Homophobia, Slavery, Death of parent, Murder, and War

Minor: Animal death

garrettcz's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional funny hopeful inspiring lighthearted relaxing 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? No

4.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Ableism, Bullying, Racism, Colonisation, and Classism

Moderate: Death, Genocide, Hate crime, Panic attacks/disorders, Racism, Grief, Death of parent, Murder, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism

Minor: Animal death, Biphobia, Child abuse, Confinement, Death, Racial slurs, Racism, Sexism, Blood, Grief, Death of parent, Murder, Lesbophobia, Cultural appropriation, Colonisation, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism

alliekc1010's review against another edition

challenging emotional inspiring 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

4.0

It took me about 50% of the book to get used to the writing style, which has a lot of transitions in conversations and scenes that do not flow very well. However, I love the characters so much; they make the story amazing. TSADB is an excellent examination of colonization, racism, gender roles, and more from the perspective of an indigenous teenage girl in a reimagining of the beginning of the Industrial Revolution. There is excellent depictions of queer relationships and autism spectrum disorder. I know that this is supposed to be a series, so I'm excited to see where Anequs and her friends go!

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Racial slurs, Racism, and Xenophobia

Moderate: Genocide and Hate crime

There is a specific word in this book that I believe the author uses as a made-up racial slur against the indigenous peoples in this world. It is used very often throughout the book.

saltylane's review against another edition

adventurous challenging inspiring 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? No

4.0

I enjoyed reading this book, though some parts are a bit rough around the edges, imo. The world building is thorough, but I’m unsure  if it all “worked” for me. Some words were used to replace common ones, like names of chemicals/elements, and those words were used in a way that I couldn’t follow what meant what, but that may have been wholly intentional, in order to show the reader how the main character, Anequs, felt being tossed into an unfamiliar world. 
Some of the scenes were rather detailed to the point that I was a bit bored with them, like a couple of the class scenes wherein Anequs had to learn detailed concepts. It’s possible they were intentionally written that way to have the reader share the confusion of Anequs upon having to learn the complex concepts, but I almost skipped the scene entirely about midway through. On the other hand, some scenes were briefly described when I might’ve liked to read more about them in detail. 
The descriptions of the dragons when they first appeared were added in such a way that it was hard for me to actually picture the individual creatures in my mind. The species were almost all described at once, and I couldn’t retain what they looked like after that point because the ideas blended together. The descriptions were thorough, but being introduced to most of them all at once made it harder for me to keep up with what was what afterwards. I would like to see illustrations of them, though, because they did sound interesting to see!

The story itself is inspiring as Anequs faces much adversity in the community she’s thrust into. The analogs to real-world issues can be painful a lot of the time, but it’s informative and inspiring when Anequs fights to make change. The way she becomes an agent for change in those around her with her tenacity and kindness/empathy is heartwarming. 

Overall, I enjoyed the read, and I look forward to the sequels. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Ableism, Bullying, Misogyny, Racial slurs, Racism, Sexism, Violence, Colonisation, and Classism

Moderate: Confinement, Death, Genocide, Hate crime, Murder, and Injury/Injury detail

Minor: Animal death, Child death, Cursing, Homophobia, Miscarriage, Physical abuse, Slavery, Transphobia, Blood, Grief, Death of parent, Pregnancy, Lesbophobia, Fire/Fire injury, Alcohol, War, and Pandemic/Epidemic

_lostinthetrees's review against another edition

adventurous challenging emotional funny inspiring reflective tense medium-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? It's complicated

5.0

It was a privilege to read this book. I genuinely loved it, and the story it told, though I wanted to jump through the page and scream at some of the adults in it more than once. 

Anequs was such a lovely, dynamic main character. Also, Kasaqua was just the bestest dragon. 

As far as books about dragons go, this one is top tier; well thought out descriptions and lore abound. 

I loved the varied cast of characters who are in Anequs' orbit; at least, the ones who didn't cause her so much grief, anyways.  

Overall, I definitely hope to reread this book one day, to appreciate the story all over again. This one deserves to become a classic, and I cannot wait for the next book in this series. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Ableism, Bullying, Emotional abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Xenophobia, and Colonisation

Moderate: Homophobia

Minor: Death, Transphobia, Violence, and Death of parent

blakeandbooks's review against another edition

adventurous emotional 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? No

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Ableism, Death, Misogyny, Racial slurs, Racism, Sexism, Violence, Police brutality, Mass/school shootings, Death of parent, Murder, Lesbophobia, Colonisation, and Classism

Moderate: Homophobia, Sexual harassment, and War