Reviews with content warning for Child death - Lilith

Reviews tagging 'Child death'

Lilith by Eric Rickstad

8 reviews

katekreadsalot's review against another edition

challenging emotional fast-paced

Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

Wow… I had a lot of emotions and inner turmoil while reading this book, and words are hard right now.

The topic of gun violence is one that, in my opinion, should be read about. The knowledge that the situations described in Lilith are all to real made my stomach hurt at times while reading.

I still feel very conflicted about certain parts of the book, but overall I’m satisfied with how things turned out for Elizabeth.

Triggers: school shooting (detailed enough to make me cringe, and I have a pretty strong stomach), child death, gun violence, murder, some mentions of SA. I’m probably forgetting some others, so check your triggers.

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mariacristinagarcia's review

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dark tense fast-paced

3.0

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serendipitysbooks's review against another edition

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dark emotional reflective tense fast-paced

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

4.5

Lilith is the story of Elisabeth, a teacher whose young son was seriously injured in a school shooting, one in which she went against school policy but shephered her own class to safety. She becomes incensed with powerful men, particularly a well-known gun shop owner who decides to run for President on a policy of removing any and all gun controls, using the school shooting as some sort of rationale. She has had enough and decides to take matters into her own hands. Her rage and fury were viscerally presented and had a part of me cheering her on. However, the book goes on to show the cost and unintended consequences of her actions, coming to a nuanced stand on violent revenge. While it paints Elizabeth's desire as totally understandable, it in no way promotes or supports it. I loved that this book also highlighted the impact of shootings on those who are seriously injured but survive since they are often forgotten, the focus being on those who lost their lives. The book has a mysterious, almost magical feel in places that didn't always work for me, and the author is perhaps guilty of letting Elisabeth too easily escape any real consequences for her actions. But overall, the strengths outweighed the weakness. The set-up had me hooked from the get-go, and my attention never wandered. I found this propulsive and cathartic and really enjoyed the reading experience.

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lizziaha's review against another edition

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2.5

While I think there’s a lot to be said about the topic of school shootings, I feel like Rickstad missed a lot of the nuance. His identification of misogyny as a driving force behind gun violence touches on something innate, but felt very surface level. The complete pivot to focusing ONLY on men felt disingenuous to the other power imbalances at play here.

Aside from that, much of the plot and commentary felt completely implausible. For one, Elisabeth is constantly talking about how she’s not religious, but the entire crux of the book is based on religious commentary. (Not to mention that that’s also very surface level— Eve ill, evil, history, herstory was just a little silly.) Secondly, Elisabeth demonstrates immense ability under pressure—her heroic actions at the school, killing 5 armed men without even a scratch. But that said, she panics anytime anyone asks her a question. It just doesn’t add up. She made so many mistakes, it’s a wonder she was never caught. And like, that’s how murder investigations go sometimes, but good god she could’ve been a little neater about it.

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lazarr0103's review against another edition

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informative reflective sad tense medium-paced

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

3.75

Enjoyable writing and a quick pace made me unable to put this book down. I found the subject matter interesting and especially relevant today.

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stephheartsbooks's review against another edition

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challenging dark informative mysterious reflective sad tense medium-paced

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

5.0

Elizabeth Ross , single mom and kindergarten teacher experienced the worst thing that could happen at school...a shooting killing several students and teachers. Thanks to her smart thinking she had not one casuality in her class. Her son, however was not as lucky. He stubstained life long injuries. Next is the onslaught of media coverag and politicians with their prayers but not once addressing the real issue-guns. Sick and fed up of the same unempathetic apologies and rhetoric to buy more guns, Elizabeth sets out to change the narrative.

This is a book that I want to recommend but only if you think you can handle it. I, having no children of my own, had to take breaks. I can only imagine reading this a mom.
Elizabeth is a hero, mother, and vigilante. If you want to read a story about a pissed off mom out for vengeance, you'll like this book, but again, take your time if you need to.

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lisakaufmann's review against another edition

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challenging dark sad tense

4.0

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nstyner's review against another edition

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challenging dark reflective sad tense fast-paced

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

5.0

LOVED IT! I love the character and the internal thoughts of Elisabeth. I love that the author let her RAGE and feel that emotion without trying to dull it! The book focuses on a heavy topic so be mindful but I loved the storyline. It highlights very real conversations we hear about gun control and mass shootings. It also touches on women's very real rage with the world around them.

The book had me flying through pages trying to figure out how the story was going to end. It'll have you feeling all types of emotions. I had to take a breather after the FBI scene. Definitely recommend!

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