Reviews tagging 'Sexual violence'

Witches by Brenda Lozano

4 reviews

mari1532's review against another edition

dark emotional informative mysterious reflective sad tense fast-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? It's complicated

4.0

I listened to this audiobook on Everand.

Brief Summary: Zoe is a journalist investigating the murder of Paloma, a transwoman from a family of Indigenous healers. To learn more of the story Zoe travels to meet Paloma's cousin Feliciana. However, as Zoe interviews Feliciana she begins to reevaluate her relationships with her sister and mother. As Zoe and Feliciana's stories weave together Zoe begins to realize the power of her voice.

Thoughts: This book was captivating and I binged it in an entire sitting. I particularly like the dual perspectives, where Zoe's was told in a direct and edited fashion and Feliciana's was a more free-flowing stream of consciousness indicative of its interview formatting. It highlighted how Zoe is constricted by the expectations of society, while Feliciana is not. It also made Feliciana's story and by extension, Paloma's story more intense emotionally, while Zoe's was more reflective and therapeutic.     

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Cursing, Deadnaming, Death, Infertility, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Toxic relationship, Transphobia, Grief, Abortion, Death of parent, Fire/Fire injury, Alcohol, Colonisation, and Classism

Minor: Pregnancy

jean_atlas's review against another edition

3.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Hate crime, Misogyny, Rape, Sexual violence, and Murder

Moderate: Alcoholism, Animal death, Deadnaming, Domestic abuse, Blood, Medical content, Grief, Abortion, and Death of parent

Minor: Fire/Fire injury

la_libreria_chula's review against another edition

challenging emotional hopeful inspiring reflective sad fast-paced

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

5.0

This book ended up being so good! While there wasn't a plot, I enjoyed the way this book was set up. And both characters has their own unique voices. I don't like the title, because even in the book Feliciana says she's no witch, she's a healer, so the title just doesn't fit. Even the Spanish title. There were some lines in the book that I enjoyed:
" ,This path is mine because I am Feliciana." pg 47 This was when her father visited her to tell her what she should say to her grandfather Cosmo. (Which I love the name, Cosmo.)
" If the jar has a lid, it's up to you to take it off." pg 64 
I enjoyed the stories these women told each other, about women in their lives who supported them and guided them to where they are 'today.' And them reflecting on the people in their life made me reflect on the people on my life currently and felt like an experience even though these characters are fictional. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Rape, Sexual violence, and Sexual harassment

Moderate: Abortion

Minor: Fire/Fire injury

lizlikesfrogs's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional informative inspiring mysterious reflective sad 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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcoholism, Homophobia, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Transphobia, Violence, Abortion, Murder, and Sexual harassment