Reviews tagging 'Hate crime'

The Grief Keeper by Alexandra Villasante

7 reviews

snowydaze's review against another edition

dark emotional reflective sad fast-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

4.5

The ending was a bit rushed, otherwise I loved the book. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Grief

Moderate: Cursing, Death, Drug use, Gun violence, Hate crime, Mental illness, Misogyny, Sexism, Suicidal thoughts, Violence, Xenophobia, Medical content, Religious bigotry, Medical trauma, Suicide attempt, Murder, Lesbophobia, and Sexual harassment

mckeelyshannon's review against another edition

challenging emotional hopeful medium-paced

One of my favorite lines from this book is “A heaviness sits under my skin, above my bones—an invisible, smothering blanket. Pavor, angustia, pánico, a collection of heavy, gut-churning feelings. I am drowning.”

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Gun violence, Hate crime, Homophobia, Mental illness, Racism, Suicidal thoughts, Grief, Medical trauma, Suicide attempt, and Murder

Moderate: Sexual assault

courtneyfalling's review

dark emotional sad slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

This made me cry multiple times. I'd call it primarily a sad, contemporary novel with speculative fiction elements to deepen the emotional side. All of the main characters feel drawn-out and almost blurry around their edges... it's a lot more about how things feel than who they are. Marisol especially is a complicated mix of fiercely stubborn and mostly passive or internal, which makes the book's pacing sometimes feel heavy. The beginning weighs down a lot, and then we finally get the bulk of important backstory and growth in the final chapters. I can't say I was ever enamored with Rey as a character or the budding relationship between her and Marisol, but they do have some lighthearted moments and I liked the deeper arc of Marisol letting go of her internalized lesbophobia. And the criticism of the US immigration system is very well-done

although I still feel like Indranie deserves a lot more comeuppance than she gets

. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Gun violence, Hate crime, Mental illness, Racism, Xenophobia, Grief, Suicide attempt, Murder, and Lesbophobia

Moderate: Panic attacks/disorders, Pedophilia, Sexual assault, Medical content, and Medical trauma

Minor: Alcohol

Additional CW for bomb attack/mass violence

steviaplath's review

challenging emotional hopeful inspiring lighthearted sad 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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Cursing, Death, Hate crime, Homophobia, Panic attacks/disorders, Racism, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Forced institutionalization, Medical content, Grief, Medical trauma, Suicide attempt, Lesbophobia, Outing, and Injury/Injury detail

lilcoppertop's review against another edition

dark emotional funny hopeful reflective sad 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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Emotional abuse and Grief

Moderate: Child death, Death, Gun violence, Hate crime, Homophobia, Mental illness, Misogyny, Xenophobia, Blood, Trafficking, Suicide attempt, and Murder

morganperks's review

dark emotional 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? It's complicated

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body shaming, Death, Drug use, Gun violence, Hate crime, Homophobia, Mental illness, Misogyny, Racial slurs, Racism, Self harm, Suicidal thoughts, Violence, Xenophobia, Medical content, Kidnapping, Grief, Religious bigotry, Medical trauma, Suicide attempt, and Sexual harassment

gothicmoon's review against another edition

dark emotional reflective medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes

3.0

The Grief Keeper handles serious, difficult topics in a digestible manner for people the characters' age to understand. The writing is fluid and the plot simple with shocking touches, though the story itself doesn't quite linger after the book is over.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Gun violence, Hate crime, Homophobia, Mental illness, Misogyny, Pedophilia, Sexism, Sexual assault, Suicidal thoughts, Violence, Xenophobia, Suicide attempt, and Murder