Reviews tagging 'Drug use'

The Round House by Louise Erdrich

13 reviews

reads2cope's review against another edition

4.5

“That old buffalo woman gave Nanapush her views. She told him that he had survived by doing the opposite of all the others. Where they abandoned, he saved. Where they were cruel, he was kind. Where they betrayed, he was faithful. Nanapush then decided that in all things he would be unpredictable. As he had completely lost trust in authority, he decided to stay away from others and to think for himself, even to do the most ridiculous things that occurred to him.”

This book wasn’t what I expected, and as someone who doesn’t typically reach for mystery novels (thank you to the Paperbacks & Frybread Decolonize Your Bookshelf Challenge for taking me here!) I’m so glad I picked it up. It was very uncomfortable to be in the mind of a 13 year old boy, but at the same time I am still reeling from the amount of growth readers get not only from the main character but from the complex web of community he is surrounded by. This is a book that will stick with me for a long time.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Child abuse, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug use, Gun violence, Hate crime, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Racism, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Torture, Violence, Blood, Medical content, Kidnapping, Grief, Car accident, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, Alcohol, Sexual harassment, Colonisation, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Addiction, Toxic relationship, and Abandonment

Minor: Ableism and Infidelity

leah_alexandra's review against another edition

challenging reflective sad fast-paced

4.0

A complex and compelling read. Overall a few too many elements, which took away a bit from some of the heart of the story. And I struggled with the ending. But it’s a well-told story with a lot to say about the legal and social landscape of indigenous people in the US, both historical and (relatively) present. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Rape, Sexual assault, Violence, and Murder

Moderate: Alcohol

Minor: Drug use

library_anne's review against another edition

dark emotional informative sad tense slow-paced

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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Adult/minor relationship, Cursing, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Hate crime, Rape, Sexual violence, Vomit, and Murder

audreyolejasz's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional informative sad tense slow-paced

2.0

The main character is kunda of a pervert...

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcoholism, Child death, Domestic abuse, Drug use, Hate crime, Misogyny, Pedophilia, Racism, Rape, Sexual assault, Blood, Religious bigotry, Car accident, Murder, Alcohol, and Colonisation

se_palmer's review against another edition

challenging dark funny sad medium-paced

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

3.5

This is a rough story told beautifully. Without spoiling anything, this is the story of a violent crime and a community's response, specifically the response of a 13 year old boy. There are moments that are harrowing and heartbreaking, and there are moments of deep humor and joy, and the teenage perspective tends to walk the line between normal teenage weirdness and the truly awkward and upsetting. The story asks us to think about what justice means to victims, to their families and communities, and traditionally, and the answers it presents are sometimes challenging.
The story ends abruptly and without the normal feeling of resolution, so if that kind of thing makes you mad, consider yourself forewarned.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Gun violence, Hate crime, Misogyny, Rape, and Sexual assault

Moderate: Drug use, Violence, and Alcohol

Minor: Domestic abuse

tiffanykw's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional funny mysterious reflective sad tense medium-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

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Death, Domestic abuse, Gun violence, Rape, Blood, Car accident, Murder, and Colonisation

Minor: Alcoholism, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Misogyny, Violence, Grief, Fire/Fire injury, and Colonisation

livia_jewel's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional tense 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

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Rape

Moderate: Alcoholism, Drug use, and Alcohol

Minor: Child abuse

sofipitch's review against another edition

dark emotional reflective sad slow-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

4.75

This book is one of those that will have you staring at the wall when you finish. I was actually driving when the audiobook ended and I just sat in silence. Also while this book is very bleak one thing that shines is the relationships between the characters and that makes life worth living

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Car accident and Murder

Moderate: Domestic abuse, Drug use, Mental illness, Racism, Rape, Violence, and Alcohol

voidflowers's review against another edition

dark emotional reflective sad medium-paced

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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcoholism, Drug abuse, Drug use, Gore, Gun violence, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Car accident, Alcohol, and Colonisation

Moderate: Addiction, Adult/minor relationship, Alcoholism, Physical abuse, Toxic relationship, Vomit, Kidnapping, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, and Alcohol

katsbooks's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional medium-paced

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

4.5

“Now that I knew fear, I also knew it was not permanent. As powerful as it was, its grip on me would loosen. It would pass.”

“We are never so poor that we cannot bless another human being, are we? So it is that every evil, whether moral or material, results in good. You'll see.”

This was a very intense read. Definitely check trigger warnings for this book. It started a little slow for me but really picked up as it went. Generally, I like to listen to general fiction because I find it doesn't hold my attention the way romance, fantasy or thrillers. That's how I started this novel but found it fairly easy to finish it physically. My main complaint is that I didn't like that there weren't any quotation marks. I get that it's a literature choice but I don't really get it. Other than that, there wasn't a whole lot that I didn't like about this book. My favorite aspect was probably the perspective. It was so effective to make the main character's perspective that of a 13-year-old boy. It took all of the serious, intense themes and filtered them through the semi-innocent eyes of a pubescent boy. It genuinely made so much of the story more impactful. I also really appreciated the commentary on how Native Americans straddle the line between tribal soveriegnty and American jurisdiction, especially when it comes to things like rape cases or crime perpretrated by white people on reservations. It was also really interesting to read a depiction of reservation life. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Bullying, Cursing, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug use, Gun violence, Mental illness, Misogyny, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Violence, Medical content, Kidnapping, Grief, Car accident, Murder, Abandonment, Alcohol, Colonisation, and Injury/Injury detail